WHANGAREI CASE BEFORE PARLIAMENT.

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1915, Page 2

WHANGAREI CASE BEFORE PARLIAMENT.

QUESTION BY SIR JOSEPH WARD.

On Tuesday Sir Joseph Ward brought under the notice of the Minister for Defence some questions regarding the return of the Willochra.

The first question was based upon a telegram from Whangarei which appeared in the "New Zealand of yesterday regarding Privates Davidson and. Muldrock, who, it was stated, had arrived at Whangarei on Saturday without any prior notice from ,the Defence Department.

Sir J. Ward asked whether, the statement in the telegram was correct.

Mr Allen said that he had heard about the case in question, and had telegraphed an inquiry concerning it. He was very sorry if no notification had been sent. The Department had supplied certain of the returned soldiers, not hospital cases, . with orders for railway tickets. Soma of the men elected not to go to Auckland by the special hospital train, but f to go by another train of their own* selection. A special officer was sent with the hospital train with instruc - tions to notify the Mayors of different towns of the expected arrival of soldiers going to such towns.- As some men, however, went by other trains, the matter was not an easyone to organise. Once these men were allowed to go on their own account it was not easy to follow them or to keep trace of them.

Sir J. Ward also stated that through lack of intimation some parents and relatives had missed meeting the men. returned by the Willochra. They expected these men to arrive at Lyttelton by the" Willochra, and a number of the men travelled from- Wellington by the ferry steamer. _ The Jerry steamer train left Lytteltou before the train arrived conveying friends and relatives to meet the Willochra. There, was great dissatisfaction . in Christchurch in connection with these cases.

Mr Allenjjaid that he had not heard of these cases. Some men were allowed to travel by the ferry steamer • if they chose, instead of the Willochra, and It was not known who had chosen the ferry steamer.. , He had not desired to*inflict "ii^i^jjjjpmen to btr^^^^^^^^^^H ed that he had insisted going down by the had issued instructions by Which Mayors of towns through which the trains were going should be informe; 1 ., and also parents notified of the tins of their sons' arrival as far as possible.

Sir Joseph Ward said that he thought it would have been better to have allowed the whole of the men to go South by the Willochra. In tha* case the Mayor, and also the parents, would have known what was being done^ In reply to another question by Sir Joseph Ward, Mr Allen said that the granting of sick leave to men discharged from the camp hospitals after illness was a matter for the medical officers.