CLAIMS FOR ASSISTANCE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 25, 24 October 1918, Page 6

CLAIMS FOR ASSISTANCE

SOLDIEES "WHO WANT DIVOECES,

At yesterday's meeting of the Wellington War Relief Association tho Applications Committee of the association reported that it had dealt with 178 applications since tho last meeting. • The report continued:— . The subject of assistance asked for by dependants of soldier? other than thoso serving with the N.Z.B.F. has ogam engaged the attention of the committee. It is recognised thai owing to our geographical position, and because " f UI ?JS" ton is the military headquarters of the Dominion, we shall receive an ever-in-creasing number of such claims; and thot at the end of the war many hundreds of ex-Imperial- soldiers and sailors whoso financial resources may be siinicient only to enable them to reach Wellington, will look to us for help. In so far as ex-Impenal service men are concerned we must accept the responsibility; but as correspondence, between ourselves and the Commonwealth State Department of Repatriation elicits the information that .because no reciprocal agreement exists between the respective Governments refunds cannot bo made to us of moneys granted to, or expended on'behalf of, Australian soldiers in New Zealand, nor can the ex-New Zealand soldier in Australia claim, in case of need, the aid of the Commonwealth Government, it was decided that ii deputation should wait upon the Hon. Minister of Defence, and urge that reciprocity be immediately established between the Dominion and the Commonwealth. , , , It is, of conrse, to be clearly -understood that the-association is still adhering to its practice of assisting tho dependants of soldiers belonging to any of the Allied nations,! and, as a matter of fact, during the last threo months has expended or incurred liabilities aggregating JMOO in connection with assistance rendered the dependants of French reservists, tho widows and mothers of men of tho Canadian Expeditionary Force, to several Italian reservists, to the dependants of a number of men serving with tho Australian Imperial and Australian Tropical Forces, as well Cβ to a considerable number of ex-Imperial soldiers and sailors, and the relatives of those still serving with tho Imperial Forces. . ■ ' A serious aspect of the nature of tho claims received by the committee is the increasing-number of requests for_ financial assistance or for personal advice, regarding the severance of a domestic relationship no longer possible. Some men have instituted divorce proceedings upon their return from the front; others, some of them with eeveral years' service, have obtained special leave for this purpose. The committee has suggested to the Hon. Minister of Justice that the Crown should make somo provision tending to enable soldiers returning on leave or discharged from the N.Z.E.F.. to meet I the expense of divorce proceedings, when it is shown thot the soldier is in no way to blame. The report was adopted without discussion.