“SHOOT OUT THE HEAD”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9717, 20 July 1917, Page 6

“SHOOT OUT THE HEAD”

MR VIGOR BROWN SPEAKS OUT defence administration CRITICISED.

A strong protest was made by Mr J. Vigor Brown. AI.P. for Napier. 1 m tho course of the debate on the Acl-dross-in-Reply last night, against the inadequacy of the pay, allowances, and pensions paid to soldiers and their dependents. The general treatment meted out to soldiers and their dependents. and other‘sins of omission and commission in tho administration of the Defence Department wore also severely criticised.

The hon. member for Matanra (Air G. J. Anderson), stated Air Brown, had said that he would shoot cut all the Defence Department officials, but the speaker held that it was not the officials that were to blame. It was the Alinister and the Government. The officials were ruled bv the -Minister and the Government. He was sure that the officials, if they had their own way, would never have written thje letters to the wives and mothers and other relatives of soldiers that they had had to write. But the Minister for Defence wa.s only there by the will of Parliament. He was not tho king of tho House, nor of the country- He should give attention to these matters, or he should go. It might be said that the regulations were at fault, but it so the Government should alter the regulations. (Hoar, hear.) AN ANZAC'S MOTHER. He had received a letter from a lady in the South Island who asked him to lay her ease before Sir Joseph Yard and tho Liberal side of the National Government. She had tried tho other side and failed. She, wrote that shfc felt very strongly that she, had not had justice from tlio De.fcnco Alinister and the Pensions Board. Her son, a corporal. had left with tho Alain Body in 1014, and had died in Egypt in November, 1915, from wounds received at Anzac. She asked for a pension of 25s a week (the maximum for a corporal’s widow), hut was granted los only. She appealed to the Minister for Defence, and he replied that there was no evidence that her son was her solo support; and, as sho had -some capital and was still able to work, the board could not grant her request. Surely, said Air Brown, Parliament had not intended ;o penalise a soldier’s mother for thrift! (Hear, hear.) The lady stated that l:er son was her prospective support. Ho was a reporter. 23 years of age, and was only getting on to tho time when he would have made a homo for her. Here was a woman 53 years old—th«t was her age—asked by the Pensions Board to go out - into the world and make her own living! (Hear, hoar.) She was widowed some 20 years ago, and had brought up- her son, and ho would have been her sole support had he lived- Ho had gone to fight for his country, for all the land owned by members of this Parliament, and that was how she was treated. (Hoar, hear.) He did not blame the Pensions Board. They had to do what the regulations said, and the Government ought to alter tho regulations, 'they should also have two returned soldiers on the board who knew what the men had gone through and would sec justice dene to them and their dependents. (Hear, hoar.) Air W. T. Jennings (Tauraarnnui): “And they ought to have a good, cominon-sonse woman on the hoard, too ” (Hear, hear.) THREE SONS ON SERVICE.

Air Vigor Brown added that ho had also received a letter from an old man, 67 years of age, in .Nelson district. “The Hon. James Allen,” he wrote, “overshadows and disheartens soldiers and their relatives.”

Air Speaker: “The hon. member cannot road a letter reflecting on members nor on tho actions of this House.”

This mall, Mr Brown continued, had sent two sons to the front; and a third, who had been his partner in business, had 'gone into camp, since which the business had collapsed. The old man, who had no other means of support, had applied to the Hon Sir James Allen for work, but had not got it. Outside his house, bo wrote, “a veritable Kaiser’s subject” was receiving 14s a day building a wharf, or nearly three times as yuuch as Any of his boys were paid for fighting for their country. His boys would return broken men, with no money, and their parents would be in want. Ho had hoped to get a job as Government valuer, but it had been- given to someone clso. Ho could give dozens and dozens of such cases, said the member for Napier, but ho would only weary the House. WHY PUNISH THE WIVES AND CHILDREN ? Mr Vigor Brown also called attention to the case of a soldier who had been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for two days’ absence from duty. The man should he punished, because his absence from duty might have resulted in the loss of many lives. But, why punish his wife and children? The wife complained that ner allotment had been stopped when he was convicted, and that in six months her children’s allotment would he stopped, too. (Shame!) The country. he was sure, did not want that sort of thing to go on. Nor did the House. (Hear, hear.) Those men had gone to fight for the freedom of those they left behind; and, surely, they could look after the soldiers’ wives, mothers, and children while they were away 1 (Hear, hear.) WAR. PROFITS TO PAY FOR THE WAR. The primary producers of the Dominion had received some £25,00U,00U extra money for their produce during the wa.r, and that would pay the country’s war expenses up to the pre--,nt time. (Hear, hear.) Why should they not take such war profits to nav for the war? (Hear, hear.) In would be taking money from people who had no right to it. (Hear, hear.) No man bad any right to make any money whatever out of th<V war. (Hear, hear.) Now that the Second Division men would soon be called upon to go, said Mr Brown, the position would get still worse so far as the dependents of soldiers were concerned. For example, he knew a man getting a good salary, a man with a wife and several children. When he was called up he would get only £2 12s 6d for himself, his wife, and family. But he paid 2." s a week for his rent, and £1 a week for life insurance; and he would be loaded with 5 per cent, on that—(A member: “Seven and a-half per cent. 1”)—for war risk. And all the

