£100,000 DISTRIBUTED.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 198, 21 August 1919, Page 7

£100,000 DISTRIBUTED.

REPATRIATION TO DATE. IN ATJCKLA&b DISTRICT. 1,000 SOLDIERS SET UP IX BUSINESS. TO-DAY'S MEETING OF THE BOARD. To-day's operations of the Auckland District Repatriation Board enables the work of placing the returned soldiers in the Auckland district to be projected in round figures which show clearly the importance and extent of the problem of re-establishing the soldier in civil life. With the grants recotrynended to-day no fewer than 1,000 applications for loans for the purpose of buying or establishing businesses have been approved or recommended to the Ministerial Board, and the sum involved in these transactions is over .€IOO,OOO. These figures iire apart from the subsidiary activities of the Board, taking no account of the very considerable sum advanced for the purchase of furniture and the cost of imparting special tuition and subsidising trainees. To-day's meeting of the Board was presided over by Mr. A. \V. Gillies, and at the conclusion of the morning sitting it was announced that during the week no fewer than 50 business cased had been dealt with, most of which had either been granted or recommended to the Ministerial Board for approval. The amounts ranged from €45—this granted to a soldier to establish himself as a rabbit-trapper—to the limit of £300. The activities to which the returned soldiers aspire is again reflected by the diversity of businesses and projects for which the amounts in question have been granted. The cases finalised by the Board to-day included the purchase of farm implements, butcher's, grocer's, and other businesses,, tea rooms, boardinghouses, motor tractors, motor lorries, and a dozen other ideas for establishing an independence. In addition to the foregoing 42 grants, ranging from .C2O to CSO. were made to enable returned men to purchase furniture, and re-establish their homes. Three men who had completed their training had the retained portion of their suh- j ftidiee paid, and ."> men were granted loans to purchase tools of trade. Another 13 were made grants for the pfticliasc of books, as University College fees and sustenance. A further 13 were granted subsidies while completing their iipprcntieeships: while it was reported that 14 had been placed as trainees in workshops and factories. SLIGHT UNEMPLOYMENT INCREASE. Motor driving continues to be a popular avenue of repatriation, anrl no fewer than IT applicants were granted sustenance while learning motor driving and running repairw. I'ive were granted sustenance allowance while receiving tuition in business training. The employment figures for the week fchowed that at the commencement of the period under review there were 131 names ion the unemployed register, and that 88 application's for employment were recehed. Fifty-one men were placed. 20 have failed to report for a month, and are presumed to have found employment, leaving a total of 13!) on the register.