WAR PENSION SOLD

Hokitika Guardian, 13 May 1933, Page 6

WAR PENSION SOLD

BANKRUPT COURT INQUIRY

v An admission by a bankrupt tramway employee -in Melbourne that he had sold his war pensio n of 10s 6d a- week to the Repatriation Department Tov Si lump isum surprised officials and' ooun- , sel i'n the Bankruptcy Court recently ; in the course of the public examination ' of Thomas Lindsay Bren, whose estate ( was sequestrated on his own petition j in September last. | Bi'ien told the Court that he bought. a house on the Credit Foneiep' system from the State Savings. Ba'nk in 1926 and paid a deposit of £l2’s. Wben 'i&ked how ho obtained the : money , he said he sold hi’is wair pension.

■ The Registrar; How did vou manage that?

[ Brien ; I sold the pension to.-the Re--1 patriation Department, and t. was paid a lump sum of £275. j The. Registry: I did not think you could do that. You compounded with the Repatriation Department? I Pones' 3 ] for th l3 Official Receiver: 1 did not think thpy could do that. | I never thought tbit a war pension could be compounded. It seems a peculiar transaction to me.

Brien : I think there was some hjtcli about it afterwards. The Reui tvar ; Is the inim'y in re-

spect, to vhich you Tece’vpd the pension cured?—No. I am attending the department at present. What Is the department doing for

you—-giving you another pension?—No. J am getting free treatment, j Brien added that he had used . the ■ d the £275 to pay some of his-

debts, but since then he had fallen into j debt aga : n. He hrl been unable to | keep up bis payments on his house arid | the Hank find seized it.

' Officials of the Repatriation Department -explained' subsequently .that the practice of > making lump sum pension payments had been discontinued. Key or g;. years ago as a matter of Ministerial policy, fit was followed. only if the pension was small and the injury permanent and stationary.