THE DEMOBILISATION QUESTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 23

THE DEMOBILISATION QUESTION.

POSITION OF EARLY RECRUITS. CHRISTCHURCH, January 9. The position of some of the members of the early New Zealand reinforcements who are still in France was placed before Sir James Allen. The illustration was taken of a man who left New Zealand with an early reinforce-' ment as a private, and later was promoted to an officer's rank. Returning to New Zealand on duty, and after spending some time in camp here, he was sent back to the front, say, with the Thirty-fifth Reinforcements. The reinforcement to which he officially belongs will make a great difference in demobilisation, and might mean even a 12 months' longer stay in Europe. The Minister said that man's position would depend on the leave he had had, and the view taken by the' Officer Commanding the New Zealand Forces abroad. His own opinion .-was, as a matter of fairness and commonsense, that the man should, for the purposes of demobilisation, belong to his first reinforcement. ; HOMECOMING OF NEW ZEALAND ERS. . (Fbou Ohb Own CoEßSspovnNr) WELLINGTON, January 13. It appears from a statement made by Sir

James Allen that there ia a good chanoa of the New Zeaiana forces being brought beck from Great Britain much sooner than \va3 at first anticipated. The fear was that a certain number of fit men would be retained in England and in France until the signing of the Peace Treaty, lest there might be need for armed action again against the Germans. The request of the Now Zealand Government is that, as the- New Zealanders have far to their homes, no opportunity of shipping them should be lost. It is believed that this request will be granted, and, if ao, they will all come back to this country as soon as transport can be found for them. As to the order in which the men are to come -bock, no change has been mad© in the arrangements at first announced. The sick and wounded will come first, with the exception that those who are too ill to travel except in hospital ships will have to wait until hospital ships can bring them.