REPATRIATION
WORK OF DEPARTMENT
DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE
THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS
When tho report of tho Board was -placed beforo tho Houso of Representatives .yesterday, several members''.raisod. questions connected with tho repatriation 'soiorno. Mr. f J. A, Young (Wuik'ato) said tho
authorities had refused to make adpurojiase of stock to re- '. turned mon.who'had acquired land privately. -..-."... Hon. W. H. Herries: We are making guoh. advances every day. ", Mr. Young said he had two distinct cases where advances had been refused, ; He would place them before tho Minieter.
Mr. H. Poland (OMnemuri) said .the .great.troublo about repatriation in hie district was delay. ' Nothing was more harmful to soldiers than the loss of time, involved in getting definite roplios from the Government. n ■'■;;;::'' ; Patriotio Funds.
' Dr. A. .K., Newman (Wellington East) asked if the Government proposed to take any 6teps to secure the expenditure within a reasonable period of tho patriotio funds. The people wiio had subscribed the money did not'want it hoarded. Yet he understood some of tho money had been invested -for long, '.periods, even-ten and twenty years. The patriotio funds ought to be sjent on the returned soldiers now. ' , ••
— Hon. W. Herries: That is Internal Af- .; fairs..... ( '.. '~,- ,■ '" -jprj 'Newman.-protested'.'against the Ministerial practico of shuffling resnon'sibility from one Department to-another. There was too much of the thimble and .the pea about the replies of' Ministers. '■.' Tho. Hon. D. Buddo (Kaiapoi) men- - tioned'another aspeot of repatriation, and•was told-.that it was.a Defence Depart- : ment matter.' '■'. 'Mr. Buddo mentioned the case .of a young; man who could not ?et an advance because he had not got his discharge. : ' •; 3 'he Minister of Defence (Sir James en): The case has been dealt with. He .':' can! apply to. the Lands Denartment. , The Minister of Lands (Hon. D."H, .Guthrie) s■ Ho oan apply.for his dis■charge and can then get the advance. •■-Mr. Buddo: But •he cannot get, his discharge. He is not fit yet, .though he is quite,capable of doing some work. '
■ Money Needed Now, Mr, C. J. Parr (Eden) said there was duplication of ejfort at somo points between the societies and the h* i: patriation authorities.. He agreed that ■the patriotio funds ought not to be hoarded. The money had Tbeen subscribed to help the returned soldiers, and the help was required now, He considered it un.wise to.leavo all this money in the hands of 'trustees. 'In Auckland some portions of the patriotio funds had been lent to local bodies for periods of 21 years. There • was no justification for suoh action. 1 The pwrrie who 6iibscribedi had never intended that their money should be used to asalflt authorities. Mr. Parr suggested tbat the Government should bring down a measure 'to -secure unifermity in tlla hitDdlins of .patriotio funds. Mr..S. Gv Smith (New Plymouth) njrged upon the Minister the desirability of extending the operation of, the law to give relief to widowed mothers, who havs IcsL't&eir onlyVgoas at the front, fie would like'.tbe Minister to give this mat tor consideration. •• >
Mr.• Hemes: It is being oongidered. ' Mr. Smith said that the committees in TaranaU were giving satisfaction. ■Tnere were no vexatioug delays suoh as apparently: were being experienced in other districts. '"-.'.-. '
Mr. H. G. BU (Christohurch South)' Bup- ; ported-tlie demaid of Mr. Parr that the v Government should take action, to bring ;.to account .the moneys now loaned to :'":local„bodie9.pn long terms. He suggested >ft 'conference of local committees dealing with'fund&jp ; ; Mr. Hemes:' We have had. that. '■'• Mr. BU: Were they all present? " Mi\ Hemes :Somo of them didn't come. ■ /Mr., Ell suggested that there should be a compulsory, conference. .. ' .■■*:"Mr, T:.M.. Wilford (Hutt) said that the S repatriation work had been largely break- • ■,lng ■new ground, but it had been proved that the.Gpyernment hod made a wise . choice- jii',';putting' Mr. Samson at. the ■.. h«ad ( o'f4he Department, He' was oourte- . dus; energetic, and very anxious to make ', a succcw: of the, wdrk. Herries: Ho is enthusiastic. : .:.."MJr. Wilford asked the Minister to ex'■■'tend .the benefits of the Act to those New -Zealanders,..wh6 had served with the ...Motor Boat; Patrol; - Mr. Hemes: They are inoluded.. /-.Mr. Wilford asked that the Act be :,mado applicable to. Imperial reservists residing.&'New' Zealand at the outbreak of war. The wives and widows of those
