REPATRIATION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 312, 5 December 1918, Page 3

REPATRIATION

Under Ministerial Board DIRECTOR AND OFFICERS TO BE APPOINTED. POWER TO WITHHOLD DISCHARGE. BILL PASSES SECOND READING. Sir James Allen, moving the second reading of the Repatriation Bill, said the time had now arrived when they would nav,e to deal with the returning men. Up to the present they had dealt with 26,000 returned soldiers, but shortly they must he prepared to handle another 50,000. Every effort was being made to fit the men coming back for new forms of civil life. This was being done to some extent in England, and continued on board the transports on the way out. So far as possible the men would be returned to the same or similar employment tp that in which they were previously engaged, and fit men will be discharged as soon as possible after arrival in t.he Dominion. To enable this to be done, in addition to the proposals in the bill, another bill would be introduced tomorrow providing a grajuity according to length of service. lie then 'went through the clauses of the bill, explaining the provisions for the''establishment of a Repatriation Department, to be administered by the Repatriation Board of Ministers of the Crown appointed* by the Gov,ernor-General. The Ministers who will act for the present will be Messrs. W. F. Massey’, W. D. 8. MacDonald, J. A. , Hanan, and D. H. Guthrie. This board will appoint a Director of Repatriation and other officers. For the purpose of any desirable decentralising of the work, the ' board may establish a district or local boards and committees, of which the members may be paid allowances. The , Repatriation Board will make provision for the. restoration of discharged soldiers to civil life and civil employment or occupation. The board may establish or carry on schemes or institutions for the educational, industrial and vocational training of discharged soldiers and for the care and maintenance of those who, by reason of wounds or disease, incurred in military service, are wholly, or partially, disabled. The board may also grant financial assistance to discharged soldiers by way of loans secured or unsecured not exceeding in any case £250 for the purpose of enabling them to establish themselves in civil employment or occupation. The Governor-General-in-Council may make regulations with respect to (a) control of management of institutions established by the board and the discipline of discharged soldiers receiving assistance or relief in or from such institutions; (b) grant of financial assistance to discharged soldiers in accordance with this Act ; (c) organisation and regulation of the Repat riation Department. Unfortunately there was certain to be a number of men who were suffering from inora. weakness, and he did not think they should take it for granted that ii was not possible to restore these men to self-respect. Clause 16 w<v designed to effect this object. Tl? clause was as follows:—“If on com plaint laid under the Justices of th' Peace Act, 1908, before a Stipen diary Magistrate by the Director <>* Repatriation or by any other persoi thereunto authorised by’ the Director, the Magistrate is satisfied that the soldier who, whether before or after the passing of the Act, ha: been discharged from an Exped: tionary Force after service in thatforce beyond the seas or in a camp of military training in New Zealanti. is by reason of habitual drunken ness, idleness or misconduct unfit fi.r immediate and effective restoration to civil life, employment or occupation, and that for the protection e.l that soldier or otherwise in his interest it is advisable to cancel hi: discharge, the Magistrate may by order at any tim.e before disbanding of that Expeditionary Force cance l the discharge of that soldier, who shall thereupon again become :: member of that force as if he had never been discharged therefrom, and as if he had been original!' called up for service under the Mill tary Service Act, 1916.” Unless expressly provided the provisions oi the bill will not affect the operatic.-, of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settli - inent Act, 1915, and its amendments. Section IS provided: “In addition to the persons referred to in section z of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settle ment- Act, 1915, the following person? shall be deemed to be discharged soldiers within the meaning for th purposes of that. Act, namely, all discharged members of an Expedition ary Force, who having been class, - as m-'dieally fit (whether absolutely or contingently) for service beyon . the seas, have served as members <_>. that force in a camp of military training and remained attached to that camp on November 12, 1918, tU date of the cessation of hostilities with Germany,” Concluding, the Minister said that no money or tim ■ ■should be or would l.e spared to make it a success. Mr. J. T. M. Hornsby said that tinbill appeared to be a very good one. but like many- other such bills it: success depended almost entirely on the men who were charged with its administration. In his opinion there was too much officialdom in the bill. The Director of Repatriation should at least be a civilian. Mr. J. V. Brown asked the Minis ter to tell the House whether the motor patrol men and the South African veterans would participate in the benefits of the bill. nlr. H. G. Ell said the bill was valuable because it was intended to show gratitude and give honour to the men who had risked life in battle. In some respects the bill made a generous provision for the soldier-:, but he hoped the House would see that it was made even more generous next session The House should be asked to review the whole question of pensions for the men who had gone out to fight the battles of the nation. Mr. Downie Stewart said the measure was extremely belated, for after four years or war for the first time we were now getting a compre ; hensive measure for the return of soldiers to civil life. He criticised th board of four Ministers, the nesult of which would simply mean that one Minister would shoot applicants on to another. He favoured one Minister wholly responsible for the administration of the Department. Most, however, would depend on the personality of the Director of Repatriation. He favoured such a man as General Richardson, who was one of the discoveries of the war, and who ha.d done more in England to get our soldiers back into civil life than had been done in New Zealand. He dealt largely with the Australian scheme,

which he pointed out was being liberally financed, and he hoped we would not stint our scheme from the financial point of view. The debate on the Repatriation I Bill was carried on by Messrs. D. Buddo, G. Witty, R. P. Hudson, W. T. Jennings, G. J. Anderson, J. Anstey, C. E. Statham, T. A. Field ■(Nelson), W. H. Field (Otaki), and G. Talbot. Wellington, Dec. 5. After the telegraph closed the debate on repatriation was continued by Messrs McCombs, Dixon (Port Chalmers), Luke, Wright, Young Hon. MacDonald, Fraser, and Rhodes. The Minister rose to reply’ at 3.15 and after speaking briefly’ on the points raised in the debate the Bill was read the second time. The measure is taken in committee next sitting. The House rose at 3.25 till noon, when Government business takes precedence.