TO SAFEGUARD THE TRANSPORTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 185, 25 April 1918, Page 6

TO SAFEGUARD THE TRANSPORTS

s RETURNING DATES NOT AVAILABLE IN FUTURE NO MORE NEXT-OF-KIN PASSES REASONS FOR CHANGE 1 The official statements which follow were issued with the authority of the Minister of Defence yesterday regarding tha arrangements for tho recoption of returning soldiers. Ono of {he chief points is that there arc to he no more freo railway passes for next-of-kin. "For some considerable time the Defence Department lias had tho greatest difficulty, in keeping next-of-kin notified of the times of arrival of ships carrying invalided returned soldiers, and tho insufficient information received frequently causes unavoidable inconvenience to the public. Owing to tho danger of possible • enemy raiders in these seas, the British Admiralty has now issued definite instructions that on no account must anv ship nso its wireless for the purpose of intimating its probablo date of arrival even when within twenty-four hours of tho port of disembarkation. This will, mean that no notification of the time of arrival of a troopship will bo received except tho estimated dale which will bo cabled from tho last port of call. Such notification would make it impossible to give any reliable information to the public, and consequently (lie Government has reluctantly had to issue instructions that tho present concessions of issuing free railway .passes to next-of-kin will ha discontinued from this dale. "The Defence Department will, upon receipt of cabled advice of a soldier's return, notify the next-of-kin. but no definite date can be stated. Upon the arrival of the ship at the first port of call a telegram will be immediately dispatched to the next-of-kin, notifying the approximate timo that a soldier should arrive at his home, or if in-patient treatment is necessary, at some specified lios-' Pjtnl. The time of disembarkation will also be, handed to (lie Press .Association for general information."