WAR RELIEF

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2868, 5 September 1916, Page 7

WAR RELIEF

IMPORTANT MATTER FOR SOLDIERS' DEPENDANTS ASSOCIATION MEETING

; ■ -Messrs. William Ferguson (chairman),: L. 0: H. Tripp, James Macintosh, A. Macintosh, George Shirtoliffo, / C. A. Ewen, 0. M. Luke, D. M'taron, E. J. Colley, and J. Lewis were present at a meeting of the War Rolief held yesterday afternoon.. On a reoent date the chairman of the War Relief Association (Mr. Wil r Ham Ferguson) wrote to'the Minister of Defence in the following terms: —"It is understood thai in the case of dependants other than wives, the allotment ceasos from tho date of notification of the casualty, and tho allottee is advised to make immediate application for a porision to the looal registrar. It' is. quite likely that the deoision of 'the Pensions Board will bo deferred, and the : Relief Committeo of this association is of tho opinion that'an ap- . parent injustice is done to such dependants. J have been directed to respectfully ask that the dependants bo treated in. the same-mannor as the . wives, namely, that the allotment bo continued automatically, while the pensions claim is being investigated. Were . such practice adopted, it would oertainly allay any anxiety on tho part ■ of the dependants,,and nionetary hardIship would not he incurred. when not ' .in receipt of tho first instalment of the pension." - . .' 'The Minister replied as . follows :— ■'Dear a?,—ln reply to your letter of the 15th instant, I have to .point out that the condition under which an allots

ment to a -person other than a. wife is ' continued';under /Section 21 of the War Pensions; Aot is that the , allottee is dependant upon tlie soldier for support

■Before the Pensions Board was set up, ihe Department required in'all cases a "> declaration as evidence of dependanc), but now that tlio pension application . forms are in existence it is better to 1 have this ; form completed at once _'inr stead of waiting for' a declaration, ' which,' by. the .way; was found, to be .of little value;- The onus is, therefore, \ '''thrown upon the dependant, to apply at once for assistance. Directly the. form is received tbo : application is con- ! sidered by.the Pensions Board. If.-tho decision is deferred for any reason the . Commissioner of Pensions communicates with; the Pay Ofhco stating that ■ , the applicant is. in nocd of assistance, • renuestin<* .that tho allotment be ■' oontinued until the board's inquiries are completed.', This procedure nvini- • 'mises the possibility of any. .hardship arising through,dopendants losing their , means of supports The allotment in any caso is paid up to the date of notification qf casualty, so that thoallottco ••- has a full month at his or her disposal in which to apply for a pension before Rny further payment of allotment which would be made "if the allotment wero oontinued automatically. This procedure also protects tho Department from bogus claims which wero received when, declarations wero accepted." . A letter was received from tho Advisory Board of the Federated •War Belief Sbcieties's'oliciting any ideas that societies may have with regard to placing soldiers on the land. It was stated by Mr. Tripp that several of .the societies had set up sub-committees to deal with tbe matter in their own

Mr. Hope-Gibbons was tak- \ ing a very active part. in. this matter ii> the Wanganui district, v;h9re scmo men had been placed on the Jand. Sir. J. Lewis was of opinion that this was 1 a .matter that should bo dealt with by', a National Committee'of experts—men who knew all about the : land.

Mr. Shirtcliffe hardly knew- what such a committee could do in tho mat-, ■tor. '•'.-■■ .

Mr."-Ferguson' intimated what the Commissioners of Crown Lands' woredoing. : Mr. Lewis consented to have his suggestion sent on to the , Advisory Board through the ussociatiori. The minutes of the last meeting ot the Advisory Board and the Conference of Federated Societies, both hold in Wellington, were considered. A letter was received from the secretary of the local branch of the British Medical Association, stating that the! offer of tho branch to attend to soldiers' •wives in the absence of their husbands ; only referred to those women who may ho in necessitous circumstances. The ; secretary .also recommended that more iise should be made of, St. Helen's Hospital. If a woman wished a particular doctor to attend to her, that even cuuld "be arranged by giving the applicant a card to that doctor. '■ , m