A SOLDIER'S SPEECH

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 200, 16 April 1932, Page 5

A SOLDIER'S SPEECH

C'Post" Special Cbmmissionef).

"Not FPR ,,THEMSELVES BtJT FOR THEIR DEPENDANTS" pensions reductions

WELLINGTON, Friday. "Much as I would like tb give the whole of ihy loyalty to the Gbvcfiiiheht; I canriot £tand for the reductions prbposed in soldiers' and old age pensionsj" Mr. J. Hbrgest (Goverhment; Invercargill)' cleClared Iri the cbtirse of dh ..imprbssive sp'eecB on the second feadixig of the National Expenditu're Adjustment Bill in the House. Iri striking contrast tb ihe desk thumpihg taetiCS adopted by somie of the members of the House, Mr. Hargest spoke with quiet sihcerity. He appealed to the Government, and more particularly for soldiers and their deperidafits; but He also made it clear that he wbuld, _ oppose ariy rediiction in old agef pensions. ^He r ealisefl that the Government had to s'ave tiiqriey, but he was., in favouf of securing it by spreading the net of taxation over a wider field. A Downward Step "It is a downward step when we, in this eouiitry, have to deprive our old people of the simple pleasures of life, I krfow that the differehCe . of 2s 6d a week will make all the differeriee between some of the comforts of life and none at all," he said. Labour members: Ond and nine a week. . Mr;. Hargest: Yes, one and nine a week,.or 3s 6d to a married couple. Mr. Hargest said that he knew the Government was not going to deprive the soldier of his pension, but it was proposing to reduce the ,.pen§ion of his widow and dependants. It was also going to reduce the soldiers' econoirtic pension.

Not For Thbmselves "I had hoped never to mention in this House that I have been a soldier ovetseas," he said. *'I am proiid of tBe fact that I served miy country; but I do nbt wish to boast about it. I suffered a pefmanent injury in the wai* and I was a pensioner, but I gave up my pension because I be|ieved I could manage without it. I lcnow thousands of those young men who were soldiers, and they want nothihg for themselves,. but they do want to know that their dependants are prbvided for. "I do not want to appeal to your sympathy," Mr. Hargest continued. "I want to appeal to your moral sense, and to your sense of decency. I appeal to you to keep the promises you made to the soldiers who suffered in the wai*. Those promises should be redeemed at all. costs, (applause) I appeal for them because tljey were my comrades, and I am glad the member for Grey Lynn appealed for them. Every returned soldier should appeal for them, because they cannot do so.. •

The Price They Paid "They would not appeal on their own behalf; they ask notKing for themselves, but they inust , consider their dependants. Every day some of them are stricken down with tuberculosis, and other diseases , due to the hardships of war find them an easy prey. You have, only got to go to the cemetery at Karori and count thousands of graves, to count graves that have been filled by; soldiers who have died since 1920, to realise what these men suffered in the war. I urge the Government to rescind these clauses ref erring to pensions reductions and, to remove them from the Bill. "As a result of what those men did you have had 14 years of peace. We mBy have 14 more, perB^ps 40, but the time will come when you will have to call for men again." * Mr. F. W. Sehramm (liabour, Auckland East) : Never, I hope. Mr. Hargest: I agree with you. I hope we may never have to do so, but if we have, are you going to tell them that you have broken the promises you made to the men who went out to serve in the last war? I appeal to you whatever you do, to give to soldiers and their dependants that which was promised to them.