SOLDIERS' GRATUITIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17728, 12 September 1919, Page 5

SOLDIERS' GRATUITIES

ATTTTUDE OF DOMINION' • EXECUTIVE. DEPUTATION's"TpnON DISAP(Pee Unitj-d PeEss Association) T , WELLINGTON, September 11 1 Tβ 83 "" 1 , secretary of the N w Z ea . land IU-wrnod Spioicis' Association, in a sUtcment regarding gratuities, points out tnat the executive for some months prior to the Christchurch Conference had bc-en in oommuiiication with the Minister of Doionoo .en the subject, and tho matter was fairly considered -at the conference. The gratuity, if it was to be regarded as X matter of right coald obviously only be considered in relation to the whole question of wliat constituted a square deal or the soldiers. So far as he was aware tms had never-been comprehensively <lc - luiecl by anybody, and it was in itself an extwmdy oomjiheatcd problem apart from particular The obligations of thl Mate to tho soldier might be cxliaurfivelv denned under the following headings :-(i) Payments for" seryico: (2) pension forsuffw mgg. and clisabiity; (3) compensation for economic, disability and low of opportunities._ 'iho secretary added that the recor' precipitate action of th c Wellington Ke" turnc-d. Soklieis' Association has thus coi>ipromjscd the New Zoaland Executive "- its who:e policy, of seMu-Jnjr a Equ3l . e j for th P sokliew. From the statement of those responsible for it it would- appear that t.iey fcgar.l tho gratuity. ~.s ro,nr:er. Kl t:on for loss of opportun,t:cs and for Iwrdriiips .and dangers oniliired. It thus apt >:>,r ■ that they considered that the gratuity saoiild suppleinont the present scale undrr each of the three heads alxive, md llio presumption appeared to bo that a gratuity 011 tbe scale proposod ; l f l ho rp-ard-l /■= a full d.scharpre of the Rtute's rosponsibility in those respects. The relation of the gratuity as compensction f Or less of opDortunity to tiw otwrat-ione of th-> Rc-ryih-Af;,,,, topartment. which largely'existc,^ffo, ho same purpose, appeared to have been over- ' looked. The. secretary, in conclusion, said the demands of the deputation were in diroct and apparently intentional opposition to tho (>eclriivd policy of t.'io Dominion (inference which demncratically represented the whole ho-lv of returned soldiers th;-oiighout Nev Zealand.