CONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD

Grey River Argus, 9 December 1918, Page 4

CONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD

WELLINGTON, December 7.

A defence of the proposal to have four Ministers on the Repatriation Board instead of a department controlled by a single Minister was undertaken by the Prime Minister in the House of Representatives. He drew the attention of the House to the fact that the Recruiting Board, consisting of three Ministers, had done excellent work*

Mr Parr: This is a very different job.

Mr Massey: "Yes, that is so, but I would remind members that there are more Ministers than one who are interested in this matter." He instanced the Minister of Lands and Minister of Education.

Mr Parr: Oh, why not have the whole Cabinet on your Board?

Mr Massey: It is not necessary. Every Minister is interested in the repatriation of the soldiers, but the four who will be on v the Board are particularly interested.

Mr McCullum: What about the Minister of Public Works?

Mr Massey: If I had not been leaving New Zealand to be absent for some months, I don't suppose the difficult would have arisen. A separate Department o f Repatriation would have been set up, and I would have tike - : chprge of it myself, calling in other Ministers only when ''necessary." Continuing, he said that it had been decided by Cabinet, however, to set up the Board of four and tbat while he was away he should remain -nominally a member, but another Minister would take his place and act. as chairman. He believed the Board would work together well for the good of the soldiers. With regard to the suggestion that the men would pot know which Minister to approach, Mr Massey said that it really would not matter to whom the men went, but the right Minister to apply to, of course, would be the chairman.

Mr Vigor Brown : The ActingPrime Minister will be the actingchairman, I suppose?

Mr Massey: I am not in a position to say that yet.

Speaking in regard to the of Repatriation, Mr Massey informed the House that he did not think he would be a military man. He hoped that the man appointed would prove to have extraordinary capacity.

Members : Is it to be Mr Sampson, Head of the Discharged Soldiers' Information Bureau?

Mr Massey said he could give no information on the point, but he could say that the work of Mr Sampson had proved that no better man could be secured. There would quite likely be an assistant-director. Continuing, he said the scheme was already working well, and he prophesied that p.s the men vet to come hack were largely fit and in good health v many would pot need the assistance neces.°arv for tbe wounded men already b?ck. However ther" w/?re thousands of vaoano.ies in the "R-ailwav Department. n"d ™ n r>-<T ,> + li^ ?jn T "'r' C 5 TWvr>pr<-Tri4»«.t. wbilo the M:"---is-f-ar nf "Piihli" Works w«\q nlon iwoit. *ng opportunities to employ more mep.