FINANCE BILL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 34, 4 November 1919, Page 7

FINANCE BILL

$—: MORE PENSIONS CONCESSIONS WIDOWS, POLICE AND SOUTH AFRICAN VETERANS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS The Finance Bill, introduced in Ihe House of Representatives Inst night, deals with a number of matters, most of which have been referred to on other occasions this session. In terms of the Financial Statemenl. provision is made for the increase of the amount that the Government may invest in Reserve Fund securities from =£800,000 to 0:2,000,000, The export of uncoined gold, prohibited since the outbreak of war, is now to be permitted. Public Works Loan. In the Budget the amount to be borrowed for public works was stated at ■£500,000. The sum is increased under this Bill to .C 750,000. Interest is to be at such rate as may be prescribed by the Minister of Finance. Power is taken also to" borrow an additional sum, not exceeding ,£150,000, for the purposes of tho Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Act. Widows' Pensions, More generous provisions are made ior tlio payment of pensions to widows. Tho rate in future is to he 7s. Gd. a week in respect of every child, with 7s. Gd. .a week additional. A widow without children still is not entitled to a pension, but a widow with a child or chii dren will draw 7s. Gd. in respect of every child, and 7s. 6d. additional. So that ! if a woman has one child the payment will be 15s. a week, if two children 225. Gd. per week, three children, 30s. a week, and so on. There is n proviso that under no circumstances shall the widows' pension be. granted of such an amount that tho aggregate receipts of a widow and her children, including any other pension or allowance, shall pxceed ,P 1 ">s. a week for tho widow and 10s. a week for every child. But a widow who receives a, war pension of a greater amount than this shall not have her pension reduced on account of this section. Miners' Phthisis Payments. 1 The payments' to miners and their dependants on account of the sickness of the breadwinner or his death are being made much more generous. The miner himself if a sufferer from pneumoconiosis is to receive 30s. a week if married, and 15s. a week if unmarried. And the widow of a minor who dies of this sickness is to receive the pension at present fixed during widowhood and not for a period of two years only, as the law at present limits the pension. War Pensions. ' Amendments are made also in the War Pensions Act. A-little more easy.conditions are prescribed to make a woman who has married a soldier more than two yyars after his discharge from the forces, come within the definition of a dependant for the purposes of the War Pen- , sions Act. The amendment does not say that such a venian bprninrs ;' dependant, but it gives tho War Pensions Board th° right to say so "if, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, the hoard is of opinion that she should be entitled to the benefits of a drnendnnt." The benefits of the AVar Pensions Act . are extended to apply 10 those persons, permanently resident in New Zealand at the time tho Bill shall pass into law. who are in receipt of pensions in respect of service in the South African AVar. There is a proviso that no person shall be paid a pension under 1 this clause of an amount sufficient to make his or her total receipts by way of pension, including any Imperial pension, more than the total amount iihat would have, been payable if the soldier in respect of whose death or'disablement, the pension whs being paid originally l had been a member of the N.Z.E;f; lii tho Great AVar. The Police. An important amendment is thatwhicn provides that tho war pensions scab of pensions shall be applicable to the cases of .V.I members of the. Pclico Force injured or killed in the execution of their duty.- As rank is recognised in Jibe, payment of pensions under the AA'ar Pensions Act, provision is made for the determination by the Governor-General-in-Council of the grading of the members of the Police Forco for the purposes of thpso pensions. Applications for pensions to or in respect of members of tho Police Force are to bo referred to the AVar Pensions Board. General Clauses. A number of general provisions appear in the Bill. Tho powers of local bodies are extended to include the provision and maintenance of approved war memorials, approval to be by tho Govcruor-Gencral-in-Council, and such a memorial may bo erected in any read or street. "Local body" for the purposes of this provision is to incf.ude borough council, county council, road board, town board, or harbour board. Several clauses are inserted to definu more clearly the powers of the Repatriation Board, with the object of giving effect to tho intention of the. legislation already pasesd. It appeared fion: the explanation of tlio Minister that the Audit had raised question about the validity of certain payments. Another repatriation clause gives the Govcrnor-GoneraT.-in-Council power to suspend all or any of tho provisions of any award or agreement, or any of'the provisions of the Shops aud Offices Act and tho Factories Act, to enable disabled soldier* to be employed. As the law stands at present, goods ■ coming into the country from Germany ' are liable to a surtax of 50 per cent. It is.uow proposed that the surtax shall be "not exceeding 50 per return." Local are forbidden to borrow money without the consent cf the Governor-General-in-Couneil. Provision is made for tho holding of tho elections of Licensing Committees at the usual time, in March of next veai•Public Service Commissioners. The term of office of Ihe Public Service Commissioners is extended until .'December 31, 1920, or until Urn earlier appointment of their successors in office. But for tho purposes of the Superannuation Act they are to bo presumed to have retired _ from the service at the term of expiry 'of their contract of sorv:ci; with the Government. At. the termination of the period of their temporary reemployment in their positions, i.e., from the expiry of their form, of office until their actual relinquishment of diitv. the Commissioner and the. Assistant-Commis-sioner are to be entitled to six months salary in lieu of leave of absence on. retirement. Power is.tak'pn lo make new appointments to the. office. The appointments' aro to he made by the GovernorGenoi'iil, and tlio appointees are to hold office during the pleasure of the Gov-ernor-General. Soldiers' Gratuities. Anolhor important clause has reference to the payment, of gratuities lo tlio dependants of deceased soldiers in respect of those soldiers' war sorviees. At present the Government is obliged to make the. payments to certain relatives specified. The proposal is fo make it possible for tlie payments to he nwdo to any relative in receipt of a pension under the.War Pensions Act.

A alary oi' 11 cat with a conscience. A friend staying in a country place saw a. cat steal along Iho garden with something moro than that animal's habitually guilty Rail. "Wlnilcli her," said lihe mistress. Presently a thrust, (low into a bush, and begun a single, harsh, threatening note, cfiiitc unlike even the thrush's alarm cry. The cat stopped, listened, crouched, showed ureal uneasiness, and finally flew back into the house. "A few days ago," said Hie mistress, "she caught and killed the thrush's mate. Since then, whenever t'hc eat appears in the garden, the thrush Hies over her, perches, and begins mobbing her. As a rpsult Hio cat's character is quite changed. She used to be a live!v, happy animal ; now sbe is as depressed as you noiv 6cb her to be," ■'