PENSIONS FOR DEPENDENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 275, 30 April 1915, Page 8

PENSIONS FOR DEPENDENTS.

TO BK REVIEWED BY PARLIAMENT. (Special Correspondent). Wellington, April 28. From enquiries made to-day your correspondent gathered that the Government intends to deal with the question of pensions for the dependents of New Zealand soldiers when Parliament meets. The existing scale of pensions and gratuitca is laid down in the schedules to the Defence Act of 190!). If a married man serving in the ranks loses his life on active service, his, widow .is entitled to a pension of from £2(> to £3O a year, with from £i to £8 additional for each child. Thus a widow with two children would receive at the most £52 a year, or £1 a week. In addition, a gratuity equal to one year's pay of her deceased husband :-:ay be given a widow, with one-third additional for each child. This gratuity would amount to the sum of £9l 5s in the case of the widow of a private serving in the New Zealand forces. A private who is totally incapacitated for life while on active service is entitled to a pension of 2s 2d a day, or £39 10s lOd a year. If incapacity is only partial, the pension will amount to from 8d to 2s a day. Comment is Karcely necessary.

Obviously Parliament will be required to supplement these amounts so that widows, orphans and disabled soldiers may at least be protected from actual want.

The Prime Minister, in answer to a question upon the subject to-day, said that the Government would deal with the question of pensions and allowances when Parliament met, and he. was sure that whatever sum of money might be required would be readily forthcoming. "We are appealing to the single men to come forward," added Mr. Massey. "There are plenty of men without dependents in this country, and it is their duty to become recruits. No; that is not to say that we do not want married men. A certain proportion of married men are bound to go. But I can state that where wives have objected to their husbands joining the forces and leaving familie.3 unprovided for, the defence authorities have made a general practice of tilling those men out of camp. I ha.T no doubt at all in my own mind that we can get the number of men required from among the young fellows. There are any amount of them about, and they will respond to the appeal when it is pressed home to them." Enquiries at the recruiting centres showed that as far as. We'ington is concerned a very large majority of the men registering their names are unmarried. That this has been the case throughout is shown by the arrangements for the allocation of pay, comparatively few of the men having felt it necessary to assign a large part of their pay ta" dependents. ,

Summed up, then, the position is that New Zealand is not making provision as yet for married soldiers on an adequate scale. The military authorities would rather enlist single men than married men, and they believe there are enough single men available in the Dominion to meet their needs. Whether the single men are coming forward as rapidly as they arc wanted is another question" and there liar, been some comment locally on an apparent discrepancy between' the published statements of the Defence Minister and those of the Prime Minister. Mr. Massey seems to be a good deal more fciuphatic in his appeal for recruits than -Mr. Allen has been. Mr. Allen may have something more to say upon the subject when he addresses the recruiting necting al Diinedin on Friday .night.