The Daily News. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1917. A FUTILE ATTITUDE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1917, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1917. A FUTILE ATTITUDE.

The debate on the Pensions Bill has net been free from acrimony. Some of the members, indeed, seem to have temporarily lost control of themselves and said and done things which do not reflect credit upon the highest coiirt of the land. Happily, in the past New Zealand parliamentary proceedings have been conducted with due regard to the proprieties. These are, however, nerveracking times, and it may be that members' tempers are affected by the strain \ to which no small section of the people are -'.bjeeted just now. For that reason, perhaps, the unfortunate exhibition of bad temper and pugnacity should be overlooked, if it cannot be excused. It is a pity the element opposing the Pensions Bill did not reserve their ammunition until it was needed. They simply wasted it. Their attitude was fatuous and likely to prejudice a good cause, the cause of the mar Tied men, who might well exclaim, "Save us from our friends." The Government in the matter of pensions has met the Second Division quite fairly. It has considerably improved the original Bill, the last concession—increasing the pensions for children from 7s fid to 10s —making the Bill acceptable to any reasonable-minded man. The trouble occurred over the pensions for widows without children, the recalcitrants urging an increase to 425, but they entirely lost sight of the provision of the additional pension for those whose former standard of comfort could not lie maintained on the 30s. Under this provision a childless widow can receive 45s per week, which, in the circumstances, cannot be regarded as inadequate. The Pensions Bill, as amended, should have heen passed unanimously, anil it would have been had the seven extremists been alive to the interests of the dependents of soldiers which they profess to champion. The proposed separation allowances are of more concern. These will be brought down by regulation, hut the Minister lffls undertaken to have them first discussed by the House, and whatever rates a,re fixed will, therefore, have all the effect of a statute. Originally the Government proposed to increase the present rate of Is a day to 3s in respect of wives, and from 9d to Is in respect of children. Now that the rate of children's pensions has been increased to 10s, it follows that the separation allowance must also be ..similarly increased. This leaves only the separation allowance for wives to be settled. Cabinet took' up the attitude a week or two ago that a married soldier should contribute 3s from his pay of os per day towards the support of his wife. The Second Division League maintains that this is not equitable, holding that the pay should be regarded the same as the pay of the single soldier, to be deferred until the soldier returns or allocated to his dependents, :\s desired. .Manifestly au.v savings effected will come' in useful when a soldier returns and has !<• start civilian life afresh, whilst it lhe best interests of tl'e State. . mcli i n the interests of tin- iiiJi'.l.in.ii, tl.at he should

hiave something to fall back upon when ise i-'eoimnences civilian work. If he has !•> provide 3a » day for the support of ,!.ia home, wliat diancu has his wife of j accumulating a ''nest egg'," and where would she be if, finding the 2s insufficient when he arrived at the front, as so many do, he wired for a few pounds' But, apart from this aspect, & a day is not a particularly munificent sum for a wife to maintain a home upon, even after receiving 10s for each child, when the purchasing value of money has fallen so greatly. The Government, no doubt, realises this fact, as it has extended the amount obtainable from the Financial Assistance Board from £2 to £3, with which to meet rent, interest charges, life insurance premiums, etc. But the average man prefers having something definite to something indefinite. There is nothing certain about the assistance given by the Board. Whilst its present policy is undoubtedly liberal, it may later on, when the war burden presses more heavily, be considerably changed. It would be bettor by far to give a reservist's wife an allowance by right on which she and her children can live in tolerable comfort than to make it necessary for her to apply to a board for financial assistance as a favor. Were this done, there would only b e a small proportion of married people applying to the Financial Assistance Board for help, and in the long run we doubt if the granting of a straight-out 6s a day separation allowance would cost the country much more than the granting of financial assistance up to £3 a week would entail. But even if it did, we hold it is the country's duty to provide the money, or, ratßer, the interest\on the money, for separation allowance, like soldiers' pay, comes out of the war loan, the interest alone being a charge on the revenue. Sir Joseph Ward says, in effect, that the country can stand no further taxation; that it is, indeed, groaning under the present load. Corapared, however, with Britain, we do not know what taxation is. In Xcw Zealand the new taxes on an income of £IOOO amount to £7O j in England tie tax on the same income is £3OO. Whilst there is this disparity, whilst the country spends over eleven million sterling on luxuries like liquor, races and amusements, and whilst eo far there is no evidence whatever of a curtailment of spending 1 , it is idle to- say the country cannot afford to adequately care for the dependents of the fighting men, even if the whole of the money involved had to be met out of taxation instead of, as it is, out of loan.