OLD AGE PENSIONS.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2280, 11 November 1897, Page 9

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

(Fbom Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, November *. The title and preamble of Mr Seddon's Old Acre Pensions Bill are the same as the bill of 1896. The amount of the pension is to be £18 per year, diminished by £1 10 a for every complete £3 of income, so that no pension shall be payable for any year in which the income, ir £36 or upwards.. There are a great many clauses about procedure respecting claims, how to deal with them, and certificates to be granted for cl&ime, also statements of income and for" feiture. Penalties are provided for making false statements and for drunkenness. Provision is made for payments of pensions through post offices. The first clause relating to finance is clause 56, as follows :: — •• The Colonial Treasurer may from time to time without further appropriation than this act pay into the post office account by way of imprest whatever moneys he deemi neceesary in ordsr to enable the instalments of pensions to be paid out of that account." Clause 60 provides that all expenses incurred in administering the act (other than the payment of, pensions) ahall be payable out of the moneys to be from time to time appropriated by Parliament. ; Aboriginal Natives and aliens, not naturalised, are exempted. It will thus be seen that whereas the bill of^96 gave a free hand to Par- ■ liameat to raise the necessary revenue from 10 different lourcer, the present bill evades this important feature entirely.