Government said was that they wore 30102; to look into the matter and bring in proposals. Bat that was no good. (Hear, hoar.) He wanted to see their proposals brought down while the Second Division men were here, so that they could discuss them with the Government. (Hear, hear.) The Government ought to put _ their proposals before the Second Division and see whether they agreed to them or not. (Hear, hear.)

SHOULD TAKK A SEA TRIP. The lion, member for Mataura had said that the officials of the Defence Department should he shot out, but he said that the head of the depart- ' ■ he -r. o;p.

A member: “Who’s that?" 'Brown: "ihe Hon. Sir ,J ; n,ir„ Allen. ’’ The lion, member said that he recognised that the hon. gentleman had worked a» bard a? anybody. No doubt he did everything ho could, and had worked to the beat oi his ability. He had had a. great deal of work to do while his two colleague; were at Homo. Perhaps ho had been overworked. lAt any rate, ho had got stale, and ought to have a holiday. They know how an employer would say to a man who had been working too hard, “You take a month's holiday, and go onwi .sea trip." (“Hear, hear,” and laughter.) And the Minister tor Defence should fake a sea trip and a rest. (“Hear, hear,” and laughter.) For his health, his future, and so on. (Laughter.) Mr .1. T. M. Horushy ; “How would iie do for High Commissioner?” (Laughter.) Mr Vigor Brown: “There are some other aspirants for tho position. I think there are ono or two of them. (Renewed laughter.) NO GOOD MINCING MATTERS.

Proceeding, Mr Vigor PI'O--Vn declarod that it -would not be satisfactory to the country at large unless tho Govornment took the whole of the var profits. It was no good mincing matters. They had to find a great sum of money for the war. After they had taken the war profits, they should get on to tho wealthy people, tho brewers, tho merchants, and tho runholdcrs, and tickle their pulse. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) They ■ must tax the wealthy. It was no good reducing the income tax exemption and that sort of thing. (Hoar, hear.) During the time they had been at war the unimproved value of land in New Zealand had gono up something like twentyfive millions sterling. That would he mainly distributed amongst tho 60UO or so* big -landholders. That increase in unimproved value had been brought about by tho war. The bigger prices ;or produce meant increased value lor tho land; so that tho big landowners were getting all the benefit, both in the war profits they were making and in the increased value of their land. (Hoar, hear.) . COULD NOT DO TOO MUCH.

What he wanted to make clear to tho Government was that it did not matter how much they did for the soldiers. the country would agree to it. Supposing it, cost them four, or five, or six millions a.year for the next twenty years, and they got their liberty, what of it? They would he in the Dominion, and what they had got to do was to look -after tho dependents of those who had paid the penalty lor them, and to care for those who enmo back sick, wounded, and crippled, and their dependents. (Hear, hoar.) A woman had told bin* that she had been drawing 3s a day from her son's allotment, bift when bo was killed she got a letter from tho department asking her to return 12s overpaid, because ho had been killed on tho 27th of tho month instead of on the last day of the month. (“Shame!”) He hoped that that had not taken place. If it had, it was a terrible thing. Ho was sure that the Government never intended it to be done; and if the regulations were at fault they should bo altered. (Hear, hear.) The department should have a Suspense Account to meet such cases. (.Hear, hear.) Sir James Align: “There is a Suspense Account.’’

