RETURNED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 110, 3 February 1920, Page 3

RETURNED SOLDIERS

MEETING OF DOMINION EXECUTIVE MANY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS DISCUSSED 'L'ho quarterly meeting of the Dominion Executive of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association was opened in 'Welliiigton at 2.30 p.m. on Friday, nn<l was concluded yesterday afternoon; 'There wero present: .Dr. E. Boxer (llasfc. iligs), president; Messrs. C. W. Batten (Wellington) and N. 15. M'Ciillum (Canterbury), vice-presidenft; Mr, li. J. I'. Aldrich (Wellington),» lion, treasurer; mid Messrs. .T. A. Cowles (Wairarapa), L. S. Graham (Tnvercargill), J. D. Harper (Wellington), A. C. Laing (Dunodin), IV. E. Leadley (Chrwtchurch), J'. Long and W. Pollock (Auckland). W. Perry and .1) S. Smith (Wellington), and H. W. Scott (Tiniaru). Apologies for absence wore received from Dr. Harrison (tho Otago vice-president), and Messrs. '1. filler (Taici'i),, B, J. Jacobs (Palmerston Worth); and A'. A. Chin- (Hamilton). Malcontents Repudiated Tho executive unanimously confirmed the action of its standing Subcommittee jn appointing Messrs. AV. Porry sviul D. o. Smith to fill the vacancies in its ranks caused bv the resignations of Messrs. I?. B. Bell and A. Curtayne. It .ilso placed on record its appreciation of the services these latter gentlemen had rendered tho association, and its regret at their retirement. ' Messrs. Laing and Pollock moved, and if: was unanimously resolved:— "(1) That this executive learns with regret that a-motion of no-confidence in ,its Standing Sub-Committee has been passed l>v the Wellington Returned Soldiers Association. The reason given for tho motion was that tbc Standing Sub-Conimit-tea had appointed two members unconstitutionally. - This executive desires to emphatically deny this and to state that the Standing Sub-Committee enjoys the full confidence of the returned soldiers of New Zealand.' . "12) That this executive wishes to exDress very ■ strongly its-regret that tho recent proceedings of a section of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association tend to destroy the confidence of the public in tho organisation as a whole, and its present high standing with the W Tfurther motion, carried unanimously on the uroposition <}f Messrs. Batten and Cowles. was.—"That this executive clenlores the attacks made upon the daily Press of Wellington by a section of the Wellington Returned Soldiers Association. and desires to record hero its appreciation of tho help which hoen extended to the Returned Association bv the Press of Wellington and throughout Now Zealand.

Reorganisation of tho Association. jr r . (!.' B. Bell, who was associated with the executive for tho purpose, explained the steps that hud 'ieen taken to re-draft the constitution of >he fisso-. tiation in terms of tlw action of the recent New Zealand Conference. W his suggestion a sub-committee was set up to hnalise the detail work done, and at a later stage the following report was' unanimously adopted l>y tho meeting: "The Constitution Sub-committee h* np l>v the executive, and enlist: tinea as follows—Messrs. Long, Smith, Harper, and Dell (conveiier)-havc carefully considered tho New Zealand and Provincial ' Aswchtions' constitutions as now ready for priMting. and, after making various smal technical alterations, are satisfied tnat the constitutions adequately mid properlj represent the decision of the council o« arrived at and adopted at an rxtniDTClin' arr general meeting held in Wellington oil October 23, 1919, and that the Stand ine Rub-committee of the executive should be thanked for the caro it has cxercised in reducing to type the spirit or the compromise then arranged. The Constitution Sub-committee recommends tlmt by the adoption of ,tbis report 1 lie, following motions be deemed'to be. - passed; awl the convener moves accordingly:— "(1) That the New Zealand and Provincial Associations' constitutions as now finally submitted be printed W wolf form forthwith; (2) that immediarelv such printing is complete copies ho dispatched to the vice-presidents of tho New Zealand Assoe-ifcnn Tvith ureent instructions to proceed forthwith with the registration of the Auckland. Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago Provincial Associations respectively in accordance with the terms of the New Zealand Constitution; (3) that the Auckland Provincial Committee be asked to loan its oreaniser (Mr. AY. Pollock) to the New Zealand Association at the earliest possible moment, and for a. period to bo mutually agtced upon, for the purDose of visiting the Gisborne provincial area, which it is intended to form, and with full DiiweM to (a) direct the formation of the necessary local associations there, and (b) actually form the Gisborne Provincial Association, and see to its Te"istration; and (4) that, immediately upon the registration of the five provincial associations provided for in the New Zealand constitution, the Standing Sub-Committee of the executive be directed to register tho New Zealand Association and its new constitution without ] The special committee was cordially thanked for its services. Segregation of Mental Patients. A demitatlon, cousistlng of Dr. B°xcr (president), and Messrs. laing, Pollock, and Leadlev, was appointed Jo wait on Surraon-Gencral M'Gavin and Dr. Haj (Insncctor-Gencral of Mental Hospitals) with rcard to the resolutions passed by the recent New Zealand conference, tho advisability of establishing a special institution for mental patients, and tho ouestion o£ classification- and segrcgatlo"t tho following session (lie president, on behalf of the deputation, reported as follows-.— • . . • . "(1) The expert medical opinion 111 fiverv country affected by war is unanimous on this score-that it. is to 'the■ advantage of the mental soldier case that: ho be not segregated by himself, but that, ho should freely mix with other civilian cases. The reason for this is obvious after a little thought. J. he actual tvries of insanity produced by war services differ in no way from ordinary civilian tvnes. If ex-solider cases are (i"!.»ri-satcd in an institution by themselves it mtaiis that they are always, by virtue of the common cause of their troubles, leverting to discussions of their experiences. I Ins is bad. Jt soldier cases find themselves but a small p:i;-i of an insvitii-tion tli'.-y will absorb another atmosphere of ideas which is essentially good for them, ' "(•)) Tho number of soldier mental cases in institutions is now comparatively small—about 1M) in all; 95 per cent, of soldier casts have recovered. II it were decided to establish a new iiislitii-. tion for these cases it could not be completed for from twelve to eighteen months, and, moreover, beyond thnt time about twelve months or more would have to elapse before the gvounds and surrounding conditions became beautiful enough to exercise that salutary influence which is so absolutely Accessary and is a part of the cure, itself. During this lapse of time, say two years, many of the 100 will have recovered, leaving a residuum of, say, 75 cases. It would scorn to bo unnecessary to supply a separate institution for this balance of cases, "(3) This balance of cases will probably represent all classes of cAses, and it would entail considerable" difficulty in stalling and contiolling tho individuals of each class in their own separate quarters. To illustrate: Tlicro might bo two cases of a suicidal uatijrc, ifad to control these two it would bo necessary to have special attendants. Had these two cases been located in tho ordinary institutions their reception would have ontailed no extra assistance in their control.

"In conclusion, it may b» said thai tlie really important issues aro, (1) That expert'opinion is unhesitatingly in favour of including soldier eases' m ordinary iu>'t'iuln.'!is, and <2) that to segregate soldier casus by themselves is lo tend lo aggravate rather than relievo their mental condition." 'J'hc report was and, on the motion of Mesa's. I.oadloy and Batten, it was resolved;—"T'liul tlio relatives nl' mental patients be advised of the w>>>>ion of Drs. Hay and Gow regarding scgn/jutwu, . una Unit they bo asked to

slate whether in view of that opinion they desire the segregation of their relatives." Alcoholics. The ox-general secretory (Mr. D. ,T. B. Seymour), on the invitation of the executive, attended the majority of its sittings in an advisory capacity. One of Hie c-,iiestions he was asked to speak on was tho problem of alcoholics Ho sketched tho steps that had been taken to i'nte to deal with this subject-theso were outlined in TheDojiisiok some months, ago and included the setting up of an Advisory Committee in Wellington, consisting of Brigadier-General G. S. Ricliardfon (chairman), Messrs. M. Myers, It. J P. Aldrich, T>. J. B. Seymour. Colonel G. Mitchell, D.5.0.. Mr. C. W. Edmonds (Y M.C.A.), and- Chaplain Bur on (balvation Army), which is now holding penotlical meetings—and outlined tho scheme \fter a good deal of ikscussion, it was decided, on the motion of Messrs. .udvicli and Scott: "That the- association s memorandum on the subjectbe td to local associations with * commendation that action ba taken in terms of it." Gratuity and Medical Questions. A deputation was set up to see the Minister of Dcfenco m connection with gratuitv anomalies and the nuestion of a gratuitv, appeal board. Ike report of its subsequent interview withi Sir James Allen was published yesterdaj Batten and Al.lrich were named as the association's nominees for such a board, and it decide t° circ" laise local avocations asking for a full list of anomalies, such on receipt to be thoroughly investigated and sifted befoio being forwarded to Mr Leadley reported regarding pensions'for mien' in consumptive sanatoria, on the lines that accumulated pension nlu, interest ot Post Office Savings Bank rates should be paid, to such patients, and that in future pnvment should bo made to the credit of the K'wts • Post Office ftnvirss Hank «uarcml.