IN THE CANTERBURY CAMP

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2141, 6 May 1914, Page 8

IN THE CANTERBURY CAMP

MEN'S BEHAVIOUR, IMPRESSIONS OF HON. R. H RHODES. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes, who has been in camp at Kowai, made a few observations to a reporter yesterday on ,tho conduct of tlie troops and other matters pertaining to tho daily life of tho men and officers. •

The conduct of the men on the whole was excellent," said Mr. Rhodes. "Of course the rain undoubtedly made things very uncomfortablo for them, and as might, have-.been expected; there-were some cases of. grumbling, and a few cases', of; .malingering. If a man had even so little as a cold and asked to be sent homo lie was sent home at once, but I am glad' to be able to sav that the majority of the men made the best of things, and thatMnariy of them who had quite bad colds refused to take tho opportunity . afforded them of leaving tho camp. There is no doubt that somo of the men, who were in tents that were flooded out, suffered real hardship. 1 rovision was, of course, made for these men in other tents. In spite of all the troubles and hardships, Tiowever, the camp gave tho men an experience which must bo valuable. U wet camp is always uncomfortable, and, had the rain continued, it would have • bden advisable to break up camp. On the whole, however, the conduct of tho men was admirable. •

"Tho country in which the camp was pitched was ideal for manoeuvring, and wo spent a day or two carrying out manoeuvres which were of practical value. Tho inspection by General Sir lan Hamilton was also a valuable experience, becauso the General sot littlo schemes for which neither the officers nor tho men could possibly have been prepared. They had. of course, been more or less prepared to carry out the manoeuvres as originally planned, becauso they had already been over much of the country.

"A section of the Post and Telegraph Corps were in camp under Captain Matthews! and I heard many expressions of appreciation of their courtesy and promptness in attending to tho wishes of everybody desiring to mako use of their services. They undertook the dispa.tcli and distribution of letters, and they attended also to telenhono and telegraph communications. They dispatched 1000 letters a clay, aiid. on Sunday, about 2500. . Ample facilities for letter-writing were afforded in tho marquees ' nrovided l>v tho C.E.M.S.. tho Y.M.C.A., and tho Salvation Army." -