Preferment for Men with Service.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3181, 4 September 1917, Page 8

Preferment for Men with Service.

A complaint had been made that 'fit -men we're Being given positions. at - the bases at Home. It was quito true>tl».t. there were men retained at.-.tho bases: who had never been at the front, but- hothought that for the most part these were men who because of their age ( or general health it was not thought Ucsirable v tb send to France. He would mal}e inquiries about the complaint, %it ho did- not' think it'was well grounded. . ' Referring to the question- of promotions he said that since the date of the return which had been quoted the pro: portion of commissions allowed-to men at. the front- had been increased, and in future the number to be grahted to noncommissioned men in this country would be onlv six per month.. Territorial officers, had been told that they would have to get into camp if they wished to keep their rank as officers in the Force, add a number of them had come in. This rondo a surplus in the camp, and they had been told that they .would have to submit to an examination. The result <jf this, examination would probably be that some of these officers would have to revert to tho ranks. He did'not agree that it would bo wise or fair to close altogether the road to promotion to the non-com-mission man working his way up in this country. The rrproach that they had not ■joined until lonrc after the war bejmn scarcely was a fair one; the men might have had the best reasons for not enlisting earßer. , Mr. Seymour: TVe say that they should make good when they go to the fruut. Sir janies Allen: It must not be supposed that every man who goes to the front will make a good officer. He did not agree that it would be possible to send reinforcements away, without, officers. Work f6r Returned Men. Mr. Herdman referred first to the sugt cestion that the branches of the association should be worked into the scheme for the finding of employment for soldiers. But he had worked up a very „ o od organisation of local committees, and he did no~t care to disturb it. He •would be very glad to communicate with the committees and ask them to keep lc touch with the local branches of the association. One of the difficulties of tin. Denartinent was Chat very often the worn that was obtained for the soldier wasonlv temporary. For some of the mon it was impossible to got permanent work. The inclination of the men was to supplement their pensions as roon as possible .but he was convinced that It woin'' he wiser for some of tliem to give some timo to learning a trade. Once a man became master of a trade lie became al>=olutelv independent. This was the view taken in England.and France. Indeed, so strongly was the view held in 1- ranee that there men were compelled to learn some trade after beim: discharged partially incapacitated. He admitted that compulsion was not desirable m this country, even if it were Arrangements had been made vtih the technical colleges throughout New Zea-, la-i-1 for the trainins of soldiers in trades and in certain cases an allowance of .LI . Ik was allowed to a man wishing to. attend a technical school or an ojperimental farm. It was suggested -that I v Government should set up a -speeinl in--6ti'ntrenfostrongl y nof off' ttat U would be wrong policy to spend .CjO.OOO or .£50,000 on an institution in Wellington or somewhere else, which wontf not. L used bv the soldiers'.- whose first desire on- their retuirn from the front was to get back to their own district and to their own people.