SOLDIERS' PAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 16, 18 July 1940, Page 5

SOLDIERS' PAY

RANK OF PADRES

"SHOULD WEAR THE CLOTH"

Differential rates of pay for soldiers in the field and at the depots were advocated by Mr. H. G. Dickie (National, Patea). He also expressed the view that men engaged in purely civil work should not be allowed to wear uniform. There were far too many men in civil occupation in khaki.

"I do not think we should put our padres in uniform," he continued. "They should not be given commissions. They should wear the cloth and that would go a long way towards breaking down that gap which must always exist between commissioned rank and the men."

Mr. A. S. Richards (Government, Roskill): Black would make them an easier target.

Mr. Dickie reiterated his comment about the gap between the officers and men and again asserted that padres should not be placed in uniform.

Quartermaster-Sergeant E. P. Meachen (Government, Marlborough) said he had not noticed the "gap" mentioned by the previous speaker. He thought that Mr. Dickie was suffering from a flight of imagination. LAND SETTLEMENT. The contention that the Minister of Lands (Mr. Langstone) did not know the first thing about land settlement, and that the Minister took a pessimistic view of the subject, was made by Mr. Dickie. The land for settlement scheme was still on the Statute Book, said Mr. Dickie, and he did not know of any effort that had yet been made by the present Minister of Lands to provide a land settlement scheme for this country. There were still large areas available for closer settlement. He suggested to the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Lands that they should get their heads together, and, instead of keeping men scratching around on scheme 13 and scheme 4, try out a settlement scheme with them. He was sure the men would embrace j the idea wholeheartedly.

Mr. Dickie said he did not know of any man who had criticised the land settlement schemes of the past, particularly the soldiers' ~ scheme, more than the present Minister of Lands.

Mr. Langstone: And the baby is still crying today.

That was not the case, replied Mr. Dickie. The total loss in connection wi*h the soldiers' settlement scheme was only between five million and six million pounds, and more than that had been spent on employment schemes in one year.