- ; .resenvists,,got no allowances from tho v'.'Ne^^ealjf^'*^ ernmel it. Whatever the ; \/]m'--'ma;' it 'should, bo. put right, Be " was "glaa'!t6" hear that something; was 'being'done'to help the widowed motliers of men, tilled at the war. Ho pointed out that the debentures in, which, par \ triotio, funds were invested wero easily '..saleable.''' :.;• Mr. Parr: At a discount. ; 'Mr. Wilforti: said that Auckknd City .'Council loans canying 5J per cent. ■would realise par, and no better invest : nientfor funds coula\bo secured to keep the moneys liquid. • The same could act be said, of investments -for five years on : ' mortgage. .■■■.■•-■ '.Mr. 0. H. Poole. (Auckland West) said ' ho ■ wished' to express appreciation of work done by repatriation boards in different centres of the Dominion, although sometimes thero might be failures and disappointed men among the soldiers. Ho ;.- defended tho investment of funds in such
.securities as would make the money available praotically at call. It would lave been'.bad business to have held these moneys without profit for an un- , certain .number of yeare. -. He would object to any centralisation of authority over patriotio funds, fijr he believed that tho,present Government Supervision was /sufficient. '■■,••■ *V
'.-'■■. For the Maoris. ' .The Hon. A. Ng'ata (Eastenl MaoriJ. to. ferred 'to a sclieme for tho repatriation of Maori soldiere. It had becft suggested that men from tho Pioneor Battalion, should work wider their own officers, on tho Napier-Gisborno railway. Tlio Minister of Public Works, who had .said ho had money but lacked workers, had been offered a,party of Maori returned soldiera, bit' tho scheme broke down' becauso tho 'Department did not realise the importance'of allowing tho mon to work under their own officers.' The Maori boys had learned in Franco to work rapidly, arid thoy'undoubtedly would bo able to hasten railway construction on the Bast Coast. The (Department had offered the officers 13s.'Gel a day, but they could make very much more than that in the »hoaring sheda. • Mr. Ngata urged the Repatriation Board to aS3ist the sohemo, which would benefit tho. country' as well as the Maori soldiers,
, The Minister's Reply. The Hon. W. 11. Herries, in reply, spoko of the good-work of the Director of Repatriation (Mr. J. R. Samson). He Y attributed tho success of the repatria- '.; .tion scheme largely to thc'poliy of do- ' centralisation and the entrusting of responsibility to people who had . local knowledge! The district .repatriation boards and committees had dono most 1 valuable work. Thero seemed to lie somo • -misunderstanding regarding the duties of the .Repatriation Department. The Defence Department provided vocational training'for the soldiers up to the time , of their discharge. The Repatriation Department did not take responsibility un- . til the discharge had been issued. The . men who wanted land had to look to tiie ... Lands Department. But- if a returned soldier acquired land without the assistance of the Lands Department, Ihe Re-
patriation Department would mako an .iis3fJpl¥£i>iP> P! ) |/9Vi f'Mv'?-;' 1 ' 1 ••• ""■. on of, the business advance.'' The primary■ task of the.lic- .. patxiation Department was. to find employment for the discharged men, and vcrv gcod-'vnrk had b?cn done in this . respx't. Th?re were only 4Sft unemployed i'ea o'l the hooks of the Department .', at tlie present time. The Department was not merely providing technical and voca-
tional training, with sustenance allowances where necessary, it was assisting men to' start ponUrv farms, seed farms, garages, hoot factories, and manv other undertakings. It lent up to JE3CHI for businesses, .£SO for furniture, and £'i 0 for tools of trade. It was paying sustenance- allowances to men undergoing university training. It hnd paid the passages of men going to lake up scholarships in English universities. The expenditure of the Department un to August 23 had amounted to 0377,000.' Sir. Herries mentioned that the Department had had the co-operation of the Returned Soldiers' Association. The Department had nothing to do with the patriotic funds. Its money came from Ihe War Expenses Account, It co-operated with the patriotic societies, and ho did not think there- was overlapping.
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Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 302, 17 September 1919, Page 8
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1,368REPATRIATION Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 302, 17 September 1919, Page 8
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