REPATRIATION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 122, 17 February 1919, Page 6

REPATRIATION

"• •:; fflE NEW ZEALAND SCHEME REGULATIONS NEARLY ; isfOMPLETE : It is anticipated by Mr.' J. R. Samson, "Director'of Repatriation; that the regulations which are-being framed under the Repatriation Act, and regarding which the views of the various district committees have ..been obtained, will bo definitely settled within a few days, and gazetted injmediately..-With'so many thousands of men returning to the Dominion, Mr., Samson is anxious to get the schemo .in : full- working--order in the shortest possible time." ; •Sir. Samson is at present in Christchurch. In an-, interview with a "Sun" representative he stated that the regulations were.being'fram'ed with a view to 'elasticity,- 'and' wduld'nof be as the laws of the Medes and Persians. ' The keynote of the scheme was decentralisation, so that local knowledge could be utilised to the full. The whoio of- the discussion with the Canterbury Board, which ,be met/ early last week, was to to the powers of a district board. Although the bulk of tho work devolving upon the board may be really the wort of a metropolitan board, it, with its repatriation '•' officer, was in charge of the whole;, district; and ■> the work of the .whole of the' local committees would cdme ; within its purview. It was hoped , ■to_ have the machinery moving forth-! with, but it might-be found in the future that-it would be necessary to amend the constitution, even to the extent of creating separate district boards for south Canterbury and West'.and. ~.9 i u ! ss 1 t . ione d regarding the powers of-a district board, Mr. Samson said that in its capacity as an advisory b6ard it would shortly make recommendations to the Repatriation Board in Wellington regarding industrial- undertakings and such like that would give employment to soidiere. Those, recommendationscould cover almost anything .likely to be o| 'Value in-repatriation. Tho board if u ohofei-'could make recommendations'as to the starting of new industries or the subsidising of existing industries, so as to develop them in n way that'would afford to soldiers. In its capacity the board would control-.expenditure by. its. repatriation- „ Questioned Vitiv regard to the probabilIP ott /? repatriation scheme lessening the. usefulness'of patriotic societies Mr Samson said that there was no doubt tliat the Repatriation -Department would - uk r°™\* lot of the work of patriotic ?n^r-I b^'th^ w !" W still * s ope C for--theMa ter. 'Until the regulations S,? 6 sett , > could°not g v && -S :i } e ,«»«ncial assistwh:ebntthe scheme included provision rfoYiient wasfoundfor them; for specmi .allowances to men to whom training jn-tradeslor professions was being "iven° lor-supplementing, the wages of apW M^flrn™ 1 * tO - t i leir old tradesTand Si iV i thej m eou ' d , Mt resume their gf trades The. Act also empowered boards .to give assistance to the widow wbuH T^< U , ™'\ prol)abl<! that there would assistance to .men in the £W .of Krants.for .the purchase of fur"! wnere. these■ were necessary, to enab'« he men to settle down agai/in civ 1 iff 'ree. transportation might also be. given in pertain.cases. . #';'■■■