LOOKING AHEAD

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 124, 27 May 1915, Page 3

LOOKING AHEAD

SOLDIERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS THE PROPOSED NATIONAL SCHEME DEPUTATION TO PRIME MINISTER. As the outcome of yesterday's conference of Mayors and district representatives of patriotic committees a deputation waited on the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) in the afternoon to lay before him resolutions passed in committee regarding the proposed National Fund for the dependents of soldiers killed and wounded in action. TO PREVENT OVERLAPPING. The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), who headed the deputation, said there were a, great many funds in New Zealand and it was desirous that there should be no overlapping. It was felt that the time had arrived when the fund should be put on a national basis, although no definite agreement had been reached at the conference in this direction. The conference, after fully discussing the matter, had passed the following resolutions :—: — "That this conference, with a view of putting the various funds on a uniform basis, agree that the different patriotic committees federate, and that the delegates ask their committees to consider the advisability of establishing a national scheme. 1 ' MORE LIBERAL PENSIONS. "That this conference urge upon the Government the necessity of amending that part of the Defence Act of 1909 relating to pensions and allowances, by providing more liberally for our soldiers and their dependents, particularly in the following directions : — (a) By enabling officers and men with good conduct to obtain pensions by right of service, (b) By enabling pensions to be granted to widows and dependents 'without the Pensions Board first having to be assured that the claimant is in necessitous circumstances or actual poverty, (c) By eliminating such provisions as will preclude patriotic or other funds making supplementary grants to our soldiers or i their dependents; and, any proviso affecting the right to a pension or allowance wrrich may be jeopardised under the present regulations by reason of any grants or allowances of a permanent nature by such patriotic or other funds, as the case may be." "That this conference, with' a view to obtaining uniformity of action, recommends to all committees in New Zealand controlling funds for the benefit of our soldiers and sailors and their dependents, the following general principles: — (a) That the domicile of the applicant shall determine the district fund upon which rests the obligation to grant relief ; (b) that the uniform scale of relief adopted by this conference be the relief granted to dependents ; and (c) to safeguard the funds and avoid overlapping, any applications or grants likely to affect other district funds shall be at once referred to the committee interested by the committee receiving the application or making the grant, as the case may be." The Mayor, continuing, said that later he believed legislation would be required to provide for a national fund, as it would be necessary to look ahead for twenty-five or thirty years. A COMPARISON OF SCHEMES. Mr. H. Holland (Mayor of Christchurbh) drew attention to the urgent need for amending the provisions of the Defence Act as far as pensions were concerned. One provision that needed altering was that men who were willing to give their lives should not practically have to prove that they were paupers before they could obtain the pension. People subscribing to the fund were very anxious to find out what the Government was going to do. He believed that in Australia there was a more liberal scheme than the New Zealand scheme, and the Imperial Government, he understood, had a better scheme still. The Prime Minister : I don't think that is so. j Mr. Frith, Mayor of Oamaru, stressed the necessity for affiliating the various committees so that there would be no overlapping. The general opinion expressed at the conference was that there should be some such system with a view to ultimately making the fund a national one. No doubt as the result of the conference the patriotic committees would go into the "pros and cons" of the national scheme. It was most desirable that there should be uniformity among the committees in administering the funds. MR. MASSEY IN REPLY. In replying Mr. Massey stated that he was strongly in favour of a national scheme, and if they were going to have a satisfactory scheme it must be a \national scheme. Ho did not say that there should not be local representatives on the Board of Trustees, but the payments must be uniform in every part of the Dominion. There would be difficulties of administration, but there was no doubt that the principle of the fund should be national. As far as the Government wa3 concerned it would do everything it possibly could with regard to the object for which the deputation was making. Referring to pensions, the Prime Minister said he could definitely state that the Government intended to submit amendments to the Act. It wished to make the pensions much' more liberal and more generous than they were today. He could not go into the details of the Bill, however,' as it had not yet been drafted, but he did not think they would have any fault to find when the Bill was presented. The Government had not the slightest intention of shirking its responsibility in ' any way, and, as far as funds were concerned, was prepared to find the whole of them, had it not been in the fortunate position that there were thousands of people anxious to contribute to the patriotic funds. This money would be put to very great use after the Government had liberalised the pensions scheme, as there would still be cases in which it would be in the interests of the people and the State that payments should be made out of the committees' funds. The Bill dealing with Maori war pensions provided that veterans should receive their pension irrespective of whether they were receiving old age pensions or not. and no j ma-tter what their financial position. This was exactly what he would like to see in connection with the present case. He was quite certain that the people of the country were satisfied that the right treatment should be accorded the returned soldiers. (Hear, hear.) IRRESPECTIVE OF INCOME.' At this stage the Hon. James Allen (Minister of Defence) entered the room, and Mr. Luke explained to him that the deputation was desirous that soldiers should receive pensions by " riglit of service, '* irrespective of their incomes. Mr. Allen: " That will be a very serious undertaking. Give a man a pension, whether he has an income of JGIOOO or £5000? If you insist on that it will mean a smaller pension to the needy man." The Minister added that when ihg ungfi&aents to* the Penftiopft_ Act_

were submitted to Parliament they would b© liberal. (Hear, hear.)