THE NEW SOUTH WALES LANCERS WHO RETURNED.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue XXIII, 2 December 1899, Page 1017

THE NEW SOUTH WALES LANCERS WHO RETURNED.

MELBOURNE, November 24. Thirty-one of the New South Wales Lancers returned by the Nineveh. Six are invalided, and were not passed by the army doctor at the Cape. -It had originally been supposed that all had volunteered with one exception, bat when the test was applied by the Wai- Office, three days before the Nineveh left, it was fiund that 30 declined to sign the paper to volunteer. Great indignation was expressed by the War Office authorities. The men who are returning state that they were never seriously asked to volunteer. Had they been, they should not have refused to go. In June Captain Cox asked whether, in the event of war, they would join with him in offering their services. The. captain asserts only one refused. On the strength of this fact he conveyed the offer to the War Department, and secured the influence of Lord Carrington to induce the authorities to accept them. He never dreamt that it would be necessary to consult the men again when the offer was accepted. He, however, got some inkling- that the men were going back on him.

The men declare that Captain Cox never consulted the whole of them, and some say that under no circumstances would they have consented to go with Captain Cox, -

Following are copies of cablegrams sent by the Premier to Captain Cox. commanding the Lancers, addressed s.s. Nineveh, Capetown: —

“Inform Privates Italy. Madden. Ranken. Maynes, Smith, ami Morris, parents desire their return; and Gould, brother desires his return to Sydney direct by Nineveh. Oetolter 20.” “Inform Privates Larimer. Beaver. Bradbury, and Dooley parents desire their return to Sydney direct by Nineveh. October 25.”

“Inform Rogers father desires his return to Sydney direct by Nineveh. October 31.”