CHARGES REPLIED TO

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 153, 29 June 1916, Page 2

CHARGES REPLIED TO

TROUBLE ON TROOPSHIP 49.

THE COMPLAINTS OF "BAD FISH." An official reply has been issued by the Hon. James Allen (Minister for Defence) in.reply to the allegations made, regarding the victualling of soldiers and n:c.o.'s of the 11th Reinforcements on troopship 49, and other matters relating to their treatment. VERY FEW COMPLAINTS. " In the first place," says the Minister, "I. may say the transports are all victualled for their voyages on the same scale, and the : food . supplied has been excellent throughout. Very few complaints have been made, and the majority of these have been'-found to have little foundation iv fact. From time to time minor, improvements ,have been made on the vessels, as found to be advisable by the responsible officers, with a view to eliminating any possibility of food deteriorating. It will, of course, he recognised that, owiiig to the route through the tropics, and the inability to obtain fresh supplies daily or at shortintervals, there is always a remote possibility of some deterioration-- but ail ■ships- carry medical officers, and I am quite confident no' unpalatable food is ..forced on the men, as this complaint j would lead those not conversant with the . : conditions to believe. j FOOD OF GOOD QUALITY. " As regards the vessel and voyage in j question, the official report of. the ship's I quartermaster, rendered to the Depart- | ment immediately on return of the transI port to the Dominion, states, as regards the food supply,: 'Taking it all round, the food was of igood quality, and the men w,ere well catered for in this respect, and complaints were few. We had a much better result with regard to bread. This is attributed to the change made in receiving-locker, which allows for good ventilation and even temperature. Ten cases offresb and seven, cases of smoked trout were placed on board from the Minister of Internal . Affairs. ! The smoked fish turned out excellent, and was in good condition throughout. The fresh fish proved a failure, and several cases were tried with the sameresult, and, as they smelt very bad, on medical advice they were thrown overboard.' A similar supply of fish was placed on the companion ship, and the master of the latter makes the following reference to same in. his voyage report : 'The massing of officers, troops, and crew has been very satisfactory' throughout the whole Voyage, and no coniplaint has been received from any section, if the complaint of one company^ of troops or the north-going passage, te excepted. . ' '

NOT USED TO THE DELICACY." "A portion of salmon trout, placed on board by the Minister of Internal Affairs, was served for breakfast once.; The unaccustomed flavour', of this deli-, eacy appears to have engendered the suspicion .in members of this ' company that they were being' 'fobbed off with 'bad fish.'" The statement that the meat in an unwholesome condition was served up quite a number of times may, I think, be fairly termed- exaggerationat ..the..-least.;- .Very great care, is taken in'regard-to the meat supplies, which,: of course, except fresh meat for immediate consumption, are naturally frozen. All. meat is kept in the ship's refrigerating chambers, which, to prevent any likelihood of varying.temperature, arc placed solely in the charge of the respective chief engineers, and are permitted to be opened for .withdrawal of meat required only once daily. Officers Commanding Troops, in conjunction with masters and medical officers, have power to vary the diet of the men. The food is of the best possible quality, and there is no restriction as to quantity. TRANSPORTS THOROUGHLY FUMIGATED. "I have already laid on the table of the House the bill of fare of the transport referred to and one other, and perusal of- tbe standard bill of fare for the vessel and voyage under reference will, I am sure, show that there can have been very little amiss. Secondly, in respect to the dining hall having a most unhealthy and foul smell, I. may point out that the vessel had previously made five trooping trips, including that with ■ the Main Body, and no similar complaint had been made. Further, in -refitting for following voyages all transports, are thoroughly fumigated and recalcimined as necessary. Certainly accommodation \ on board is not unlimited, and is moro ■: restricted than what the men have been accustomed to in the training-camps or in civil life. Here again there does not appear to be any good ground for complaint. Regarding the allegation that censorship precludes any reference to grievances or prevents numerous complaints, this is quite contrary to fact, and does not seem to have proved so in this instance. CENSORSHIP OF LETTERS. , "The instruction for censorship of correspondence (telegraphic or otherwise) from troopships are simply to exclude all reference to ports of call and destination, dates of arrival or departure, and position of ships or routes, and are designed solely for the safety of the vessels and their passengers and erewrs. Usually if a chaplain is carried he is appointed censor, and there are no instructions as to deletion of complaints regarding food or anything of that nature. The matte? of a number of men, ' including twelve non-commissioned officers, signing a petition is not in accord with military law, which provides full opportunity for the presentation of any grievance, and the Officer Commanding the Force was quite within his rights in characterising this action in very strong terriis. In tho absence of a report from the Officer Commanding on the: matter, I am not prepared to make any comment on the terms alleged to have ' been used by him in addressing the petitioners. BONA FIDE COMPLAINTS INVESTIGATED. "Apart From any action by the military authorities, I have to point out that the master retains full power under marine law to deal with any disorder on the high seas, and that any concerted action contrary to custom or regulation at sea is to lie strongly deprecated in the interests of general safety if for no other reason. The non-commissioned officers and men would 'be fully aware that if individual representation to the officer of the clay brought no attention, they were quite within their rights in making further reference to the source of complaint to the Officer Commanding through their immediate company officers. ".The latter have gone right through their camp' training with them, and would be 'well able to judge the sincerity of the complaint, and know it to be their duty' to fairly represent the matter to the Officer Cnmmandinjr. Officers are, I. am fully assured, only 100 willing to hear'bona fide rvmiplaints, and to adjust theni if it is possible; but it must be recognised that the adoption of irregular.practices for obtaining redress of real or fancied wrongs cannot be countenanced, both in the interests of the individual soldier br the troops as

a whole, and particularly so at sea for the well-being and safety of all on beard."