NEW ZEALAND'S CASUALTIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 173, 16 April 1919, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND'S CASUALTIES

STATEMENT BY SIR JAMES ALLEN. By Telegraph— Press Association. Auckland, April 15. Discussing the Dominion's casualty list, which a Press Association message staled yesterday totalled 57,0'29 in killed and wounded on March 31, the Minister of Defence said this morning that, as published, the list was misleading. There had been this number of casualties, it was true, but many of them had recovered and had been discharged, though, on the other hand, a certain percentage of wounded would be larnmnently disabled. Altogether 1449 olhV.rs had been gazetted out' of the service, while 31,986 non-comniissioned officers and men had been discharged from the main Expeditionary Force, in addition to which 1357 officers and men had been gazetted out and discharged from the Samoan Force of Occupation, making a total of 34,792 officers and men, a largo proportion of whom had returned to New Zealand as casualties. At the present time, added the Minister, there were in the Dominion Gl6 hospital in-patients, Gl7 in convalescent homes, 2704 out-patients, and 240 on sick leave, making a further 397? men. Sir James Allen added that he hoped the last of our sick and wounded soldiers would leave England this month.