COMPLAINTS FROM EGYPT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 223, 27 February 1915, Page 7

COMPLAINTS FROM EGYPT.

PROVISIONING- OF TROOPS. Thursday's Eltham Argus contains the following:—Sir,—Could we, who arc far away from home, beg to mako use of a small portion of your valuable paper re provisioning of New Zealand troops alongside the city of Cairo, Egypt. For instance, Christmas dinner consisted of dry bread, about half a pound of che?se, with a can of tea amongst nine men. At night there was a slight improvement, viz., boiled meat and potatoes and plum pudding. Since December 20 we have not received an issue of butter, and until three days ago it was a hard matter to get jam. Now we receive a 71b tin of jam per troop of 44 men, which has to last the whole day. We send this letter, not as a grumble but j«st as a statement of how we are faring, and we think the management could be better. We could add mora to this, but we do not wish to take up too much of your valuable time and space.—Z?itoun Camp, January 15, 1915. Tlie above letter, says, the Argus, is signed by five troopers all well known in the district.

Bearing upon the same' question the paper publishes the following letter from an Eltham boy to his parents: "I saw a comment about the lack of gifts to the troopers leaving New Zealand after our lot.' Chocolates, tobacco, cards, biscuits, fruit, etc., wbieb were 'given' to our boys are 'sold' to them over the canteen counter. Seed cakes with 'To our boys from ''written across the top were served in the officers' mess with fruits, etc. There were cases of fruit thrown overboard rotten, rather than pass it on to us. We got cake, twice, T think, during the voyage. We. each had a little musty tobacco serv.'cT out, not enough to fill a 2oz. Havclock tin. Cards and various games were given out two or three days before, wc disembarked. I think w« each received one pair of sox; the balance were sold in the canteen, and I might mention most things are being sold in the regimental canteen now. We received four little apples each at one meal. Butter seems to be a -tiling of the past. The last we saw of it in cam]) (bar officers' | and sergeants' mess) was some time before December 20. There is New Zealand-made butter floating around I about Cairo at Is Sd per ]b; also K. jam is sold hen in Cairo since the New Zcalanders, or at least their stoves, arrived. There are enquiries being made as to bow th"y got there. . . . T think it only right, that New Zealand should know how her sons are faring, and also what some of the leaders must be who are going to lead us into the field. Our own'officers are trying to ferret matters out. but with what success T don't i,no\v."