WAR PENSIONS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2847, 11 August 1916, Page 6

WAR PENSIONS

SUMS NOW TOTAL £157,000,

Tho members of the War Pensions Board will leave for Christchurch at tliis week-end in order to sit in various centres in the South, Island. A similar tour of tho northern'districts was made some months ago, and the experience gained then showed the very great value of personal interviews with appli 7 cants who would be considerably inconvenienced if they were required to travel to 'Wellington. The board will sit in Christchurch all next week, and will visit Dunedin, Invercargill, ' and Gore during the following week. It will sit in Oauiaru, Timartt, and Ashburton during the return journey. Tile board dealt with 589 applications for pensions and allowances during the month of July, 477, of tho applicants being members of the forces and 112 dependants. The decisions of the board may bo classified as follow: —Soldiers: Pensions granted, 72; allowances, 347; applications declined, 4S; adjourned, 10. Dependants: Pensions granted, 79; allowances, 24; applications declined, 8; adjourned, 1. Tho total number of pensions granted by the board up to the end of July was 1491, representing an annual charge of £73,604. The allowances granted numbored ISO 4, representing an annual sum of £84,000. Allowances are granted-to soldiers in cases where tho extent of tho permanent disablement is not yet known, and it is certain that many of tho allowances will be converted later into ponsions. l The total number of pensions and allowances is 3295, representing an annual chargo of £157,604. Tho average amount of tho pensions already, granted is as follows: —Soldiers, £56 per annum; wives with children, £97 per annum; other dependants, £29 per annum. Tho average is showing a rising tendency in the case of soldiers and widows. >