THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO With Which is Incorporated "The Kaipara Advertiser & Waitemata Chronicle." Helensville, Thurs'y, March 11, 1915 HELENSVILLE FISH-GIFT

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 11 March 1915, Page 2

THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO With Which is Incorporated "The Kaipara Advertiser & Waitemata Chronicle." Helensville, Thurs'y, March 11, 1915 HELENSVILLE FISH-GIFT

EASLY EXPLAINED—OFFICIALLY

HOW, WHEN, WHERE SOLD

IN reply to the alleged selling of Mr Jas. Stewart's one hundred cases of tinned mullet, which he donated to our Expeditionary Forces last year, according to a telegram appearing in the. Auckland " Herald" of Monday last— "The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Jas. Allen, has received a cablegram from General Godley advising that the statement that 100 cases of gift mullet was sold in the canteens on board the troopships is incorrect. The officers commanding the troops on the transports named certify that they duly issued these gift's during the voyage except six cases from the Orari, which were said to have been handed to the supply depot. Five of these only were traced. Being too small in quantity for distribution, they were placed in the canteen and the proceeds of the sale were devoted to the regimental funds." The alleged scandal of soiling gifts to the New Zealand forces at the canteens of Egypt is apparently easily explained away, but far from satisfactorily. No one ever lodged a complaint " that one hundred cases of gift mullet were sold on board the troopships." A young fellow now in camp at Cairo (or somewhere near the Pyramids) wrote to his parents in Canterbury, " that Mr Stewart's gift mullet was being sold in the military canteens at 5d a tin " —a ridiculous price too, being 9d a tin spot cash in N.Z.— The parents sent the letter on to Mr Stewart at Helensville, and the latter forwarded same on to the Premier for an explanation. All the correspondence in connection therewith has boon published in the ECHO. Military complaints and scandals, as we have before stated, are easily " explained away," but very seldom satisfactorily, and it is not to be supposed for a moment that General Godley knows anything at all about the matter, l^ut supposing there were only ■ffIYE G^g^S out Qf the qne-hun-dred oases Hold at the canteen —they had no right to be so. disposed of. We maintain that they should have been given until the ia£& tin ran out. As for "placing the proceeds of the sale to the credit of the. regimental funds," well, we have our own opinion as to the regiment in question evitii' deriving any profit from these sales., Without imputing any dishonest rnqtlveb to the officers conductm-; the canteens, thsre ai-e in any who know of and have oxoj^-jnued "canteen tiddliwinking" i.v the pasJt- /and we have our dg.ibts as to tae present conduct of fie ?iale of gifts, of not only fish, but chocolates. cigarettes, house" wives, etc.', whwh appear in the colums of the daily 'pa^eiT from time to time.