SOLDIERS' BRIDES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 205, 18 May 1918, Page 7

SOLDIERS' BRIDES

THE LAW AS TO PENSIONS,

the remits approved by 1 the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association for consideration by the New Zenland Conference of'lteturned Soldiers is ouo as follows:—

That if a soldier marries after his 1 - Teturn 'his wife-be-eligible for a war

; .pension, irrespective of ovidenco of pre-onlistment engagement or time- ' limit:

The War Pen sions Act, as amended, in 1917,j'does not retain the "prc-enlistment Engagement" stipulation •' previously adopted by Parliament. The original rulo'was tliat if a returned soldier, who had qualified' for a war pension, married after his discharge, his wife would be qualified' for a pousion only if she had been engaged to the soldier before he went to the front. Tho present law provides that a war pension may be paid to a woman-who

becomcs, by marriage in >ipw - Z?a--lund, the 'wife of a member of the I'orces after and within two 'years from the date of his discharge; pro- ' Tided that in the event of tho-death . 'of such member his wife shall, thereupon cease tb bo a dependant within the meaning of this section, but in any such case there may bo paiil to her a futility of an.amount lint, exceeding, hyico tile annual value of ■ lier pension.'. Under |this provision any disabled or partially disabled -New Zealand soldier may marry -within two years of -his discharge and then -receive, at the discretion of tho Pensions Hoard, a pousion i'br his wife on the usual scale. If a com-pletely-disabled man, who. had.been W: ceiving the full pension of Ji2 a week (possibly with the additions authorise! by tho Act) married two years ol his discharge, his wife could- receive a Sension of .£1 a week aq long as he lived, ut the marriage must, take-place "in Now Zealand."

/The words "by marriage- in New Zealand" aro important, since there have already been -cases where disabled men have married outside New Zealand and then applied for pensions for .their wives. ■Tho applications have had to .be refused under the present law. . . . /