LONG DELAY RESENTED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16800, 16 March 1918, Page 6

LONG DELAY RESENTED.

LANDING OF RETURNED MEN. fl M RELATIVES RECORD PROTEST, i ■■;■: . if STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR. '% There was considerable indignation on the part of the next of kin of the sick and wounded soldiers who returned to New Zealand yesterday over what was regarded as avoidable delay in being admitted to the whams, and also in landing the sol. diers from the- ships. Two of the. thr.vj vessels arrived in the harbour about midday, two or three hours ahead of the tim» I previously notified to the military authori- ; ties. As the voluntary staff hid been instructed to report for duty at 3.30 p.m., and all the members could not be communicated with, the early arrival of the boat» could not be taken advantage of. Tho work of examining the men's papers commenced about 4 p.m., and the first batch of soldiers reached tha Queen's Wharf by tenter about 6.30 p.m. j The next of kin were admitted to th& wharf at about this time. Some of the men's relatives had been outside the wharf gates from midday, but a notice was posted on the board at the gates, and also at tho Defence Office, notifying them to bo in attendance at 6.15 p.m. Only the Auckland district men were landed in batches from the two ships. The next of kin were very impatient, and about 9 p.m. those waiting were addressed by tho Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, and the following resolution was passed :— "That this gathering of over 10CO Auckland citizens, next of kin and relatives of soldiers arriving at Auckland, em. phatically proteste against the disgraceful conditions and the total lack of suitable arrangements on tho pari of the military authorities for the landing of returned soldiers, and requests the Minister for Defence to take prompt measures to prevent in the interests of the soWiers, who nave made great sacrifices for King and country, any repetition of the inefficient conditions obtaining at Auckland tonight." "A Public Scandal."

In a statement made lato last night the Mayor said : " I have no hesitation in saying that the arrangement* in connection with the retufti of tho soldiers to-day constitute a public scandal, for which the, military authorities are alono responsible. I understand the officer commanding the Auckland military district is not responsible for to-day's lack of _ arrangements, and when I applied to him to-night in view of the conditions that had arisen, he said ho was without authority, and could take no action, that the matter was entirely in the hands of Wellington officers. • In the first place it is my duty on behalf of tho citizens to welcome the men home. The copy of the written intimation in regard to the arrival of the ships gave me no information as to the public reception or the time it was to take place. On. four occasions today when it was known the ships were at hand I endeavoured to ascertain this. I was told first one honr and then another, and finally the public reception was fixed for 6 p.m. I arrived in company with Mr. Heather at 5.30 p.m. At the wharf gate there was a largo crowd of next of kin and relatives of the men who had not been admitted to the wharf. After waiting until nearly 7 p.m. some 30 soldiers arrived from one of the troopships in a ferry boat. To these men, as best I could, I gave a welcome. The. crowd was entirely out of control. The next of kin at this time, tor shortly afterwards, were admitted, as they should have been, under suitable direction, sorao time before instead of being kept waiting in Queen Street for several hours.' Several seriously wounded soldiers arrived with tho next tender, and landed under great disadvantage,. climbing' over .the sides of the vessel and over narrow inadequate gangways. • One man said:.-I am a long-service man, and have "Been badly wounded, being just up out of the cot. I consider this a disgraceful affair!" Undignified and Unsatisfactory. "At 9 p.m.," continued Mr. Gunson, "there was only one tender running, bringing between 30 and 40 soldiers at intervals of about three-quarters of an hour. The citizens became so impatient and annoyed at the position > that there was no > other course open _ but to take charge, with the assistance of Harbour Board, officials and order was soon restored. 1 addressed the gathering and explained the position, expressing regret at' the existing conditions. The resolution which was seconded by the Deputy-Mayor, Mr. A. J. Entrican, is no exaggeration of the feelings of the soldiers' relatives or fa misrepresentation of the position. What 1 feel most keenly as a representative of the citizens is that this muddle and incompetency should cause so much injuryto many of the men, and that their return should bo under such undignified and - unsatisfactory conditions. I was ashamed of the unseemly exhibition. The circumstances to-night cannot be remedied, but it is the imperative' duty of the Minister to prevent a continuance of the incompe'«ncy and mismanagement of those- responsible. ...I am telegraphing tho resolution to the Minister with my comments and recommendations, as I feel tho matter cannot rest where it is. The obvious remedy is in future to leave the Auckland arrangements to tho officer, commanding the district, with whom the City Council and the Harbour Board will, be very willing to help. Arrangements will then be. made far in excess of any made in Wellington, as instanced by today's fiasco. ' "I remained until 11.30 p.m.," concluded the Mayor, '"at which hour it was announced that no further Auckland men would be landed to-night. Relatives had then been waiting for seven and eight hours, and had to leavo without secing their boys. Tho ladies serving refreshments also v;aited until 11.30 p.m."