Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1915. WAR PENSIONS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 16 July 1915, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1915. WAR PENSIONS.

IN fine! spirit the House, of. Representa-: | tives (commenced discussion of the j War Pensions Bill, and the people will > b_e pleased to see the matter dealt with right fhrough in- -the same : manner, ! Both s4des of the House agreed that theBill;whs an excellent one, and improvemenjs -in the measure were suggested; in good part, and there is every indication that tfhe proposals will bo discussed on thdir merits. This is what the people' want, but, unfortunately, they seldom get. It is ■recognised that 'the Government) has to be carefull in dealing with such meaand that while it,, is-easy work to make out. the account, it is another matter? +o meet it. But even though the annual expenditure may be huge, any objector is at once faced with the alter-nativep-The disabled man. or, the. dependents of the;falien..living under povertystricken conditions, whilst the 'people whose/interests' have been guarded, whose homes, have been rendered safe from mo-, lestaticm, comparative ease.- : The •people of New Zealand with one voice proclaim that this shall not be so. While there is money in the country a fair and adequate, portion must go to those who have borne the brunt of the great struggle for freedom. . "Whilst it is perfectly true that the . Bill is, the most "generous" in the world, it certainly' does not do justice to all. From whichever way the matter is viewed,, 25s a week is a totally inadequate sum for the man who has been .incapacitated for life,,' and 5s a week for each child, seeing that 1 ordinary orders stipulate 1.7s 6d, is also inadequate: The weekly ! pension for a private varies from £1 5s a week for a wife, up to £3' for. a wife and seven children. Another £1 a,week is most certainly required on the lowe'r levels, else how can.; the people live in comfort? It would;'also appear that clause 12, a-equir.es' revision, for, it would seem that no pension shall be given if the dependents already possess, the. maximum pension, under the. Bill. And further, is -there any provision-made for the disabled man whose wife dies being able to secure her pension to help pay an attendant and someone to care for his children? These.are all points.for, disr cussiion and consideration. As it stands it has been calculated that the annual cost will be-something like. £900,000' a year; but what is this, beside the service rendered to the people, of the, country? If it were, not for, the. fact, that the cost must- be kept; in mind as,a matter of sound business essential in the best interests'of the tile dependents, as- well as the people a.s-.a-whole,, any-considerations of. the size v of" the bill would; .be almost criminal \ The 'duty, before, the,, county .is simple in its broad sense—full- justice, to the-disabled and:to.--the dependents of the fallen—however difficult- it may be in' its actual application. But. as stated above, both sides of the Hduse,..hav.e set to work in the. right spirit, and- the almost unanimous desire for increase? iii the instances we have mentioned should mean full justice.