\. Jt w'k resolved:; "That, if patients in hospital for more than three pennon Daymen Is should be' m " j° info the, Post Office Sayings Bank, subiect to wcessary. restrictions on withdrawals—the executive's Standing SubCommittee to decide Hie period nft*r r/Misulfation with the Commissioner of P Owin" S 't'o the size of the agenda paper, it was found necessary to set up three snb-eotiiniitte.es to deal with the t ' lrUlftr ing of the. resolutions of the New Zealand Conference held three months ago, end of developments .;Ppertaining thereto . Special sub-committees, SrUed nt. a later vg* fo'low—Penmons, Pai ' and Allowances, Dr. •"Messrs. Harper. 'Lain®. an« Scott- Repatriation. Messrs. Bft ten (convener), LeadlfV. lon*. Graham! Jands Messrs. Perry (convener), CowljS, Smith, and M'tMlum. _ Claims of Mine-Sweepers' Crews. Mr Long reported on the. matter o. lihe claims of the men on minesweepers in New Zealand waters, and pointed out 1 tho desirability of paying them a gratu- : it v calculated on the basis of the timo > tliey were in New Zealand wat.eis. On j the motion of Messrs. BM ten and Pol--1 lock, it was decided: That wo mjje upon the Government the need of reco,,Ijiition by way of decoration of the services of those men employed on New Zealand mine-sweepers.'' Messrs. Cowles and Pollock proposed: "That in our opinion lihe dependants ot the men who lost their lives by being washed overhoard on tho New Zealand mine-trawlers should be entitled to .he same pension and gratuity as mcmheis of tlie N.Z.E.F.''—Carried. i Tho current financial statement was presented by the honorary treasurer, I and. after discussion, was adopted. A I report and balance-sheet from the board of management of "Quick March was also presented vby its chairman (Mr. Harper) and adopted, after certain suggestions regarding tho paper had been made. Regimental, Canteen, and Patriotic Funds. -The question of the disposal of regimental and canteen funds was considered, and it was resolved:—' -That, it bs a recommendation from this executive to tho next conference I hat we approve of the suggestion that a trust fund should be created from sipulus canteen funds for tho publication of- regimental histories, and that in respect of tho general allocation of the remainder of canteen anj regimental funds that these be devoted to eommemorativo se , "i'n 7 ' o hiivi and bursaries." On the proposition of.Messrs. Bitten and Graham, it was resolved: J. hat it is desirablo that tho capital of patriotic societies (lea;, if necessary, a special reserve) should bu invested at current rates Of interest with returned soldiers and the income applied to the assistance ol necessitous casc-si." The question of a common scheme for patriotic societies was considered, and Messrs. Leadley's and Graham's motion, "That we have no recommendation to make regarding a common scheme," was carried. • , ~ ) . It was further decided, on the President's suggestion:. "That we affirm una principle of tho executive council of tho patriotic societies that the existing lunds should be left in the hands of the jafcriotic bodies concerned, and that the iunds be not interfered with by tllie Government." Reoorts of Spccial Committees. . The Repatriation Snb-C'ommittee reported as follows:—"(1) That the Teply received from the Government to the recent rcmesentations made by,the association is most unsatisfactory; (2) that a deputation from this executive wait upon tho itnimtriation Board forthwith, and urge the adoption of the conference resolutions."—Adopted. The Land Subcommittee's report contained the followinsrclanses:—'"(l) That the. association set up a permanent land committee, consisting of Colonel G. Mitchell. D.5.0.. and four others. (2) That in all oases where returned soldiers take mi land under tho Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act tho first years rent be rebated, such rebate of rent to be capitalised. (3) That the land scheme as passed bv the late New Zealand conference be urged on the Government for adootion. W) That the valuation fee under the Discharged Soldiers Settle- ■ ment Act lie reduced to Vs. Gd. (5) That stump duty be remitted or capitalised. (6) That provision be made for a greater area of suitable grazing and pastoral land to bo made available for soldicr-set-tleniont. and, further, that all leases falling in be advertised at least threo months before becoming available. (7) That to obviate delay a greater number of rangers, valuers, and surveyors be employed. (8) That loans to soldiers be as follow —Single men, .