WAR PENSIONS BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 July 1915, Page 8

WAR PENSIONS BILL.

FURTHER DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE. / By Telegraph.—.Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The House this evening went into committee to consider the proposed amendments in the War Pensions Bill. Sir Joseph Ward asked the Minister of Defence if anything could be done in the direction of issuing war souvenir medals; these distinctions should be issued to fathers, mothers, and possibly sisters of men who had lost their lives in the war. Mr. Allen said that he hail the matter already under consideration; he would make enquiries in the Home country and do what lie could. Considerable discussion took place upon sub-section (a), defining dependents as "the wife of a member of the forces at time of death or disablement, but does not include a woman who may marry a member of the forces after date of his disablement." Sir Joseph Ward argued that this wns unfair to a woman who may have hiul children by a soldier, but who was not married to him until after lie had returned disabled. Several other speakers supported this vic.w. Mr. Allen said that at the request of the committee lie had enlarged the scops of the measure, but he urged the House I not to make the doors too wide.

In brief, .but glowing, terms. ,LanceCorporal IJ. Hill, a, son of Mr. -Hill, of Wellington. late (iovernment Valuer at New Plymouth, gives an account of wluit a fight is like. He was in tin; charge up the heights of Oallipoli. "We each carried a. as well as a rifle, etc., awl at the given signal hopped over <t/he Tommies' trenches, aaniitet cheers from tliein. There was .nothing in front of lis but Turks, and we conhl get no supIKii'ting fire, aw there was the risk of hitting us. Off we went at top, led !>v our ofircens. A spell for a minute under very slender cover gave us our second wind, ami oil' we went again, this time, htwever. with fixed bayonets and 'midst a. .regular shower of bullets from the Turks. Another breatlier. during which you lay with your head nt-fl'l.i' "'lv burrowed into the ground, and off we went again. The. Turks' trenches were then only 150 yards ahead of us, consequently their fire increased, but it was no good flinching. 1 was going .foany .life just behind our officer, when, amck! I got one right in the U,ft mnro. It felt a.s if someone had poked a: hed-h'ot iron into my arm. I crawled back to' The last bit of cover we had left, and there found one of our ■boys "who had ibecni shot i.n the leg. We bandaged ono another up, and for ha.ff an' hour <li«r.us»ed ways and means of getting baoK. It was impossible. for him to move, so, leaving him my water bottle, I crawled bade to the Tommies' trenches. ... I hated leaving my wounded mate, but what was the use of staving? I couldn't do Anything more than make him a.i cccivfortaMe as possible. T .showed the nearest stretcherbearers where he was, find I found out later that they got him in just at dusk. Rig'ht hero I hod better give you my impression •c.f our attr«k. I didn't like it, too well at first, until we got to the Tonijmies' trenches, hut after thwt, to say the least, it was exhilarating, especially when w ; o houped over the front line : "i trenches. and were farewelleil hy the TVmnM*' cheers. Yes, it was just e.bout t'hifi .proudest mtoincnt of my life. Was 1 feeling scared?. Xo. not a 'bit. All I wamiW was a. Turk to shoot or baronet: but. a,s it happened, I didn't get to that stage."

A^iMipvTirtcnrmnn, snvs tlie Sti'iiiford Posh, is <pnu\tically isolated, and tlie position wrcimisd* to remain so for some wccta. It is stated that there was ni' much im ueven feet of witer in p!.we.s ■in the tunnel. The slips aloivp the ■vairwav line aira lvtpe. to say tlio. least, and the amount of nitrd and slush that bus "come <lo\vn with the flood a.nd settled in places is astounding. A railway livan wlw was out a.t Kiore, to which the line .i« now open, states that the wene in the railway yard lxifflM description. and mrnst ibe seen t-o be believed. The yamls are. on a slope, which m.'ike the .position still more remWkaihle. and are covered'with flotsam and jetsam of all kinds, <lead oor\is, Mr rami loi's. etc., being imixed up in the mud, •\rfik'li crwers the nlace to the depth of several .feet. An .idea of the amount of debris k ishown I>v the fact that of Mie oattlte yards, iwhich are over six feet high and arc a .sciven-ibarbcd enclosure, only tftfi three top bars are showing above the accumulation. Our informant added that there are months of work in | front of the raiiwaymen .before the line | is .properly clear.