THE WAR GRATUITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1920, Page 5

THE WAR GRATUITY.

PAYMENTS TO DATE. TOTAL AMOUNT DISBURSED £4,231,592. The work of the War Expenses Department in dealing with applications for gratuities is now well forward, and the officer in charge of this section of the Pay Department anticipates that by the first week of March the whole of the soldiers' dues in regard to the gratuity will be paid out. In addition to the attention being given to this work, the staff is also busily engaged with the retrqsnecfive allowances to soldiers' wives, "children, and other dependents. Further applications (numbering 5000) for the gratuity have yet to come in. It is pointed out that ,the applications for retrospective widowed mothers' and children's allowances nave not come in as freely as was expected, the amounts authorised to he expended under these two headings being £50,000 and £249,000 respectively The War Expenses Branch is specijdiy anxious that outstanding claims should be sent in forthwith in order that all i'!nima may be settled as soon as possihle. r

Up ta last Saturday the War ExI'cnsc* branch had paid out 71,565 claims tor war gratuity, agereaatine £4,231,502 7s m.° The totaUmCta paid out under other heads up to the •mine cate were: Widowed mothers' re (respective allowances, £15,390- wives' r^ s Ff, rti J' e se ? arati ° n allowaaaej, .■U29.81G !ft s 7d ; and children's retro' speetive allowawes, £l7fi,!«7. These hrinsr the total amount paid out of the *3,(i«,iso aMthwiMd hy Parliament to be .xpended en these purposes to £4,853.46(1 7s 6H. r When all the soldiers' claims come to liand, the ledger accounts will be gone through and audited, and by the time The ledgers are wit away 'cvarv soldiers account will have been considorvd «nd dealt with finally in do-