CAPTAIN HOULKER'S DEATH

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2586, 7 October 1915, Page 3

CAPTAIN HOULKER'S DEATH

- • — DELAY OF INFORMATION EXPLAINED. | ■ In the Legislative Council yesterday tho Son. Sir' Francis Bell gave :an answer to the Hon. A. T. Maginnity's, question regarding the error and delay ,■ in, notifying the relatives of,' the late ' Captain James Houlker, of the death of /that officer. / ' , Sir Francis Bell said that when a difficulty and lapse of the kind occurred it was as 'much regretted by! the' Defence .Department and the "Government as by. the relatives, but he was bound ! to: point out in the present case that the information sent was correct, in the | first instance. The news, according to the information. of the hon. member,. , was that Captain; Houlker died on, a i hospital ship on August 10, and .on I August 11 intimation'was given to that ['■ effect. It appeared that subsequently . it was found that the officer had left I in a hospital ship that was Miot under r the control of the New Zealand. Govern- : ment, and it was possible, therefore, that'there might have been some error, so the information that .ho . had left r wounded in that ship was then sent . to the relatives. Of that there could ; be no'complaint. It was quite impossible'toavoid occasional lapses of the ; kind, especially when the wounded were [. stationed in ships not. under the Now l Zealand Government's control. The i answer to tho question in general was . that everything possible was being done for the wounded, and that there was ■ every desire to keep accurate information in order -that .it'might be;trans--i mitted to the relatives. • The first duty ' was-"to the wounded, and' it might -oo' ! cur in many cases that ~ where , the ■ deaths happened , on, a hospital ship, ■' that a long time Would elapse before •„ they, were recorded accurately.- . There ■ had. been many cases ,of_ wounded and • sick taken in hospital ships whose con-' ■ dition was not fully known' up to the , time of their leaving, and then there i: could be no possible information .until ■ the arrival, of the : ship. ; Therej were. 1 fijrther cases where immediately on the > discharge of patients the ships had to • return again to'the scene of action. He ■ had every sympathy' with tno relatives ' of ' Captain Houlker, but ho .thought ■ tliey, would admit, when the difficulties !• wer.e .taken into- consideration, that 1 this , was one of the. cases which would ■ unavoidably-occur... He added that noj; !• only the departure of Colonel Rhodes I to the 1 front, but the sending of many ; i telegram's showed the desire : rnd theeffort of the Department of Defence to get the earliest possible, information of ■ casualties; '" •I. 1 I