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British Transport Scandal.

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British Transport Scandal. WELSH FUSILIERS AMONG THE TROOPS. BISCUITS 30 YEARS OLD AND BEEF DATED 1873. MEN'S PROTESTS UNHEEDED. Mr J Keir Hardie, M.P., has written to the Times enclosing a letter from three members of the force detached from South Africa in July last for service in China. The enclosure, which the Times published yester- day in connection with Mr Keir Hardie's covering letter, sbts forth the troops com- prised the artillery seige train, a company of Vickers-Maxims, and 106 men of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and left Cape Town on July 23rd on board the transport Antilleau, Liverpool, arrived at Hong Kong on August 22nd, and thence proceeded to Wei-Hai-Wei reaching the latter place on August 30th. The men state: The food given us bad and insufficient. We had bread and biscuits every alternate day-these were used in the morning and were used for breakfast and tea (or supper) —dry bread, and tea without milk as usual. The bread, was black, sour, and heavy, the biscuits naturally hard and very oily. The biscuits bore date 1870, consequently they were 30 years old, and some of them bore even an earlier date. Well, for dinner we had a few changes of meat. Our fare on other days was either salt pork, tinned meat, oi salt beef. The latter was simply abomin- able. It is kept in rough-looking tubs and was dated 1873. This then was 27 years old. Perhaps three or four times a week we would have a tablespoonfnl of rice to dinner, or the same quantity of preserved potatoes, and a very few times during the voyage we hed only ordinary potatoes. Twice per week we had a sort of plum- pudding. This, though heavy, was eatable. There were some days each week on which we had nothing for dinner except the meat itself. The biscuits were always thrown overboard. The same fate befell the salt jnnk, which we could not possibly eat. A MISERABLE FATE. As an instance of our treatment I will quote an incident. As a rule an orderly comes round each day to ask if there are any complaints. On the day in question the salt junk was simply putrid. The officer came round as usual and asked if there were any complaints about food. The messes all made complaints. I took notice of one mess in particular, whese the following dialogue took place:— Officer: Any complaints? 4t N.C.O.: Yes, sir. II Officer: What's the matter ? N.C.O. This meat is i n a state of decomposition. Officer (sniffiing): It's good enough. N.C.O. Why, the smell of it is enough for anyone without ever attempting to eat it. Officer (sulkily) It strikes me you know nothing about it. The steward, purser, doctor and captain of the day were then brought down to examine it. The steward sniffed it and pronounced it good, as did also the purser, Then the doctor, after some hesitation, suggested cutting parts of it of and said it would then be eatable, One gunner, a mess orderly, replied, You say its good. Well, I have been on the march in South Africa on a biscuit a day, and even at the worst if I was starving I would have laid down in a ditch and die rather than attempt to eat it if you had offered it me.' However, it was thrown overboard, and we did not receive anything in lieu thereof. Is it possible, if the meat had been at all eatable, that the men would have thrown it overboard, and referred going without any when the rations allowed them were so meagre ? The fact of an orderly coming round asking if there were any complairts became daily a process of unmeaning customary formality, from which we could obtain ho redress for our grievances. Just fancy receiving snch treatment after being seven months on the veldt in South Africa. We did not grumble at our short rations in the field when we knew the transport was difficult, but on board a ship, and going on another expedition, when we knew it possible, we expected better. "Some may ask what we did on the days when we thre-y the salt junk away. Simply this. On the days on which we were supplied with tinned meat, we used only one-third our allowance, retaining the remaining two-thirds in our possession for the days on which we knew the bad stuff was coming. Afterwards when an officer came round we told him we would make no complaints, but that we would not eat the meat. This was when the bad stuff was given up. ASTOUNDING PROCEEDINGS. At Hong Kong we were not allowed ashore after nearly being six weeks on board with insufficient exercise, and, as if to crown all, our comrades belonging to the companies stationed in Hong Kong prepared a good supper for us, obtained permission from the general commanding the station that we could land to partake of it. Imagine our disappointment when we found that privilege annulled by the officer commanding he siege-train in the Antilleau, ordering that we should not be allowed to leave the ship to enjoy the supper with our friends. But our comrades on shore, not to be outdone, prepared the supper, carried it from barrack down to the water, engaged a sampap (small boat), conveyed it to our ship, and a few of them carried it on board to us. We consumed it on the forecastle, the men declaring it to be the best meal they had had for nine months-viz., since leaving England The accommodation was also limited two-thirds of the ship was reserved for the officers and sergeants, who numbered in all about 50, roughly, and one-third for the rank and file, n.c.o.'s and men numbering about 500, and who have the fore part of the ship allotted them, with nowhere to sit and lie down during the day except on the dirty and rusty iron deck. We are also prevented from purchasing fruit from the small boats that come alongside, the latter are ordered away. Sentries are also placed on duty for the express purpose of prevent- ing us looking over the side of the ship. In fact, the men are being treated a little better than dogs instead of human beings, and this by their officers. And this is a unit of that British Army they are so fond of holding up to the remainder of the world as a model. It will only be just to say that since arrival in Hong Kong harbour and from thence during our voyage to Wei- hai-Wei our food has been better in quantity and quality."

Alpha's Notes.

Death of Mr W. J. Evans, Solicitor,…

WHITLAND.

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A Free Church of England.

Church and the Stage. ,C.

Strong Testimony.

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. Nature's Own Remedy.

Kyesight.

IA Cruel Mistress.

L L A G ENTD E t it N E.

LLANGUNNOR.