PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3133, 11 July 1917, Page 6

PARLIAMENT

THE SECOND DIVISION u PAY AND PENSIONS { THE COUNTRY'S/DUTY STATEMENT BY DEFENCE MINISTER. The House of Representatives met at' fi.3o p.m. . .-.- Dr. H. T. J. THICKER (Christchurch :East) gave notice of the Lyttelton Harbour Board Amendment Bill. SOLDIERS' TEETH. The.Minister of Defence laid on the •table the report of Jhe Dirjjtor of Medi'cal Services regarding, the treatment of Boldiers' teeth. Sir James Allea stated that the dental service had assumed large proportions. Curing the year end- ;. Ed May 31 last the dental/officers'at tho .military,-camps had performed 75GS root fillings, 5985 root dressings, 5G64 scaling operations. 33,411 oj tractions, 41 crown- ; ings, aiid 48,503 other operations, and /had also made 9039 dentures and repaired 1185 dentures. Mr. J. PAYNE (Grey Lynn) said thousands of volunteers had been rejected on account of bad teeth before the Depavt- •„■ 'nient yields to pressure and make arrangements for the treatment of recruits' teeth.without cost to tho men themMr.W. A. VBITCH (Wauganui) asked for information regarding the method-of ■selecting officers-for the dental service. ' It appeared, he said, that only members . of the Dentists' Association received -ip- • pointment. A returned soldier who was ; - thoroughly eligible had been .denied np- •" pointment and had been compelled Retake up private practice, while men who liad never'been to the front had become .salaried officers in the Dental Corps. Dr. THACKER (Christcnurch EastV fiaid that commissions which he\ hoped were temporary ones had been allotted freely to certain dentists. ■"-" The Minister of Defence, in reply, said | he did not know whether dentists who ivere not, members of the Dental Association had received camp appointments. Tie would make inquiries.' Dentists who were not members of the association received work from the Department outside the camps* ■ ,

;'•-■', ADDRESS-IN-REPLY %':■ DEBATE RESUMED y-;/,: . . .' - — v THE ALIEN QUESTION :.'"■ Dr. A. K. NEWMAN (Wellington East) , vi l , esuined the debate on I'he Address-in- ; (Reply. He said that, the session was one , of, very great importance. ' The country [from end to end was burning with' excit- ■••' a'ng questions, and his regret was that . parliament had not l>een summoned yery < much earlier. The people had waited with keen interest for the revelation of jtho Government's policy in the Gover- • inor-General's Speech, and they had found : '::it blank and disappointing. They were : T told that because a 'Coalition Govern- '• anent -was in office)there was to be no ' domestic f legislation no progress or reform. No items of policy had been re- ' -'wealed. Some "piffle" was talked about "'...a chango in the status of • the King's i and the people -were left to wonder' whether the ■change was going to increase the cost of government. The whole position was "most'disappointing. The Government ' was giving no lead on tho subject of six o'clock closing, which was agitating the country very (deeply. England, Prance, Russia, and the United States had gripped the liquor problems. Australia had ".adopted six o'clock closing. The only country ithat had done nothing to check " 'the waste of money and the depreciation "of national efficiency through the consumption of liquor was New Zealand. . He was convinced that the people would '• -carry six o'clock closing by an overwhelin- ; ing majority if given the opportunity. ' The Government,^ o " l ' l not evade this -vital question. Dr. Newman referred to -the alien question. He said that' New Zealanclers were being sentgto the front while enemy aliens made increased profits in the country. The public .was very dissatisfied with the' neglect of the alien question. He had learned in Britain that -'sixty or seventy men had been returned to Sling Camp from the New Zealand ■Forces in France because they were of 'alien birth. There were aliens loafing on Some's Island. These men should be raut to work in New Zealand -under Government direction. Aliens should not be allowed to compete with, people of British birth. The cost of living question demanded attention. Tho market was -glutted with butter, hut the Government . was allowing the public to-be charged ' Is Bd. a lb. Butter was being sold- at lis.' sd. a lb. in the Government meat shop in Auckland. l . , Sir James Allen: Tou are misinformed. Dr Newman: I am not misinformed.. '-'■'•!'have it from a most excellent source.

