COUNTY WAR RELIEF FUND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 193, 29 May 1945, Page 2

COUNTY WAR RELIEF FUND.

Sir,—lt would appear to readers of the “Guardian” that certain members of the R.S.A. committee are anxious to get the funds of the County War Relief Fund handed over to them to assist in the, purchase and furnishing of the new club rooms. Though sympathetic to the aims of the R.S.A., and a contributor to their building fund, I certainly hope the Association will not, eventually, obtain the balance in the Relief Fund. The fund was collected during the 1914-18 war, for a specific purpose, that is, to give financial assistance to returned personnel of that war, if after investigation, applicants for relief were considered genuine, necessitous and deserving. The committee desei'ves the thanks of the community for having carried out its duties wisely—if, perhaps, cautiously and is to be warmly commended on the work it has done over the years; work that has been performed quietly, conscientiously and without reward to its members. If the unspent war relief balance is now to be disposed of, surely the correct step would be to hand it over as the nucleus for a fund for assistance in a similar way to veterans of this war, and it is to be hoped that the relief committee will approach the Minister of Internal Affairs for the necessary permission. PRO BONO PUBLICO.