PAYING THE GRATUITIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 5, 1 October 1919, Page 2

PAYING THE GRATUITIES

THE PROCEDURE. - Some inquiries as to -he procedure for tho payment of gratuities to soldiers were made of the Defence Minister in the Houso yesterday by Mr. H. A. Wright. Mr. Wright asked the Minister whether it was necessary for the individual soldier to mako application for the gratuity, and if so, how? Would the Department notify every soldier as to tlie time when his gratuity would 1 be pnidp And ■would the money bo available immediately? Sir James Allen said that all the particulars/asked for had been given to members in the paper which ho had presented to the House some days ago. A special form, of application was provided to be filled in by the soldier, alid supplies of-these forms, had been suit to every post office in the country, whera they would be available to soldiers wlio wished to have tlienv. A soldier must fill in this form, according to directions contained in it, nnd forward it to tho Officer in Charge of War Expenses, Wellington. When the application was received it -would bo numbered in- oyder of receipt, ami tho body of applications would Ire taken in tho order in which they were received. As there would be great numbers of these applications to be investigated, it would lie some time before payment' could lie made. When an investigation about any application was completed, tho amount due to the soldier would be remitted to the' Postal Department for payment to the soldier's nocount. Tho money for the payment of tho gratuities was nynilable;, lie did not know whether ■ anybody had yot been paid, but he hoped to hear Very soon that payments had actually commenced.