i Air Brown: “Then I hope that the Minister will give instructions to his officials to operate on it pretty freely; because I am-sure that nobody in this country; intends that that sort of thing should be done.” The Government, he declared, must mend their ways, or they would find out at the next election what the feeling of the country .vas in regard to such matters. Their duty was to win the war a*nd to look after the soldiers and their dependents. (Applause.) AGAIN UNDER FIRE SOME SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS. Sir James Allen was again under fire when the member for Riccartcn. Air Witty, had some serious allegations to make against the Minister’s offices. The Aiinister for Defence, he said, had cleared away a lot of things against him in his speech. There were, however, a good many more things ru be cleared up before the Aiinister wcnld stand as satisfactory in the eyes of the country. ; When the .Minister said bo was going to stick to his officers no matter what might come along, he only had himself to blame if he were blamed for their mistakes. Ho was standing between the public and his officers, and this was causing most of the trouble. There was no doubt that tho drain of reinforcements on New Zealand was a severe one. After looking into tho figures quoted by Sir James Allen regarding the men at the front, the speaker wished to know where 36,(XX) men unaccounted for were. If they were doing nothing, then no more men should be sent from the Dominion until they were put in the fighting lino. Sir James denied that the facts stated wore correct. Air Witty replied that h© was quoting from the Alimeter’s own figures as reported in the papers. Sir James replied that these figures were not correct. ■ Ho would put the matter right later, however. Continuing, Air Witty said that the Dominion was asked to form an extra brigade when no other country was asked to do this. Sir James: “Yes they were.” Air Witty; “But did they do it?” •Sir -Tames: “No.” Mr Witty deprecated the fact that members could not criticise matters in regard to the hospital ships. The public had paid for the furnishings yet they had no right to criticise. The Aiinister said ho took the responsibility when he was not really responsible. SEMIOrS ALLEGATIONS. As an instance of the way in which men were dealt with in medical examinations. Air Witty instanced a case which had come under his notice in which two men were called up in the ballot. Both had passed Al. One was the son of a wealthy man. The man, who was the better built of tho two. was afterwards referred back for further medical examination, and he was then placed in CII class. Why was

tho smaller man not similarly dealt with? . , .. “I would like tho Ministers attention,” said Mr Witty. "I will give him plenty of cases.” , . , ~ Sir James: ‘‘All right; hand them over to me.” Mr Witty added that some men who had been called up had been given exemption for six months even without coming before a Military Service Board. ‘‘Will the Minister still stick to his officers?” asked Mr Witty, “and is ho going to give fair play to the public of New Zealand?” Mr Witty quoted from a letter he had received which alleged neglect of duty in tho medical reports issued to returned soldiers arriving at Auckland. One of these men did not receive his pension,, and it was onlv after Ins referring the matter to the speaker that it had been rectified by the Minister and a pension granted to the soldier concerned and to his wile. This man would not have got his just rights but for a member of Parliament. This should not be. Surely the Minister would not stand up for officers making blunders like this. The speaker would kick them out. ~ ~ , Sir James Allen had glibly said that tho Dominion must send the last man and tho last shilling. What was wanted, however, was to send the last shilling first, and then send the men after it to find where it was. CHOCOLATE SOLDIERS.

“Again. I must draw the attention of the Minister,” said Mr Witty. “J. want to speak to him about the toy soldier, the chocolate soldier, the man that struts down the street twirling his moustache with A member: ‘‘Spurs. ” Mr Witty: “Yes, with spurs, too. What are these men doing? And in face of this we are told that w© can’t have our men back from til© front. Surely we can send these toy men to the front.” (Hear, hear.) “THMR BLOOD BE OX YOLK HEAD.” The Defence Department was also making a grave mistake in sending awav to the front men who had. had only* a few weeks’ training. Men who had joined the 26th Reinforcements had been transferred to the 2oths, and then to the 24ths. and then sent away. A member: “With only five weeks’ training.” A prominent military authority had said “their blood be on your head” to those responsible for sending away to the front men not properly trained. Th© Defence Minister should note this. “Surely,” added Mr Witty. “the lion. Minister will not now stick up for these officers of hit?” Sir James remained, silent-