COMMANDEERED.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 6, 7 January 1916, Page 7

COMMANDEERED.

A BEI/GIAN FUND VOTE.

CANTERBURY'S EXTRA £2,000.

MINISTER HOLDS IT AGAINST DEFICIENCIES. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") CHRISTCHORCH, this day. On December 8 the secretary of the Belgian Relief Fund sent a letter to the Under Secretary for Internal Affairs enclosing a cheque for £530, the monthly quota for November, and also enclosing a cheque for £2,000 to be remitted to the National Fund for relief in Belgium as a special contribution from Canterbury, and asked that the latter amount be remitted at the earliest possible moment. On December 18 the Under Secretary replied acknowledging receipt of the letter. He had credited the province ■with £530 to make up its monthly quota With regard to the £2,000, he would advise later the action taken in respect thereto. On December 24 the Under Secretary wrote relative to the special donation of £2,000 from Canterbury for the national committee for relief in Belgium : "1 have now the honour to inform you that the Minister of Internal Affairs is of opinion that the money should be held to make up monthly deficiencies in Canterbury's share of the quota. The amount is, therefore, being- used for the purpose named." The secretary sent the following telogTam in reply: "£2.000 mainly from Timaru and Ashburton. We are in honour bound to remit at once. If you. will not do so, return cheque to us and we will remit s?me. Monthly quota available when you advise amount required."

No reply was received to the telegram, and the executive was called together yesterday to consider the position. As a result the following message was sent to the Under Secretary for Internal Affairs, Wellington: •'Executive of Poor of Great Britain and Ireland and Belgium Belief Fund, at a meeting to-day resolved that a. telegram be sent to the Minister of Internal Affairs stating that unless the £2,000 forwarded by this executive to be remitted to the National Fund for relief in Belgium is sent without further delay or returned to this executive, in accordance with telegrams of 29th ult., before Monday next, the matter will be placed in the hands of our solicitor. Members of our executive are astonished and resentful at the high-handed and improper action of the Minister, which they consider amounts to a breach of trust."

"It appears to the executive of the fund," said Df Levinge, president, to a reporter, "that the Minister has taken a very autocratic and high-handed action in a matter in which the Government has really no control, the fund being purely a private one, subscribed voluntarily for relief in Belgium. The fact that the Minister has been asked to forward the money was merely in conformity with the practice of ten pt twelve months, and in order to simplify procedure and lighten the task whieii the Governor voluntarily undertook soon after the fund was started. The Minister seems to have misinterpreted his position, and in commandeering or impounding in trust to be forwarded, my committee feel that le is acting altogether ultra vires. He speaks of holding the money to make up any deficiency in Canterbury's monthly quotas. "There has .been absolutely, no Seficteney whatever in Canterlniy ; quotas, so that excuse is quite unjnatffiable in any case; but even had there 'been a shortage, my committee Jiolde that he was merely asked to act 83 trustee in the matter for the sake of saving expense, and in order that the Government might he identified with what was going on, and know what amount of money had been sent from the Dominion. That gave him no power whatever to commandeer money." "On the face of it," Dr. Levinge continued, "it looks like a first attempt of the Government to commandeer or divert war funds as it suits them. Any such action can only be interpreted with suspicion by the general 'public, who are asked voluntarily to subscribe to these funds, and k calculated to, dry up the springs'of benevolence and charity. The Minister and Under-Secretary at the late conference of locaJ bodies implied, and, in fact, stated definitely and cleany, mat the Canterbury quota "was short. That was not the truth. Canterbury has never been short. Wβ hay* always made it up. We certainly gave notice that we would not continue to do that after a certain date, but as it was made clear in correspondence, the committee did torward the amount for November, and if it has not been forwarded foT December, the only reae&n is that the Minister has failed to notify us of the amount ot the balance due. Instead of following that course, he has chosen to act in an autocratic manner, and commanucer money which was. entrusted to him to forward."