PENSIONS AND GRANTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2367, 25 January 1915, Page 7

PENSIONS AND GRANTS

"FOR NEW. ZEALAND SOLDIERS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Dunedin, January 24.' In. conversation with an "Otago Daily Times" reporter on Saturday morning the Hon. J. Allen stated that the whole question of pension allowances to New Zealand'soldiers who might be wounded at warj or to wives and families of • those who might be killed, was under consideration at the, present time. Mr. Allen remarked thai he Had only recently received a copy of the Commonwealth Act relating to soldiers' allowances, eto., and proceeded to make a cursory comparison of its provisions with those contained in the existing New Zealand Soldiers' Pensions Act. : Ho said tha* so far as he could make ■' out the Commonwealth Act only made provision for the present war. "I : think,'' concluded . Mr.Allen, ~ "that, their schedule of payments' appears to he higher than ours in some cases, but their schedule is the maximum and the assessment of the amount of a pension is a matter for the Pension Board to decide. Their Act does not provide, as ours does, for payment to the widow <?f an .officer, non-commissioned officer* or private or one year's pay, in addition to her pension, with an ampunt equal' to one-third of the gratuity toeach of the children under age. In Australia the life of a child is defined for purposes of the Act as under sixteen, both for a son or a daughter,, whereas the New Zealand Act provides that a. pension may be continued to. sons until tliey attain the age of. eighteen and to daughters until their twenty- ; first birthday." . ' Mr. Aden concluded his _ statement on the question by reiterating his pro-. | nouncement that he had been going carefully into .the matter of New land soldiers' allowances, eto., adding that he, would probably make some re? commendation to his colleagues on the subject.