THE WAR RUMORS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4010, 17 August 1915, Page 4

THE WAR RUMORS.

plain and flat denial. STATEMENT BA” THE PREAIIER (Pr-’-as Association Telegram-) WELLINGTON. Aug. 16The attention of the Prime Munster : (The Right Hon. AY. F. Alasseyi was j directed to-day to the rumors in eiri culatiou during the last few cays conI cerning the New Zealanders at the • front. Many homes yesterdav were upset by these rumors, which were to the effect that almost- the entire sth Reinforcements had been wiped, out. This statement is absolutely without foundation. and the Prime Minister to-day said that no such news hud come t-o Now Zealand, noi any such information as that referred to ‘ip. the minors. "The people _ who are circulating these rumors. ne said, "are guilty of a serious breach of the law and liable to punishment. besides wludi xiioy are causing *v ery serious anxiety to relatives __ atni friends of the men at the front.

PREMIER REASSURES PUBLIC. Bv IV. crank —Special Correspondent. WELLINGTON, Aug. 16. An idea is still very prevalent m Wellington that there is still _in , the pcs.-v-s.on of the D it nee authorities a long and serious casualty hst heki back irons publication. !he notion was founded on a rumor circulated on Sunday by sonic mischievous persons. 'The rumor was to the i {feet that the Fifth Reinforcement had bh. n virtually wiped out. So far as anyone in New Zealand can possibly know, the rumor !i-e- no foundation. hi tact, the probabilities are all against anything oi the sort occurring. These contingents that leave New Zealand from time to time are not separate units, but reinforcements to fill gaps in units already at the Front. It- is not certain when they leave here whether their officers will keep their commands or their rank. Non-commis-sioned officers may have to give up their stripes, and units are not preserved ' intact,• but distributed to fill gaps wherever those gaps may be. It is, therefore, very unlikely that disaster could befall any whole contingent.

On the other hand, the nature- of the operations might bo such as to make it convenient to use a body of reinforcements as a separate fighting force. Such an arrangement would ho only temporary and very unlikely to occur.

Mr. Massey expressed very strong disapproval of the folly and wickedof setting these baseless rumors in circulation. He regarded it as a very serious matter. lie luul been called up on the telephone on Sunday at least a dozen times by people anxious to know whether it was true that the Fifth Reinforcement had been annihilated. News of casualties was bad enough when it- came, without exaggerating it beforehand. If the authors of the rumors c-ould be discovered they would be liable to punishment, but it was very difficult to trace these rumors to their source. It was almost impossible to discover the offender unless he sent his false news by letter or telegram or something of that sort. Some persons liad been punished in Auckland for circulating false, war news.