PATRIOTIC FUNDS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 247, 18 October 1941, Page 9

PATRIOTIC FUNDS

YEAR'S EXPENDITURE OVER HALF A MILLION Expenditure from the general account of the National Patriotic Fund Board for the second year of its activities, which ended on September 30, amounted to £458,905, and from the sick and wounded account £73,005, a total of £531,910. These figures were given in a preliminary statement submitted to a recent meeting of the board's standing committee. Administration expenses amounted to £1878, or approximately 7/ for each £100 of expenditure.

The statement tells the story in figures of the wide field of patriotic effort covered by the board- and shows the many calls made on the patriotic funds. Items of expenditure from the general account include £18,493 on comforts for troops overseas, £1928 for comforts for reinforcements, £10,274 for the supply of blankets sent to Greece during the height of the Greek campaign, and £1246 towards the cost of comforts for overseas seamen. The total of £82,227 wag remitted overseas to imprest accounts established to provide additional comforts and amenities for the New Zealand Forces. Of this amount, £52,875 went to Egypt, £16,235 to Fiji, £12,500 to England and £500 to Canada.

Some idea of the quantity of wool required to knit the woollen comforts sent overseas at intervals by the board is to be gained from the fact that it cost £23,750 for the wool supplied to the provincial patriotic councils of the Dominion. This sum, however, is recouped by the board from the provincial councils.

A total of £135,319 was paid by the board into the imprest accounts operated in New Zealand by the Catholic War Services Board, Church of England Military Affairs Committee, Salvation Army, Y.M.C.A. and Navy League as agents of the board. Of this total the Y.M.C.A. received £83,500. Direct payments on account of institutional buildings and for furniture accounted for another £5571. A number of grants were made to overseas organisations, such as Toe H in London and the Anzac Committee in Colombo, expenditure under this heading amounting to £4335.

Payments from the sick and' wounded account included £8148 for : the provision of comforts for hos> ships and overseas hospitals; £b2oo remitted to Egypt for imprest purposes; £2250 for the relief of distress in Malta arising from air raids (which with a similar amount from ™g e J iera L account ma de a total of £5000 for this purpose); £2501 to the Greek Red Cross; £1875 to the International Red Cross; £12,500 to the Polish relief organisation in England; £9068 to the Canadian Red Cross for the prisoners of war account; and grants of £3000 for equipment funds for the overseas hospitals and £2038 for the field ambulance divisions.