RETURNED SOLDIERS’ ASSOCIATION.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3492, 21 May 1920, Page 6

RETURNED SOLDIERS’ ASSOCIATION.

A_meeting of the Executive ComJnittee of the Taihape and District -Returned Soldiers’ Association was held on Wednesday night, when there was a. good attendance. An apology was received from the Ohingaiti subassociation, and the Mangaweka and Raetihi sub-associations were not represented. Mr. L. E. Norriss presided. ’ . -

The secretary reported that the membership on Ist April was 298, after fourteen outward transfers, etc‘, had been struck off the local roll. Since Ist April, 18 new members had been enrolled, and there had been 7 inward transfers, the net membership was now 32-O, whilst a good many applications‘ for transfers to this branch had been received. Since the last repart a number ofunatters. relating to pensions. gratuities, service medals, etc., had been attended to on behalf of returned soldiers and the re‘latives of deceased soldiers. The report stated that a large number of inquiries re land, etc., had been answered‘ on behalf of returned soldiers who‘! were not -members of the local association, and suggested that the asso-

ci-ation was now strong enough to ignore the non-members. ‘Since the last report between 8000 and 9000 acres of land had been offered for settlement in the Hunterville and Ohingaiti dis‘tricts, and in conjunction with Mr. S. ‘A. R. Mair, efforts were being made 1130 secure the. settlement of the areas offered.

The report was adopted. It was resolved‘ that in‘ the event of any returned soldier not a member of the ZN.Z.’R.S.A. applying for assistance, such assistance be declined unless he joined the association. It'was resolved that Mr. Mair be ‘thanked for his valuable asistance in secnring areas of land for sgldier settlement. ' ‘ Mr, E. Lenihan was appointed delegate. to the Secretaries’ Conference and ‘to the Dominion Conference. It.v_vas decided that the Committee act as an Entertainments Commitfeej

"during the season for the p‘l‘n~p‘sge of‘ a conducting socials-, etc., and ‘that the y é§i.rSt.'9f.tll.e series he held on June 3, I ll ' l ninrrrs FOR A'NNU‘A.L coNFERV ENCE. ii The following remits were adopted:_ , I—That t.he -attention of the Patri-it btic Societies’ Advisory Board be drawn to the fact that a number of Patriotic Socities are supplementing 1" the inadequate pensions of disabled { men; and are thereby using their; funds to relieve the Government of; its responsibility towards disabled! soldiers; and that the Board be urged V to recommend that all Patriotic SO-5 cieties _should assist the R.S.A in its ‘ demand for adequate pensions ‘o‘y en- ' deavour-ing‘to force the Government to carry out its responsibilities towards the disabled soldiers; 2——That all pensions payable to the widowed. mother or other dependent r of a deceased» soldier should be made payable from the date of the soldier's death or the date of the stoppage of his allottment, and not from the date’ of application only. 3—‘—lt having’ been decided that ‘the wvarv ‘service medals to which a deceased soldier would have been‘ enti:tlod'h-ad he lived must, in the case ‘of an unmarried soldier who has leftg a will, be issued to the leg-atee (whether related to the soldier or not), the { p authorities he ‘urged toamend the regulations to provide for the issue of such medal to the father, mother, or 3 other surviving relative of the soldier instead of to the legatee. A -I~—Th:l’x. section 7, sub-section 3 of “The ‘Expeditionary Forces Amendment Act, 1918.” should be 'amende'c'li 3 to provide that the war service gratuity in respect to a deceased soldier "s‘-aould be payalble to the sister, brother, or other relative of the soldier whose father and mother are deceased and who has left no widow or children instead of- being payable only to the} relative who is in receipt of a pension in respect to the death of" the 3 sol(]ier_ ' s.——That the maximum sum advan-! ced by the Government for the pur. posfe of felling the bush on soldiers,’ sections should be inci-eased.to cover in -all cases the actual cost of felling 3 the bush, which var-ie‘s,tr,o-n1 £2 to £3 5/.per acre, accoi'(liug; to the nature of the bush; the maximum advance of £2 105 not being sufficient to cover the costof felling the bush in a good many cases. . i é—'rhat the attention of the Government Ibe drawn‘ to the influx of aliens to the Dominion, and to the fact that released German internees are being allowed. to commence in business in opposition to returned soldiers.

‘ BRITISH. G-OVERNMENT’S EXPENDITURE. ’ LoNDoN_. May 13. Iteis officially ainounced that. the Treasury has spent £452,329 sterling since June last on grants to voluntary societies for the relief of faminestricken areas of Europe. This is in connection with a scheme by which the Treasury pays £1 for‘ £1 voluhtarilx raised.

G-ERMA.NY’S INDEMNITY. ALLIES’ SCHEME OF FINANCING. ' LONDON, May 13. The Evening Standard indicates fhat it is possible the Allies’ will raise an infiernational loan for the pfirpose of mobilising Germany ’s indemnity, and to allow her money for reconstruction. 11-[is admitted that there are great difliculties in the way of finding the money for such -a loan,