RETURNED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 246, 5 July 1918, Page 6

RETURNED SOLDIERS

4 MEETING OF WELLINGTON ASSOCIATION ' ! CONFERENCE DELEGATES REPORT A general meeting of the Wellington*. Keturned Soldiers' Association was held last night to receive the report of the delegates to tho recent conference of' the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Fed- " oration. Mr. .1. D. Harper presided, and there was a fairly large attendance of members. Messrs! 1?. W. Clinkard- and M. A. Lawrence iiero elected to till vacancies on the general cojimiittee. ox reported at 6ome length regarding the work done at the conference. lie said that the delegates had discussed the remits in a veiy earnest spirit, and had reached some important decisions, lliey had recognised the urgency of tile repatriation problem, and. lie believed an advance had been madei i, • ? c ,ti° n - Canada had a. Returned Soldiers Department, and Australia had a Minister of Repatriation.. jlie returned soldiers must continue to ; demand that a Repatriation Department should be created in New Zealand, Tho conference had decided that no man ought to be placed on a section until ne had some practical knowledge of fanning, and until fences and water supply had been provided. It had urged that every returned soldier placed on. the laud should bp provided with a house. This might not apply to bush, settlers, but it should applv to all men placed on improved land. Mr. Fox mentioned other proposals of the conference, and urged the returned soldiers as a. body to support their organisation actively. Mr, Clinlrard referred to the treatment of nenrnsthenic and "shell-shock" cases. The conference had adopted a report urging that'a special institution should be provided for neurasthenic cases, and that theso moil .should not be discharged until fully recovered. The conference, on. tho recommendation of a medical committee, had recognised frankly the fact that returned soldiers who were definitely. insane must be placed iu the mental hospitals, but had recommended that a. specially selected medical officer should meet every hospital sliio to watch the interests of mental cases. The delegates had recommended that men employed on the staffs of hospital ships should bft P ,VRn a turn jit the front. They had cushy jobs, and tho men who had been under fire ought to share tho good things. Other delegates reported 'regarding various aspects of the conference's work, and a cnneral discussion followed. The meeting adjourned until Wednesday next to consider further reports from the conference.