New Zealand Soldiers

Horowhenua Chronicle, 18 January 1917, Page 4

New Zealand Soldiers

" A TIM BUTE. Writing to a trieml in Dunediu Sir Thorite Mackenzie s;iys :— You probably read so much ill the newspapers about the war that I will not repeat any news beyoiul >:>yhi that just now wo are xatlior uneasy about .Rumania. But cur work 011 thi western front is giving us great sat.v fnotion, and from all accounts the nie'.i who ai'e taken prisoner .show thai a'certain amount of demoralisation iias set in with the Germans. All the name, it is a mistake to -considei n.iai the Germans are other than still powerful antagonists. I am su.ro you will be interested if I give you the contents of a letter in connection with our troops which 1 receive:! from o v 'C of the best British authorities. ' Ho isaid: . . "I Imve .just conic back from a visit to front, where I havo been staying with seveial of my old friends commanding the armies, and i tool it. only right and proper to tell von what 1 learnt out there about the New Zealandei's. Having been an old warrior myself I am en intimate terms with praetic'illy all the soldiers out-there, and I was particularly interested in the question of the value of our troops from overseas. And tin's was the universal opinion. The New Zealanders are far away the b; st—bettor disciplined, better fighteis, and the keenest soldiers they have in the British army. Australians came next and the Canadians third. I was given an instance where the New Zealand troops, after having taken a good d.al of pounding in the trenches, wore being left in comparative peace, while the forces on left were making an attack, whereupon they begged to be allowed to join m. '1 his, too, laftcr some vciy se.veiv lighting in winch they had only lately been engaged. I thought you would like to knew this, for 1 am quite sure it must be gratifying to you to hear hr,w well your compatriots are doing out there.'[