END OF THE N.Z.E.F.

Otago Witness, Issue 3443, 9 March 1920, Page 53

END OF THE N.Z.E.F.

DEMOBILISING SOLDIERS.(Fboh Oub Own Corbespondent.) % ~- WELLINGTON, March 3. _ At tiie present moment the dominion it in. the extraordinary position of having an Expeditionary Force of. sick" men. In other words, the N.Z.E.F. is composed mainly of officers and men who> are either in hospital or receiving hospital treatment under the military regime. The military regimu continues in existence long after the necessity for it has ceased to exist. At the end of the present month, however, the N.Z.E.F., like the great war which produced it, will have passed into history. The whole' of the returned soldiers receiving hospital treatment under the Defenoi Department are to be demobilised. An impression seems to have gained credence that the soldiers thus demobilised will be brought automatically. under the civil authorities ill regard to their medical treatment, but thero is no warrant for this surmise. The medical , treatment of both officers and men will be carried on precisely as it is-now. What will happen is that all patients -will ba struck off the strength of the Expeditionary Force, and that officers and men will get pensions "instead of-pay. They will. also get the usual privilege leave and the railway warrant for 28 days. Upon the question of privilege leave will . hinge an important point. A man who is ah inpatient may say that under such circumstances privilege leave is no use to him; but that is not the case, for he can take his privilege leave at a ■ later date, when, he is well enough to avail himself of it; and the *'mportant point is that he will get his 28 days' pay now. In other words, his demobilisation will be delayed for "the 28 days. The railway warrant also will be available when he is fit to travel. .In the case of men the pay is better than the pension—ri<imely, £2 per week in place ci 55s per week. With officers it will be different, as the pension does not rise proportionately to rank as pay does. The > consequence will be that officers and highe!" grades of non-commissioned officers will bo drawing: less—in some cases very much less —than when they were in receipt of.piy. Here in cases of necessity is where the funds of the patriotic associations may come m Individual officers can easily see how they will stand "by looking up the N.Z.E.F. rates of pay and pensions. After a soldier has been discharged the Repatriation Department has power to grant him maintenance for ten weeks while he is seeking employment. Generally speaking, it is neither in the interests of the individual nor of the State that soldiens in hospitil long after the war- has ceased should remain in the army. Doing nothing has a demoralising effect, but in any case the time must come when the force as a force must be ended, and that time has now arrived. In New Zealand we have been much more generous in this matter than the authorities in Great Britain. There patients were demobilised and came under the control of the Ministry of Pensions as 800-i after their return as the formalities could be completed. The number of soldiers concerned in New Zealand is now comparatively few, there being only 728 undischarged in-patients and 319 undischarged out-patients. Of these, only 99 are officer in-patients.