AN EPISODE OF THE WAR

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 46

AN EPISODE OF THE WAR

WELLINGTON OFFICER’S PETITION DISMISSED FROM THE SERVICE. TROUBLES ON A TROOPSHIP. The trouble between Dr F. Wallace Mackenzie and the Defence Department, as a result of which that officer v\as dismissed from the service, has been before Parliament on several occasions. Dr Mackenzie has, as a matter of fact, been offered reinstatement in the militia as a surgeon-major, but this he declines to accept, on the ground that it breaks the continuity of his military service, which commenced in 1889. ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE. When the Tenth New Zealand Regiment was about to sail for South Africa, Dr Mackenzie was suddenly requested to accompany it as medical officer, the gentleman who had been appointed to that position being unable to sail. The contingent was to leave New Zealand on a Monday, and Dr Mackenzie was approached on the Saturday before. He thought the matter over in the limited time available, and decided to go. One of the conditions of enrolment was that the members of the contingent could get their discharges in South Africa on the termination of the war. Major Andrew, of the Hyderabad Lancers, was in command of the contingent, and, as is not infrequently the case, there was no little friction between the commander and tne medical officer of the regiment. “His opiuion was,” said Dr Mackenzie to a “Times” reporter, "that horses were more valuable than men, because you could get men for nothing, but you had to pay for horses. My business, however, was to look after the men and bring them back well.” A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION. A serious conflict of opinion occurred in July, 1902, in, the last days of the war. There had been a good deal of sickness in the regiment, which was on the joint of being entrained to Durban to embark for New Zealand. SurgeonCaptain Mackenzie wrote to Major Andrew' from Fort Hay on July 3rd, as follows : —“Following on the epidemic of measles and rubella, there has been a considerable number of cases of bron-

js and quinsy amongst the men of the First Regiment. me change in temperature between day and night here is very marked, and it is my opinion that the men should be conveyed to Durban in covered carriages in place of open ones, as is the custom here; otherwise serious illness w'ill result in many cases.” Shortly after this Surgeon-Captain Mackenzie applied for his discharge, the war having ended. He had interrupted his practice in Wellington, and did not intend to resume it until he had gone through a further course of study in England. Major Andrew pressed him to return to New Zealand with the contingent. He urged that by doing so be would only lose two months, and it would be a difficult matter to find another medical officer to accompany the troops. Dr Mackenzie recognised that, as he knew the men, it would be well for him to stay with them rather than leave them without a medical officer, and he agreed to "remain. ENTRAINING FOR DURBAN. He received his instructions to leave for Durban the same day by train in charge of the South Island Regiment. Arriving at the station at Newcastle, he found that only steel coal trucks had been provided to accommodate the troops on the journey of two days and two nights to the port. It was midwinter, with hard frosts at night, the men had only two blankets each, and Dr Mackenzie felt that, especially in view of the warning he had given, he ought to take a firm stand. He ordered the men who had been sick —there were 150 of them in the South Island Regiment —-to stand out, placed them in charge of his orderly, and wrote to the railway staff officer, stating that, in- his opinion, it would be injurious to the health of the men who had lately been ill to be conveyed at nigbt in open trucks. There was considerable trouble, in the course of which Dr Mackenzie threatened to march the convalescents back to the hotel and billet them there at his own expense rather than take them to Durban in open trucks. Eventually the authorities gave way, and provided third-clas3 carriages, in which the men made the journey. The North Island Regiment left the following day in open trucks, sick men and all. SICKNESS AT SEA. The contingent embarked at Durban in the troopship Montrose, with the Queensland Imperial Bushmen and the Australian Commonwealth Horse, in all 1400 men. A large number were wounded men still under treatment, and the medical staff of the ship consisted of Dr Mackenzie, Dr Salkeld (a civilian), and the ship’s doctor, with five hospital nurses. There was a hospital of thirtysix beds filled with wounded. The civil surgeon took ill three days out with pneumonia, which rapidly spread through the members of the North Island Regiment. There was only one case amongst the South Islanders who came down to Durban in carriages, as against forty-one amongst the North Islanders who made the journey in open trucks. Scarlet fever broke out when the ship was a week out. There were fourteen or fifteen cases before the ship’s doctor realised that it was something more serious than sore throats. The men were mustered every morning and the fresh cases were isolated, there being fifty-seven of them before the outbreak was stopped, three weeks out. Sergeant-Major Sanderson (now of Taranaki) and Lieutenant Smith (of Hutt) were mainly responsible for maintaining discipline amongst a body of men who

were in a state verging on panic. Considerable friction prevailed between the military and medical authorities, but the Montrose arrived in Auckland in excellent order. Only two deaths occurred on the voyage, from pneumonia. A BREACH OF REGULATIONS. On arrival, Dr Mackenzie decided to take the convalescents in the ship’s boats and land them on the quarantine island, so that the ship could be fumigated and the meu allowed on shore for a stretch. Eight or nine hundred of them had been cooped up for some weeks, and were liable to be bowled over at any moment by an epidemic unless they got away from the ship. Having seen all the nen fairly well, Dr Mackenzie reported himself to the Officer Commanding District at Auckland, and got a pass to Wellington. Two days later he was called away on account of the death of his mother in Marlborough. He afterwards decided to go to England, as he had originally intended. Passing through Wellington, he reported to the Officer Commanding District (Colonel Newall), and stated his intention of going to England, at the same time explaining why he had come back to New Zealand instead of going direct from South Africa. Colouel Newall reminded him that he ougnt to make formal application for leave, but supposed it would be all right. lie promised, moreover, that on Dr Mackenzie’s return he would be recommended for a commission as surgeon-major in the militia., which the other military surgeons Lad received. DISMISSED FROM THE FORGE. When Dr Mackenzie returned from England he found himself confronted with a difficulty with regard to the Bearer Corps, which he had organised three or four years before, and had commanded until he went to South Africa, when he was succeeded by Surgeon-Cap-tain McLean. Some correspondence had taken place between certain officers and the department, regarding a statement that he had left the country without leave. There was no documentary evidence of his having applied for leave: Colonel Newall had now left the department, and his successor knew nothing of the matter. The next thing that happened was that Dr Mackenzie was gazetted out of the force for absenting himself from the country without leave. Dr Mackenzie interviewed the Commandant of the Forces (General Babington), who relied upon the breach of the regulation, which he said was absolute. The letter from Colonel Newall, stating the circumstances of the case, was of no avail. The Commandant would not dis cuss the matter. Meanwhile, Dr Mackenzie was being held liable for an account due by the Bearer Corps to the Wellington Woollen Company lor informs. This was eventually .iquvi-ited by the department. The next step was a petition to Parliament for reinstatement in the force from the date upon which he was gazetted out. In this document he ventured the opinion that he had been refused reinstatement on account of a leport by Major Andrew that be bad neglected the troops on board the transport, in spite of the fact that the boat bad arrived in excellent order, and that he received a mark of esteem from the sick men yto were in his charge. The Public petitions Committee last year recommended that the petition be granted. Dr Mackenzie has not yet given up hope of being reinstated. At the time when he left for England he was still in the pay of the Imperial Government, and he intends to have a further petition sent to the King, if necessary.