THE FORTIETH REINFORCEMENTS.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14893, 16 October 1918, Page 2

THE FORTIETH REINFORCEMENTS.

STATEMENT BY HON. D. II

GUTHRIE

During the course of an address at fnglewood, before tho Tarauaki bvelection, the Hon. D. H. Guthrie said 1 it liad been said in Inglewood during the campaign that the Government had ■<'?en guilty of want.of attention in regard to tho transport carrying the JVortieth Reinforcements, but ho pointed out that there was absolutely no blanio attachable to the National Government for that. It was a, regrettable fact indeed that such a thing shoi^ld have occurred, and no one felt'it more fully than did the members of the National Government. It had brought' sorrow to many homes, but it was one of those things which were absolutely inevitable. The. last report they had from the vessel was that she left Capetown all well—that the soldiers were in good heart. There was nothing wrong up to that time,, but they called at another port, and then the trouble began. It had been suggested that the' probability was that on reaching the clanger zone ports Tiad to be closed and that this interfered with the ventilation of the . ship, and that it was over-S crowded, but he pointed that that same transport Lad on cither occasions carried as many as three or four hundred moro passengers \than she did on this voyage, and that nothing had happened. They all knew:that there was an epidemic known a.s Spanish influenza— a deadly malady indeed—which- had been causing a great deal of trouble, and this might o'e tlie malady which had affected the troops. . Whatever it was all regretted that it: had taken place and especially on a transport among soldiers being carried to do their duty to their King and Empire. New Zealand was in no way responsible for the loss of life on that transport. When it called at its last-port of call, it was only a, few days from the port of disembarkation. The troops did not go ashore, and tlie transport was entirely under the Admiralty control. Further, the epidemic was not confined to our transport./ Every vessel was. affected. Every provision was mad© for the care of the men; there were ample medical men and nurses on board and the boat was not overcrowded.