SECOND DIVISION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14609, 20 May 1918, Page 6

SECOND DIVISION.

( _;_-^ ,- ', {.UiiStiOtf 01' ALLOWANCES. 1 ("Per Pre* AesociaHofc. *) I WELLINGTON, iM tiighL \ Referring lo figures published' hy- Utii j Defence Department showing that Ne'v*' J Zealand leads other parts of the British j Empire in regard to pay and allowances for soldiers and their dependants. I j Mr Armstrong, national president of the ' Second Division League, stated last flight that other dominions had not yet reached the problems "New Zealand 71 was now facing. Aa far' as Australia was concerned- it Avas only necessary to < remind the people of New Zealand that •even siiigle men in the CommoiiAvealth j ,could please themselves whether . they ; , Went to the Avar or hot. Canada appar- ' ently had not made any call yet on mar- ' l'ied res-arvists, • as it Avas only a feAv days ago announced by cable that the ' , authorities were only then > .about to call up men between thc ages ' ? of ,20 and 23V Canada, therefore,, had j 'apparently not yet reached the position 'New Zealand was in twelve mouths ago. j \lb had to be remembered that in 1917 ■ ; the New Zealand separation allowance 1 ■ for a Avife was 7s a week, as against j jCanada's £1 Qs lOd. Another recent (message from Canada stated that the pay, Avas to be considerably increased. It 1 ; was ridiculous for the Defence Depart- ' ment to suggest • tliat the people of , ' Canada .wouldV ask a soldier's wife with ; five children to exist on? her "allowance ] , of ,£1 Os lOd, plus the allotment frdm : her . husband's, pay. So far as Great . , Britain was concerned, the conditions ■ could not be compared. Britain's* civil I population was . .apparently completely , organised for war , purposes. Her prin- , cipal industries were, either nationalised |: or under State -control for the war | period.- Profiteering had been effectively ';. dealt with, .and if reports Arere -to be ; '. belieA'ed; the whole of ■; the people were ; ; ;oni rations. :-In Britain, therefore, there ;l was at least a measure .of equality .of V* Z sacrifice. , iJtvwould be time to .compare') j the British 7soldier's pay", with our , own j I when the Government of this country; j ,; adopted the general war legislation ofvt . Britain, and r when steps were taken to f i ensure that the whole sacrifice did liotvi '; fair alone upon the man who was found ji 1 medically fitv'tb served his country. There j' s ' was 119 reas*pn* ,-why New Zealand should! \ not cpntinueVin the lead, and if in that!: leadership. she assisted in bfe^king downu the. .precedents and preiudicep -of other, countries apd, induced Vtbe. prevention of ; a repetition .of the admihisti;atiye mis-' ; ta.kers of other wars, greater, would be ; the .credit, to the GoA*;ernment .of .this ] country. .V : '':■'. '