• The Cost of Living. • -The Government ought'to exercise rea--•Eonable control over the cost of coni- « anodities in New Zealand, added Dr. Newman, and should remedy the anomalies in connection with the sale of meat in Britain. The New.Zealand farmer sold •■■Qiis lamb at s}d.' per-lb., the London • -wholesale price was 10d., and the London -retail price was Is. lOd. Who was niaki ing this huge profit, and why did', not ' the Government protect both the farmer '■'..'and the consumer? Dr. Newman ic- : -ferred to shipping matters. Enormous profits were being made by the ship-ping-rings, which controlled the whole '..carrying trade and levied what tribute \it pleased unchecked. ' The Meat Trust '-"■was operating actively in New Zealand. ■■It-had shown its power already by preventing New Zealand meat entering the 'United States, and when the-time came "it would strangle the Dominion's, trade. : The proposal to establish a farmers' shipping company would not prove effec- ; live, since the wealthier concern would ■win in anv- struggle. The .Government was the sole authority powerful chough . to protect the producers and arrange •for the marketing of their goods on fair Dr. Newman said that public .health should be linked with education. '. The Hon. .T. A. Hiiman (Minister of ;" Education): They are linked in- every I country but New-Zealand. Mr. Poland: The Minister of Education ir.has auite as much as: he can handlo Dr. Newman urged the Government to : undertake the campaign against consumption and syphilis. In conclusion he . osked the House .to face boldly the fact ..- that the war might last fov another three /years. If the House did not insist upon many reforms it would be failing in its dut-T. The sons of New Zealand were luyingdown their lives on the battlefields. ''Was the Government going to Jot matters drift because'it was afraid .'to offend certain peoplo? There was a duty of national organisation and nato be faced. (Applause.) Member for Wallace. Mr. J. C. THOMSON -rWullaw) sard that the National Government had justified its formation. He declared that the Minister of Agriculture ami Hie •Hoard of Trade had by the imposition of the butter levy hit upon the best • method available for keeping down the price of butter in the country. In spite of the clamour by some farmers about its being a class tax, it was still true that the Minister of Agriculture was held in the highest regard by the farmers. liegarding the constitution of the efficiency boards, he would suggest that it was not entirely satisfactory. He would like to see representatives of such ■ organisations as trades unions and scientific societies on the board. The most

important question that could bo raised e in the House was in regard to the treatment of our soldiers. He was not going to say whether we should or should not pend any more men, but he did suggest that before wo could ask Second Divi-

sion wen to go wo should increase the amount of provision made for their de,j»ndants. It had been said that the measure of our generosity must be the measure of what we could afford. This

country could afford a lot of money. Ho commended highly _ tho demobilisation scheme contained in the report of tho Discharged .Soldiers' Information Department presented to tho House by the ilon. A. L. Herdman.

THE DEFENCE MINISTER ' SECOND DIVISION MEN'S PAY AND PENSIONS. -The MINISTER. OP DEFENCE (Sir James Allen) said that somu of Hie remarks made in tho course of the debate demanded a reply from him. Reference hhd been made to tho possibility of the mobilisation of the Second Division. Ho thought lie might say. on behalf of tho Second Division reservists, that almost every man of them was willing to do . his duty, lie did not believe that the Second Division men wanted apologists either in the House or outside. They , wero prepared to make snrcifices, oven • greater sacrifices than had been made l>y the men of tho Pirst Division, in order to see tho war through.to a victorious termination. Ho could' not say when the Second Division would be called upon for service. There wero lour reinforcements undergoing training at the present time, and the balanco of the Pirst Division was expected to provide two or three monthly drafts, 'fhen it was the intention of the Government, as he had already explained, to comb out . the rejected men of the Pirst Division and the men whose appeals had been suspended sine die by the Military Service Boards. This work had already begun, and he thought that the combiug out would provide one reinforcement at least, and possibly two reinforcements. If that was the case, the Pirst Division would provide four or five monthly drafts in addition to tho four drafts at present in camp. After that it would be necessary to call upon the Second Division. New Zealand's Duty. Nobody could say how long the war would continue. But the British nation had suffered enough for being unprepared. Ho had no hesitation in saying that it would be criminal for the Government of Nfw Zealand to slacken its efforts at the present time. The Second Division men would not wish the Government to pause. They would not thank anybody for asking that they should be excused from doing what might be required of them in order that the war might be carried to a'successful conclusion. (Hear, hear.) He knew well the difficulties that faced tho married men. He sympathised withxthem, as he was sure every other member of the House did. He could assure the Second Division men and the House that their interests wguld not be neglected by the Government. Just what would bo done for them, he could not suy at that stage, but he realised that it might be found necessary to revise the separation allowances payable to wives and children. (Hear, hear.) It might be necessary also to revise pensions in view of tho mobilisation of Second Division men. The question of 1 pensions had Received his attention already.' The Government would do its duty to the wives and children.' He did not know if Parliament wis'hed the Government to adopt in New Zealand the policy that had been adopted by the Mother Country of basing pensions to some extent ou past circumstances, and paying higher pensions to people who had enjoyed good incomes than to those who had been poorer. Probably that system would not suit NewZealand conditions. He felt himself that it would be better to raise the standard of certain families than to attempt an adjustment of the kind indicated. _ Referring to the question of soldiers nay, the Minister said it had been stated that the present pay and allowances provided only 38s. (id. weekly m the case of a'wife and two children. That was the case if tho soldier allotted his wife only 3s. a day out of his pay of os. But many soldiers allotted 4s, and some of them-allotted tho whole 5s He honoured them for it. me rates of W. wd .» llo ™ n <! e ought not to be considered without ieiereuce to the operations of the Soldiers Financial Assistauco Board, winch had power to grant up to ,£2 a week in any case to meet such charges as reut, insurance premiums, interest on mortgages and cost of managing a business

