PRISONERS OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2954, 18 December 1916, Page 6

PRISONERS OF WAR

THE MISCARRIAGE OF MONEIT AND OTHER GIFfS. _ Some weeks ago there was published in Wellington a letter from a. NewZealand prisoner of war in Turkey, in. which. the writer that he was not receiving any remittances of money as were the British prisoners. When that letter came under his notice, the Defence Minister (the Hon.J. Allen) at once telegraphed to the High- Commissioner the effect of thecomplaint, and instructed him to make' inquiries and deal wfffc the matter.'. This, by the way, was not the first occasion on wbitfli Mr. Allen and Sir, Thomas Mackenzie had exchanged communications on the matter of comforts for New Zealand prisoners of war in Turkey. Always there has teen very; scant information about these unfortunate men, But in view of the steps taken to care for them by; the New: Zealand authorities, and in the absence of' news to the contrary, it -was presumed that they were actually receiving their share of comforts aiudi pocket money. Mr. Allen _has just received a tele-' gram from Sir Thomas Mackenzie, and* it appears thai this is not so. Sit, Thomas Mackenzie gives a. very full account of the inquiries he has made, and the requests he has passed on to. the> British Government on behalf of thai New Zealand Government; This business must pass through several agencies before the real work can be done* New Zealand has to communicate its' "wishes to the Foreign Office, the Foreign Office may, aifd presumably does, pass on the reqnest to the American Ambassador in England, and he forwards advice to the American Ambassador in Constantinople, through whom 1 supplies to prisoners of war must ba sent. The High Commissioner has not been able to discover yet whether the American Legation in Turkey has handed over to New Kealanders any of the comforts or money which they .should have had. No notice was previously, taken of the fact that no acknowledge ments were received for such gifts; because it was recognised thai it was impossible to get acknowledgments in. every case from Turkey. As late as December 7, however, the High Commissioner received three postcards from New Zealand prisoners of'war_ in Turkey in reply to letters of inquiry from! him as to how they fared. All therein stated that they had never received any money, that they needed clothes, and that gifts of food and tobacco woulcTEe welcome. The only one of the three who referred to'his health at all said that he was well, and that tha camp where he .was interned was a pleasantly-situated place, resembling Mt.' Eden, in Auckland. Comforts, such as clothing, food, and .tobacco, had been sent_ by the High Commissioner long before these postcards were received, and he had. as stated, done his best to secure to the men their duo allowance of money. The weekly amount-, bv the way, is 20 piastres.