CONTRADICTORY ORDERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16994, 3 May 1917, Page 8

CONTRADICTORY ORDERS

REINFORCEMENTS DRAFT. INCON-

VENIENCED

The southern draft of tho 29th Reinforcements who came from Otago and South Canterbury by the express on Tuesday evening were (says tho Christchurch Press) subjected to considerable inconvenience, due apparently to some misunderstanding on part of an officer or non-commissioned officer connected with tho local defence staff.

. On the arrival of the express the officer hi command of the southern men was astonished when he received instructions to detrain the men, lodge them at* the Peoples Palace, the private hotel run by the Salvation Army in Manchester street, and report at headquarters in the morning. .'Tho e'xpiees was about 40 minutes behind time and there was no time for the officer to' get confirmed the unexpected instructions he, had received and he carried them out, though with, some misgivings. The men were marched up' to the People's Palace and waited outside W'hilo the officer ascertained what arrangements had been made ,f 1F T, r ? cc P tion ' ' 7110 manager of the People s Palace was greatly astounded when no found that ho was called upon to make provision for such a large number. He had been absent during part of the afternoon, leaving a porter in charge, and during his absence a non-commissioned officer came to the People's Palace and gave some rather indefinite .instructions for patting up for the night the Timaru men of the reinforcements. 1 . When tho manager received this information he imagined that, at the most, ho would have to provide for about 30 men, and did not feel perturbed When 180 appeared on the scene he did feei that way. Endeavours were made to got into communication with Colonel Qhaffey O.p the district, but- as that officer is.away on tho West Coast they were not" success-' ful to get into communication with the Union Steam Ship Company's offieo were at first unsuccessful, but the Lyttelton office of the company was ultimately got through tho Lvttelton Harbour Board's office at Lyttelton. With the Union Company's representative at Port the officer commanding tho reinforcement draft arranged for tho Wellington steamer to be held till tho men reached Port, the officer having come to tho conclusion in the meantime that if he could get tho men through to Lyttelton lie would carry out his original orders., By this time there was abo'ut seven minutes left in which to connect with tho 6.50 p.m. train for Lyttelton. Tho men -were got on the move, and covered tho distance between the People's Palace and the station in time to board the train. On arrival at Lyttelton they boarded the Mararoa for Wellington. During the half-hour or so that the men waited outside the People's Palace they took things as philosophically as circumstances permitted. The manager of the .People's Palace was at his tea when the small army threatened to overrun the premises. Until arrangements were made \fo take the men on he had got some of his staff making shakedowns to accommodate as many as possible of the men. A woman, a bystander, sympathising with tho men', offered to relieve the manager of two of them and provide them with boar<j arid lodging for the nrarht. Tho manager. raised no objection, _ and suggested, jocularly of conrsc, that stio might have the lot. It was a party of very hungry men who boarded the Mararoa.