FOOD ON A TROOPSHIP

Otago Witness, Issue 3250, 28 June 1916, Page 4

FOOD ON A TROOPSHIP

- SERIOUS CHARGES MADE. (From Oob Own Correspondent.) WELLING!ON, Juno 20. A .'cater which rclic-cis very considerably on tin/ food and accommodation supplied to the men on one ot the troopships was embodied by Mr Poole to-day in a question addressed to tne Minister ol Defence, uiking tliat an inquiry bo made. The letter was irom a New Zealand syldier now on aotiv. service, and stated first Oi all that the.iood supplied had been "scandalous" 1 and ?ii it he iiad been unable to discover who did the providing. Complaint was particularly made of tne- quality oi the meat, and it was ako stated that some Rotorua trout winch the men had been expecting to have for breakfast one morning had to be sent away anei replaced by bully beef. The stew, it was also stated, hud got so bad that the company were talking of doing no drill until better food was supplied. On the seriousness of such an act.on being pointed out 10 the men they decided to petition the officer commanding the chip. one of the men drew up a petition, and within an hour it was signed by 105 men out of a possible 169. Twelve non-comrnissioned officers also signed the petition. The letter went on to slate that when the men wcra on parade the next morning they wcrj lecLur-jd by an officer lor their conduct, which he described as equivalent to mutmy. The 12 noncommissioned officers were paraded and marched to headquarters, where they were received by the officer commanding /ho ship and live other officers. One of the officers read the petition,, and then started a cowardly and scurrilous attack on the men. He Jed oil by stating that they were guilty of mutiny, and read extracts from the Military Law Book to show that it was an offence punishable by death. Ho went on to say that when a mar; Was on active- service life was as much thought ol as a bit of equioment, that they were coward? and no; tit vo wear stripes or their uniforms, that they were a disgrace to the reinforcements and not fit to be in any reinforcements, that their place was in New Zealand with the " skulk< rs," and that they phould bo sent brick there; further, that if the rent of the men on board wore like them it would be a good thing for the Empire and army if a German sub marin.'.' torpedoed the ship. One non-com-missioned officer ii.'ked.him to withdraw his remark about torpedoing the ship, but he refused, although it seemed to make him realise what he had said. The writer (who was not personally concerned) said the officer'.? words had aroused .great indignation amongst the men. A copy oi the petition referred to was enclosed. It ran a? follows: "To the Officer Com. Handing Troopship No. 49.—Dear Sir, Wo, the undersigned members oi A Company, 11th Reinforcements, declare that we find the food given us very unsatisfactory, and despite continual complaints made to the officer of the dny if. continues bad in quality, method of cooking, and insufficiency. When we enlisted we hardly bargained for this treatment, thinking that surely men going to do their utmost in their country's defence would be treated an men and fed properly. The hall in which wo take our meals has a njost unhealthy and foul smeli, which we think could be remedied. Hoping we shall find an improvement. —Wo are, s;r, reen-s ci fully yours. < re. The Prime Minister said he was sorry that the- Minister el Defence was away from Wellington, as the statement which had been made was a v.ry serious one. lie thought the House should be furnished with the names of the men who signed the petition. The matter was one that called for a full inquiry. He would advise the Minister of Defence accordingly. The Den. Mr Myers said that reports regarding the food supplied <:o the men were furnished in relation to all the transport?, and all recent reports epoke very highly of the food eupplh '_ which was the best obtainable La the dominie::. ALLEGATIONS REFUTED. (Feom Our Own CoiutFSpoNnENT.) WEI ! INGTON, June 23. Serious port 49 and the behaviour of a certain officer to ihe men who protested were made in the House a few days ago by Mr Poo'o. The Minister of Defence was absent at the time, but he returned to Wellington to day. "i am iiorrv," said Mr Allen, "that I

have not tho official report, but this will be obtained and given to the House ;is soon as possible. I have a letter from somebody who read the remarks of the honourable member." Mr Allen read'as follows: —"My son left in transport No. 49. In describing" the voyage lie said he had a most pleasant time on board. Kc had been in the Featherston and Trentham camps, and he said the food on the ship was all that could be dosired, and that, if possible, it was equally as good as, if not b. tier, than that at tho camps." Ho read also this quotation:— " Although tho alleged remarks of tho commanding officer were pretty strong, there is a good deal of truth in them. This is nob ■a time for quibbling over paltry matters, and wnerc there are- over IkOO men onboard a troopship you can't expect drawing room conditions." Mr Poole, raised a point of order to provent tho rending of further comments of this sort, saying that they were not official. j-iio Speaker said that the' extracts read were not in contravention of tho .Standing Orders. Mr Allen said he did not wish to read any more of that letter, but the quartermaster's report bore out what was in the letter. ITo had another letter written by someone who had seen tho report of Mr Poole's statements. This letter contained the following extract from a letter by the writer's son on the ship: —"We- are having a grand time—nothing much to do and all day to do it in. The food we get is excellent, and we couldn't wish for better." Mr Poland: Is ho an officer or a private? Mr Allen: lie is a private. The remarks with regard to the food on this troopship have been circulated throughout New Zealand, causing a great deal of unrest, and I am sorry the hon. member did not come 10 see mo before he brought them up in the Mouse. Mr Poo!;': You were not here. Mr Allen: They could have waited for a few days, but they hnvo gone throughout the country and stirred up a good deal of feeling. They have had a -tart, and I can't catch them with a refutation of them. They are very unjust to tho Defence Department, to the commanding officer on tho ship, and to the other mnn on the ship who have not made these complaints, but who have written to say they are quitf> satisfied. Mr Allen added that he could not obj A et, io members bringing legitimate grievances under his notie \ and he would always do his best Io set them right.