THE REMUERA'S PASSENGERS.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2637, 7 December 1915, Page 7

THE REMUERA'S PASSENGERS.

SOME ELIGIBLE FOR MILITARY SERVICE. By Teleeraph.—Press Association. Auckland, December 6. , There was some excitement oil the waterfront at 9 o'clock this morning, when,a number of wounded men back from- Gallipoli assembled to express disapproval of men who might fa© eligible for military service in England emigrating. to New Zealand by the steamer Remuera.- ■ The vessel berthed an liour earlier than they had expected, and by the timo the demonstrators gathered in any force the bulk of the passengers had gone ashore. While the people on shore and the passengers were intermingled, some of .tlio immigrants were subjected to uncomplimentary remarks. Among the first-class passengers, it was asserted,, twenty to thirty men were of military, age. None of 1 these were assisted immigrants. All the men spoken to by the pressman denied having left England for any other reason than economic conditions prevailing there.

DEFENCE OP THE IMMIGRANTS. Auokland, December 6. In connection with the unpleasant incident on the arrival of the Remuer'a, when the passengers were insulted by a small group of returned soldiers, Ser-geant-Major Gibbs,' who has come from England to servo in New Zealand under Surgeon-General Henderson, said he luiew for-a fact that many of the men oii- board had done their "little bit" at the front, and were able to produce discharge tickets, otters had been rejected as uufit for active; servico, and some again were, returning New Zealanders. Ho had had opportunities during the voyage of ascertaining, aryl he believed that a large proportion of the men were entirely innocent of the charge tliat liad been levelled so indiscriminately- against them. "I think it is nothing short of disgraceful for people coming to New Zenland to be compelled to suffer the remarks made by these men/' said Mr. H. D. Thomson, Chief Immigration Officer for the Dominion, who had come up to attend the assisted iimnigixnts on hoard. As a matter of fact, I was not freo from their attentions, some jeering remarks being addressed to me personally;"