in the soldiers' absence. Jbo Iwurd had dealt with 1641 applications up to the end of May, and had granted assistance in 1039 cases, while 332 applications had been declined or withdrawn, and others had been adjourned for inquiry. Every soldier who had rent to pay, insurance premiums to meet, and other liabilities was entitled to apply for financial assistance under tins heading, and the Minister hoped Second Division men would not hesitate to apply. The present liability was over £25,000 a year, but he would not Jiesitato to ask Parliament for any additional sums that might be required for assistance to soldiers. War Pensions. The Minister proceeded to refer to war pensions. He said that the New Zealand scale generally was higher thaD the Australian and higher than the British, except in certain cases, where the British scale discriminated in favour of "the man who had' been well-to-do. • He emoted figures to show that New Zealand was treating its pensioners better . than Australia or Britain were doing. Sir James Allen referred in roiue detail to the arrangements for the granting of commissions, in reply to a suggestion that men in the Expeditionary Force were not treated fairly. He said that the General Commanding the New Zealand Division had tho right to fill 50 per cent, of the vacancies caused by casualties among officers by promotions on the field. These promotions were actually made. The number of commis- ' sions granted to members of reinforcements before embarkation in New Zealand had been 595, while the commissions in reinforcements granted to returned men had numbered 107. Then 165 men had boen promoted to commissioned rank on the field, and 1.17 men of tho Now Zealand Forces had been granted commissions in the Imperial Army. .Arrangements bad been made . for New Zealanders to receive twentyone permanent and seven temporary commissions annually in the Indian Army. . Provision had been made for the training of New Zealand n.c.o.'s in the Cadet Corps in England with a ' view to their qualifying for commissions. ] A class of 150 n.c.o.'s was now in exist- I ence. Then the Imperial authorities were receiving twenty-three New Zca- , landers a month in the cadet schools. It would be unfair to deny men in Now Zealand all chance of securing commis.sions, but tho balance was strongly in favour of the men already in the Forces..

Venerea'' Disease. A question that had to bo faced was that of, venereal disease. He felt that tho time had arrived for him to be outspoken on that subject. He did not wish to say anything at that stage about tho position in New Zealand. The authorities were doing what they could to copo with the ovil here. Members knew ot the trouble that tad arisen in Egypt in tho early stages of the war. There were now difficulties in England. "The situation in England with regard to this troublo is not satisfactory from the point of view of New Zealand," said tho Minister. "A comparison between New Zealand and Canada and Australia in this respect is not satisfactory. 1 feel sure- that our staff is doing all that can bo done. But somo authority other than our staff must copo with this troublo if the situation is to be mad© what it should be. I am not going to quote the figures I possess. It is our evident duty this session to do something if possible to-copo with tho ovil in Now Zealand, and to let our opinion be known without, any shadow of doubt to those in authority in the Motherland." .\ meinlxT: Why not follow Australia? Sir James Allen: "Wo may folbw Australia. The Minis/cr of Public Jlpalth has the matter in hand. The Government will not be lacking in realisation "I its duty when it has to deal, wilh this difficult problem." In conclusion tho Minister dealt at some length with the question of reinforcements, a* reported in another column. Other Members. Air. C. IT. POOLE (Auckland West) said that the House had listened to a very important statement coataining information of mayy matters of which the country had wished to hear for a very long time. . Ho advocated women patrols to deal with a certain class of evil on our streets. He expressed his belief that fh* giving of our Governor the titlo ot Governor-General was tho i Mst indication that annexations in the

Pacific were contemplated, possibly Samoa and Fiji. lie held that the National Government had not been faithful to its trust, in that it had failed to deal _ effectively with tho problem of tho increasing tost of living. Ho condemned strongly tho demand of the producers of Glitter for tho repayment of tho butter levy. Mr .A. HARRIS (Waitemala) said that at tho beginning of tho war the oiler of New Zealand had been the last man and the last shilling. Wo had not yet sent the last man or spent the last shilling, ami ho did'not think under thoso circumstances there should be any talk of refusing to send more reinforcemonts.

Tho debate was adjourned at 10.35 p.m., on the motion of Mr. J. M'Combs (Lyttelton), and the House rose.