RETROSPECTIVE ALLOWANCES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 312, 5 December 1918, Page 6

RETROSPECTIVE ALLOWANCES.

R.S.A. PRESIDENT S VIEWS. I '« The president of the New Zealand JReturned Soldiers’ Association, Mr. 'C. W. batten, at present on a visit to Napier, commenting on the rejection of the claim for wives of early volunteers to receive the same allowance as Second Division Reservists, says that the R.S.A. cannot accept the reason given. Mr. Massey states that this just claim is repudiated because of tmLuge sum required for repatriation purposes. £2,500,000 is provided for this work, and practically the whole of this sum is to be repaid by the returned soldiers. , “Is £2.500,000 advanced on loan at" current rates to returned soldiers a “huge sum” when compared with £1,000,000 given as a war bonus to civil servants I” REPATRIATION DEPARTMENT. Mr. Batten, states that tne Government s proposals are unsatisiaciory enougn out tne cavaiier manner in wmen Mt. Massey accepts tne position of chairman and ioritiwitb hands it to Air. hemes cannot ran S cause grave concern to every inking returned soldier. The tact that »ir James Allen refuseci tiie position of chairman of the board, although be prepared the original scheme (vide Mr. Gutnrie) indicates that political influences are at work. “I cannot now say what action the R.S.A. will now take but Ii am certain that the returned soldiers will not stand by to see their comrades yet to return sacrificed on the altar of party politics. We are now viewing the setting up of a Department which on present lines is a Giibertian farce, and I hope the people a£ New Zealand w ill see that matters are adjusted at the first opportunity.”