One of the correspondents, who writes forcibly to us on the subject this morning, is under the impression that the scale of pensions was fixed under the Defence Act which was passed in 1909 and that it was amended in 1913.
As a matter of fact, the scale which is now in force was, with trifling modifications, that enacted in 1866 for application to the case of the widows and orphans of those members of the colonial forces who were killed in the Maori wars.
The inadequacy of the scale of pensions for the dependants of private soldiers does not seem to have impressed itself upon the minds of members of Parliament at the time of the Boer war, probably because it was not contemplated that married men, who are more particularly affected by it, would be accepted for service in any of the contingents, and the fact that the portion of ''The Defence Act, 1909'', which dealt with the subject, was a re-enactment of an old law, and that the participation of New Zealand volunteers in a great war was not at that time regarded as more than a remote possibility, may explain the absence of any proposal at that time to place the pensions scheme upon a more satisfactory footing.
It is imperative, however, especially if married men are to be encouraged to enlist in the Expeditionary Forces that are to be engaged in the present war, that the State shall institute a more just scale than that which is now in force.
The assurance, therefore, which the Prime Minister voluntarily offered at South Dunedin last night that the Government would look into the matter with the view of providing for such a more adequate scale as might be deemed desirable will be received with satisfaction.
• The annual meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand possesses an interest for the public altogether apart from the control it exercises over the internal affairs of so important a religious communion.
The voice of Presbyterianism has always made itself felt in connection with moral and religious questions affecting the community at large, and the influence thus exerted is sufficiently weighty not to be disregarded.
For this reason the address delivered from the Moderator's chair is usually to be considered as one that gives both light and leading on some of the social problems for which a satisfactory solution is being sought.
The Rev. A. Grant, the Moderator for the ensuing year, in the address which he delivered last night, elected to pass by several subjects that are in the public mind at the present time. He preferred, instead, to speak on the subject of ''Sabbath Observance''.
It is not within our province to debate Mr Grant's thesis respecting the origin, nature, and authority of the Lord's Day, although it bristles with possible controversial points. Rather do we desire to congratulate the speaker on the tempered moderation of his conclusions.
No sane man will dispute the necessity for the conservation of the Sabbath Day as a day of rest, but, that principle once admitted, considerable latitude must be conceded as to how the day shall be observed.
Any marked tendency towards the laxity of a Continental Sunday is certainly to be deprecated, and the educational campaign which Mr Grant suggests, should, if entered upon, do something to instruct the rising generation in the right and rational observance of the Sabbath. - ODT, 19.11.1914.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
