For Honorable Service.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 10, Issue 447, 1 October 1919, Page 3

For Honorable Service.

By James McKenzie

After, an all-night sitting Parliament has decided to pay to the soldiers by way of gratuity the truly magnificent sum of 1/6 per clay from the date of embarkation up to the date on which Peace was signed. The division' list is very interesting indeed a n d I hope every returned soldier will l.ok for the nam e of his member upon it and invite him to explain* Himself when he again faces his constituents. During the debate some very flowery and elegant tributes wero paid to the soldiers by the very men whq voted that any sum over 1/6 a day would ba excessive as a recognition of what these "gallant men" had done for a "grateful country." The favourite argument seemed to be that no money payment possibly could competjisate the men for what they had endured or for the services they had rendered the country, therefore the question ought not to bo considered from tho business standpoint at all but lifted to a "higher plane." Tho honourable gentlemen who were not ashamed to advance the above argument are the samo men who, in de--fiance ef tho triennial act, and of the constitution, voted themselves a two years extension, of office and drew J. 300 of the country's money for about six "weeks service. Even if tbey had served o very day of the years, Sundays and holidays included, they collected over sixteen shillings daily while living in comfort in 'New Zealand and are now not ashamed to place on re-cord their opi__ion that while sixteen shillings daily is not too much for themselves anything over 6/6 a day, pay and gratuity combined, would be excessive for tho common soldier without dependents. Tbe worst feature of the whole wretched business is the conduct of the soldier members of the executive who while on service drew their Parliamentary pay in addition to their pay as officers, and ar© now found voting that 1/6 per day gratuity is plenty for their less fortunate fellow-soldiers who wero not privileged to draw two salaries while serving their country and are now being invited to bo satisfied with tho "honour and glory" they have gained for NewZealand. No doubt the soldier will be made welcome to the "hoijiour and glory" so long as he as content to leave tho mouey to others. The Government has made an effort to show that paying a gratuity is not all that they ar© doing for tho soldiers, and a great parade is mad© of their willingness to pay tho "loading on life insurance policies mud retrospective allowances for children, widowed mothers and other dependents. The answer is that if the Government had realised its duties of tb« dependents of soldiers the larger sums would have been paid from the beginning, and it would u_ot be necessary to make allowances retrospective after having been practically kicked into increasing them because th© original sums offended the conscience of the country. The Labor Party amendment that the gratuities be paid at the rate of 4\per day, 2/- in cash and 2/- in war bonds was decisively defeated, although Mr. McCombs pointed out that the gratuities being paid by the Canadian Government were much more generous; he submitted the following figures iv support °f his contention. For six months th© Canadian unmarried private receives £13 as compared with .£l3/13/9 payable to the New Zealand unmarried private; the Canadian married private receives -262. The figures for eighteen months arc: Unmarried Canadian, _Gsßj married Canadian, -L'S3; and -C.l/ 1/3 for the New Zealander. As if this were not <.i_ough Parliament has placed the matter of whether a gratuity sb_ll bo paid at all entirely in the discretion of tb e Minister for Defence. The provision, is, "and may be withheld or deferred at the discretion of the Minister of Defence." Parliament, k_ consenting, to such a provision, has shown how utterly unable and unfitted it is to protect the interests of the returned soldiers and tho people- of this country, aud one can only hope .hat tho electors will know iiow to deal with, those members responsible -for the present state of affairs vlu_.' they seek re-election.

That i'atal dollcry called a representative Ciovc-Uuncnt.—Bcaconsiiicld.