£250; married, i'-KIO. with .£SO for each child. (9) Tlint no rural areas over'tho value of ,£7500 ho transferable without tho option of purchase being first given to the Land Purchase Board, such option to be exercised within threo months. That such land cannot be sold to anyone other than the Government for . a . period of two years after such option is given at a lower price than that asked from the Government without tho approval of the Land Purchase Board. (10) That tho -M'"} 3ler be informed of the fact that at tho ICaiinika settlement (1316) the road commenced has not yet been tinisned, ami that the soldier-settlers aro paying on a

i loading of ,£3 per acre imposed for tho - construction of tho road."^ Tho ronort of tho Pensions, Pay, and Allowances Sub-Committee, which was adopted, traversed tho progress of events 1, in these departments of tho association's 1 activities since the Now Zoaland confer--5 onto in October last,, and contained much e interesting information of ft technical s and detail nature. e British Section, e Mr. .Tohn' I. Pox attended by special s. invitation, and delivered an address roi garding tho formation of the British section of t.lio New Zoaland Heturnod Sol- - dicrs' Association. On tho motion of Messrs. Batten and 1 I.e.idlov a vote of thanks was accorded 5 Mr. Pox. It was further decided, on the proposi- - t.ion of Messrs. Batten and Aldrich: e "That tho Standing Sub-Coiumitfceo draw up an agreement with tho British sec--9 t.ion of tlie Now Zealand Heturned Sol- - diers' Association, and subject to tlie reg--3 istration of tho badge, the British section " be allowed to manufacture tho badge ii\ " tho United Kingdom. And, further, 1 that the Dominion Executive heartily welcomes the formation of tho British section of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association." e i Miscellaneous Resolutions. j: Among the other motions adopted were thp following:— . , Following a protracted debate, tho fol- * lowing motion, proposed by Messrs. , Cowles and Pollock, 'vas carried: "That, ! considering the conditions existing in the war areas during tho war period, i and the valuablo work done by Miss Ettio Rout, a subscription list bo opened to 3 reimburse that lady, and that this ac--0 tion has tho approval of Oho N.Z.R.S.A.' "That, nurses shall not be required to pnv subscriptions; that they can only be issued with the Red Cross badge; and that thev be deemed active members of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association." "That we protest against the rcgistrn--1 tion of the New Zealand Soldiers' Asc sociation. and of tho infringement of our title bv this body, and that the Stand- ' inn Sub-Committee bo instructed to ask 3 tho association's solicitor to go into the matter." "That, a returned soldier may be ap- " pointed to a permanent position in the p Civil Service without first passing the Public. Service entrance examination on condition that lie. pass the examination ,' within four years." . "That a committee, consisting of J Messrs. Cowles (convener), Long, Pollock, and Hustwick (one of tho complainants), should interview the Minister ot Defence in reference to the Euahine complaint, ; and that on receipt of a report from this . 'deputation t,ho Standing Sub-Commit-tei; be empowered to act as they think I fidvisable and to issuo a Press state- ; '"'That the To Arolm, Thames, and Te ' Kniti associations be affiliated. "That, the executivo ask the Government to supply in each of tho four centres an efficient firing party for the . funeral of every returned soldier "That, -the attention of tho district : committees bo drawn to the matter of ' nnfinancial members, with a suggestion ' that" the organisers be asked to bring 1 this before tho notico of members when : addressing meetings, and, further, that it-, bo a. suggestion to local associations where the position warrants it _.to en- ' gago ft man to personally interview unfinancial members, and collect subscrip''"Thaf. on the first of land i anv soldier purchasing privately- be allowed to have stamp duty capitalised bj means of a loan from the Repatriation Department, repayment to be mado over . ' « „jvinrl nf ten vears without, interest.