The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5.

Evening Star, Issue 16909, 5 December 1918, Page 4

The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5.

There is nothing very good in the Repatriation Bill, which

Rough on merely provides loose and tho Soldiers, clmm-ilv dovised ma-

ohiiiory for giving effect to a vague scheme 'for the 'Repatriation of car soldiers; but t-hai'o i» indeed something very bad in it. This is clause 16, which provides for the cancellation of the discharge of soldiers. This provision is singularly lacking in tact and generosity. Though the intention behind it mr.y indisputably bs esceiltnt in aim, it will irritate •every soldier, and. may even jeopardise the success- of a schema of Repatriation which at its best will always be near the vtrge of failuro. Tho clause reads ; If, on complaint laid under tho Justices of tho Peace Act, 19C8, before a Stipendiary Magistral;?, by the Director of Repatriation, or bv tiny other person thereunto authorise! by the Director, the Magistrate is satisfied that a soldier who (whether before- or after the passing of this Act) has been discharged rrom an Expeditionary i'creo after servicw in that, lores beyond the seas, or in a camp of military training in New Zealand, k by reason ox habitual dxuukeruie-ss, idleness, or mis-con-duct unfit for immediate and. effective restoration to civil life, employment, or oocuoati-on, and thr.t for the protection of that ffoldi?r or otharwiac in his latere st it is advisable to cancel his discharge, tho Magistrate may, by order at any time- before the disbanding of that Expeditionary Force, cancel the discharge of that soldier, who- shall thereupon agsin become a. member of that force as if he had hotot been discharged therefrom, and as if ho had been crigiraaLrv called up for service ■under tho Military Service Act, 3916.

It is obvious from tho above that tho aim of the Minister and his enthusiastic advisors is to save a vvaywaixl soldier from his own weaknesses by means of military discipline. But is this tho best method' of men who have been made morally weak by the rigors of w.ar? Wo have no hesitation in saying bluntly that tfbe Government could not adopt a more certain way to court miserable failure. The main- idea of the average, returned soldier who 'has experienced militarism under war conditions is to get free as soon as possible from exaggerated discipline and military routine. Many returned soldiers have been glad, to accept preposterously inadequate pensions for partial disabiomont rather than tolerate indefinitely tho cold administa'.itive comfort (sic) supplied by the New Zealand Defence Department; and precisely for the same reason thousands of returned men have declined any aid whatever from the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department. During tho debate two excellent suggestions were made by Mr Downie Stewart, whose constituents will bs greatly pleased to witness his return to political activity, wliich foreshadows, it 13 to bo hoped, early physical convalescence. If General Richardson can be spared from the responsible duties h© is discharging in London with such marked success, there is no man in tho service of tho

Defence Department who is better qualified titan ho to administer this complex scheme, nor is there another man who ■would bo mere acceptable to the soldiers, who know "nun for his true worth, and have already rightly dubbed him " tho Soldiers' Friend." Ho would fill tho bill admirably, and tho Defence Minister will bo wisely advised if ho passes on to Cabinet, with his approval, the recommendation of tho member for Dunedin West. Tho latter, in the course of his speech, made pointed reference to tho generosity with which Australia is meeting tho claims of her -returning army, for whoso Repatriation no less than 40 millions sterling haa already boon appropriated. As Sir Stewart forcibly observed, New Zealand cannot afford, in the face of Australia's fine example, to bo niggardly towards her valiant fighters, who have every right to anticipate that their honest endeavors to resume as early as possible their accustomed places in the eoinmnxiitv shall be assisted—wherever financial assistance is required—with tho sitmost generosity from the exchequer of tho Stat*.

If the National Government desixo to obtain the sucxissful Repatriation of over 60,000 soldiers thoy sternly repress evea-ythirur that rmneks of rrilitary harshness. The country haa had enough of it; and tho Go-venunerjfc will presently find that the majority of car army, v.o, have Jiad moro tium enough of military discipline. Tho Repatriation; Bill is too frigid to win the confidence of either the army or tho country.