SOLDIERS' ALLOWANCES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 193, 10 May 1919, Page 6

SOLDIERS' ALLOWANCES

THE RETROSPECT!VE FLEA. 'The MinUter or Defence (Sir Jamel Allen) replied .yesterday to certain staidincuts by: Mr. Douglas Seymour, secretary of the Returned Soldjers' Association, m which Mr. Seymour alleged parsimony against the Minister on account of llw payment of separation allowances at (he latest increased rate retrospectively from the dale of embarkation only. , "I note," said Sir James Allen, "that Mr. D. Seymour, general secretary of the Returned Soldiers'. Association,- in.commenling on .the restrospective allowances that are to be paid to wives of soldiers of Hie N.Z.E.F., refers to the condition of the allowances are payable as from the dati of embarkation as a characteristic pettifogging effort of the Defence Department tc minimise the amount, rightly due li them. This criticism is quite unjustified This condition has not been imposed M cause of any desire to limit the monetal'.'i payment, but to meet diiliculties due Hi the very incomplete state of the carlj records of the Expeditionary Force camps The records for the Main Body and tilt earlier reinforcements do,not indicate tin slatus of the soldier; that is,, they do no: indicate whether a man was in camp as i fit Soldier due to embark for active 6er vice, or whether he was an unfit m(ii engaged on homo service. The only evidence of activo service status in the cas< of the soldiers of. the Main- Body ant early reinforcements is the fact of embarkation. That is the real reason whj the condition making retrospective allowances payable as from embarkation hai been imposed/as it gives, the only, cleai and definite line of distinction lietweer aclive and home service. It might br possible in those cases for the pay brancl: to trace each mail's history from the old records in order to ascertain tho; dat< when he entered camp,, but this inquiry would entail a great amount of labour, and would in many instances be inconclusive, and would. cjertainly prevent the retrospective grants being available iii the first week in June next.VAs-.ji matter, of fact, it .would delay the payment •for months."