Correspondence

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 4, 17 December 1915, Page 3

Correspondence

The following letter from Sergt. T. H. Sissons to his parents from the first port of call, will no doubt be of interest to the many readers of the PRESS, who have relatives and friends on board the transport :

At Sea My dear mother and father, Here we are 10 days out at sea, and such 2. ten days it has proven itself to be to me at least. Of our run down to Lyttleton and our march through Ch. Ch. you probably know as much if not more than I could tell you. Otherwise New Zealand papers have forgotten themselves and not made a mountain out of a molehill. I am lying in my bunk at present so please excuse the awful scrawl.

After leaving Lyttleton we sailed South via Bluff and for two days enjoyed splendid weather. On the third day however we struck it a bit rough and before long the majority of us were hors-de-combat much to our disgust and discomfort. The seas raged with more or less intensity for three days and during all this time I was confined to bed. It was awful. The climax was reached on the Wednesday night and Thursday night. The Porthole in our cabin was burst in by a wave more severe than its predecessors and kit-bags, boats etc were washed about all night long. The thick glass of which the port is composed was sent flying across the cabin and was deposited on my bed. That will give you some idea of the impact. We were all practically washed right out of bed and for nights Wednesday and Thursday I slept in wet blankets. This state of things prevailed more or less right throughout the ship, and to cap all shortly afterwards the galley on the starboard side went and so the men's cookhouse was turned turtle. The decks were awash pretty well all the time, and it was with a sigh of relief that we heard our course had been changed. We put into port for repairs. The port I cannot tell you directly but it is the capital of an island. It was a picture full of beauty and restfulness that met the eye of the —by this — sea-weary travellers. In the near background were to be seen hills not very high but fairly rugged and from them to the sea the slope was gradual. All this was built over by pretty villas, interspersed with many pretty native trees which made the place a veritable paradise. We had a short route march here and learned fcith great glee that general leave*S#».s to be granted during the afternoon. But I must not forget to mention a pleasing and rather curious incident that occurred during the only halt we had on the route march. A girlie of some fifteen summer; came tripping along F Coy’s lines asking for Sgt. Sissons and I immediately made myself known to her. She pointed out a bonny home nestling in a small declivity amid eucalypts and other genera and informed the astonished Tommy that that was where he had to come in the afternoon. Well I wended my way thither as soon as I conveniently could on getting leave and on arriving the curious mistake—which of course had been made —was cleared up. It appears that a Pvte. Cissy was the required man and some of the boys getting the Ciss immediately thought I was the man so after explaining to the kiddie that he was Sgt. Sissons she prosecuted the search under a misnomer. However the individual in question whose personality for the moment I had appropriated was at the aforesaid house and the whole story was a great introduction. When everything was at length straightened out I was preparing to depart but was unceremoniously pulled into the sitting room and in a jiffy found myself seated in the best chair. I was treated like a king and cannot remember enjoying myself more in my life. There were strawberries in the garden and cream in the locker —I might mention in passing. Of course I am not so sordid as to say that is the sole reason for my having had a good time. Well, time passed on golden wings and it was soon time to return to the ship. Embarkation and roll call was the next business and I am proud to say that everyone of our company answered the call before we left early on Sunday morning. It was nice and smooth when we bid goodbye to . Passing along the South coast the cliffs were steep sheer and frowning. Ever and anon some swell from the ocean more heavy that the rest would burst with sudden fury and throw its illuminating foam high in the air. As we journeyed onwards the swell increased and before night we were again suffering from the severity of the Sou’ Wester which had sprung up and was blowing with ever increasing fury. On Monday things were pretty bad again and I was again feeling for meals.

Let me pass over this part of the trip with a word and say it was rotten. To-day, Tuesday 23rd, was the best day we have experienced and I enjoyed the sunsuine and breeze on the boat deck. To add to the pleasure a whale was seen lazily spouting and sporting about a few yards—say 400 —on our starboard side. The men rushed to the bulwarks and stared with eyes as big as saucers, and which could have been knocked off with sticks. Our next port of call we exp»ct to reach about Friday 26th. I think we are about to run into some more rough weather by the sign of things, but I hope not. Still I am quite thankful tor small mercies such as we received to-day. Best love to all and accept same yourselves from Your loving son, T. H. SISSONS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —Will you kindly permit me to correct the inaccuracies in your report of Mr Thorn’s address in the Miner’s Hall on Wednesday last. In the first place the chairman was not Mr Aspinall, as that gentleman left the township many weeks ago for Pukemiro.

As regards the speaker’s arguments, some of which were new, they succeeded in convincing by far the greater bulk of the audience present, and those who were not convinced did not go for the purpose of gaining any new ideas on the subject under discussion. In reference to the 34,000 odd who had declined to take any part in a civil or military capacity, he did not say they included women. What he did say was that only males between the ages of 19 and 45 had to reply to this question, so that those figures did not show the full weight of opinion against serving, as women folk and those outside the ages mentioned were not included. When asked who had commenced the war, the speaker who knew that to answer this adequately, required a review of the foreign policies of the nations involved for the past few years, referred the question to some literature by higher authorities than himself, to which this gentleman broad-mindedly replied, “He wouldn’t look at it.” On being pressed he gave the opinion that Germany was more to blame than Britain, but that there were always two parties as well as two sides to a quarrel. The speaker had attempted to prove, and this proof was not refuted, that at the outside some 12 men, viz., Permanant under Secretaries, Ambassadors etc.,had been originally responsible for the policy that involved our participation in the war, as the question of democracy could hardly be regarded as serious. Again we yet have those amongst us who are old-fashion-ed enough to regard the command “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” as a Divine or in many cases a Supreme Moral Law, which cannot be set aside by any little clique or even a majority of men

The reference to the motion is also misleading so I would be obliged if you would publish same which reads as follows : “ That this meeting realizing the vast importance of wealth in deciding the issue of the world war, urges upon Government the the need for nationalizing all wealth in the Dominion; we further pledge ourselves that until this is done, we will resist to the utmost any attempt to conscript men, as we consider lives and liberty are of more consequence than money, which so long as individually controlled remains the root cause of wars.” This motion was postponed not dropped, because the lateness would not permit of adequate discussion, and the question is too vital to be rushed. The writer is prepared to enter into controversy, or debate the issue with any local resident who is prepared to take up the negative on this question. Thanking you in anticipation. lam etc., JOS. MELLING.