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RETURNED SOLDIERS' CONFERENCE

ACQUIREMENT OF LAND FOR SETTLE- ; BENT ' NEW SCHEME PROPOSED By Telegraph-Pre'ss AHociatiou. Christchurch, May 30. it the Returned Soldiers' Conference this morning , the executive's remit re.frardiuß. pensions was'carried, also a remit from ,JJiiwera\ that Cabinet Iμ requested' to. direct the Pensions Board to apply the doctrine of pre-war disability ■only after careful review of the wholo .circumstances in each case. A Dannevirke remit that, no soldier's pension , be reduced without his having first appeared-, before a medical officer, a Hamilton remit that the minimum pension be £3. .15s. weekly, and , a.motion by Mr.Long (Auckland) that when the application of a returned soldier-is refused by the Pensions Board he shall be allowed' to appeal against tho decision, with a representativo'.of the "R.S.A. to conduct his appeal, were, carried. .

... It was ..decided that, the ' Governmentbe approached to form a Pensions Appeal Board, also to affirm that tho Pensions Act should be.amended to provide pensions being payable either in case of death or disablemeiit'at any time after discharge, where death' or disablement is the result of war service.

, Proposals were discussed affirming the principlo of paying a totally disabled man his pre-war income, and it was decided to refer the question to the incoming executive to obtain evidence of economists!"' " ' . :

Tho.conference also resolved to acknowledge' letters from the United Federation of Labour and the Canterbury Industrial. Association expressing good wishes and proffering help. The Lands Committee-reported to the conference to-day that the land settle-, ment policy which they brought down provides for taking the matter of acquiring country lands for soldiers out of the hands of land boards,' and transferring it to. new public committees, which.it was proposed to sot up, each such committee to have power of direct action, subject only to the veto of the Minister .in charge of repatriation, .fiach committee should' have its own district, and for this purpose the existing repatriation' committee districts, so far as possible, should be adopted. Bach committee should consist of three members, one to be appointed by tho Governor-in-Coun-oil, one by the N.Z.E.S.A., one by an A.'and P. "association "to. be nominated by the Gflvernor-in-Council. It was proposed tbrat the amount of advances for the purchase of. stocks and implements be increased to J51250; the powers of langer ai? to stock be.conferred upon in-dividual-members of the committees, jffhe attention of MinFsters concerned was drawn to the.necessity of making special provision to encourage the settlement of unemployed lands. The matter of encouraging 6uch enterprises as timber milling, coal mining, etc., was referred to.- The main purpose was to obviate the delay incidental to Land Board pro-cedure,.-and this .purpose was stressed. A. .measure • calculated to prevent Inflation of the price of land was included. ■.The proposed machinery and organisation -fot-the settlement of returned soldiers on'the land was set forth at length.

Mr, T. W. Stringer, convener of the committee, said it had not found fault with, the existing Act, which was a good one, but the ouarrel was with the administration. Tlie Laud Purchase Board system was obsolete for returned soldiers, and the committee had brought down a scheme so as to speed things , lip. Mr.'T. Miller said tho policy was.the .very best lie;had seen. It was credit to the B.S.A. than the Land,. Act was lo ..the. Government. It was pos-sible-'that under certain conditions the price of land would go sky high, and to stabilise the value of land the committee had. drafted a clause which was' an. honest' attempt to meet the situation.

.. The. clausesi .we're' considered seriatim; Regarding. the committee's proposal that the value, of land proposed to'be devotto soldier-settlement should ,be based upon the estimated productive capacity of such land. Mr Jf-'M'anus (tluuedin) moved an amendment that the laud value be based on -the pre-war prices. The amendment was lost. ; ; The committee's report was adopted, with a few.amendments, including one by llr. M'Mamis (Duuedin) that the Government lie urged to introduce a scale of taxation so graduated us to force upon the market , largo areas of land at present not utilised to full productive capacity. FUTURE ADMINISTRATION OF THE '^ASSOCIATION ebi'elsentatiqn of the ... '.'■-■' distbicts. (By > Telegraph-Special Correspondent.) ... Christchurch, 31 ay 30. The deliberations at' to-day's sitting of the conference were mainly directed towards consideration of the report of the Lund Committee, introduced by Mr. T. AV. Stringer (Hamilton). The report dealt'comprehensively with the land sc-t----tlement policy affectiugi returned soldiers, and outlined a scheme which tho delegates practically unanimously decided was undoubtedly the solution of the land problem.. The various.clauses were earnestly discussed, and with the:addition of three amendments the report was adopted. _ ' : The evening 'session of the conference was devoted to .tho consideration of the report, of the organisation committeu,which dealt with tho future- administration of the association.. Tho conference accopt«l-'-the recommendation that' tho Dominion be divided into four military districts,' to .-facilitate the organisation, and further agreed that each local association, concerned sot up a district committee to discuss ways and means of organising each military district, and appoint organisers. I" regard to representation on tlio Dominion executive it was conceded that Wellington sliotH' bo entitled to five members, in addition to oiio- vice-president, as against three members from tho other three districts. Tlie report of the- couunitleo was based on the /report, of I executive -included in the conference agenda papor,'and while tho report; of the com-' mittec was adopted, an amendment for :the adoption of tho executive's report was defeated, and in connection with the association's representation at \the jiuiiufll conferences it was agreed to limit the number of delegates to three.. • There is a hint of a'split following the decision-arrived at by the conference regulating, the nunvber of delegates theassociation will bo allowed to have at the aiiTiiiarcmifcrcnco. Mr. Andrews, secretary :of 'the Awklaml -Af.social ion, euggea'ted to your correspondent that this decision would lead to a disafliliatiox of the northern city association, and perhaps other associations. Auckland is ntprasout thn stronge?t. association,.ami is represented lit (ho■ sitting conferenco by fivo dolegates, and the decision arrived nt bv the conference reduces the number for juturo conferences to three. Mr. Andrew.H liinted that within a year thexe would be. a new returned soldiers' organisation in New Zealand, which would in nil probability bo affiliated to an organisation in Australia. This step, he churned, would follow as a resu.lt of' tho conference's decision to reduce ' Auckland's representation at the annual conforence.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190531.2.33

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 211, 31 May 1919, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,065

RETURNED SOLDIERS' CONFERENCE Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 211, 31 May 1919, Page 7

RETURNED SOLDIERS' CONFERENCE Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 211, 31 May 1919, Page 7

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