THE PATRIOTIC FUND.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11529, 11 March 1903, Page 7

THE PATRIOTIC FUND.

The suhserib-is to the Patriotic Fond are to meet this afternoon, for the purpose of _i«cu.«*:«_ what .hall be doiw with the £1200 still in hand, h- will be, of course, impoiuible to «a an oph-iott on the subject from any but. a xnull proportion ot the subscriber*, but it is to be, hoped that the meeting will be fully representative. The Fund was .tatted her. m the very early days <-f the war, and from the fir.-t was' so successful that before the end of the year the sum of £1200 was cabled Home, half the amount being allocated to the Refugees' Fund; and half to the Mausion House Fund for the relief of the wounded and the assistance of the relatives of those killed in tlie war. .Subsequently, as the number of our contingents increased, it was decided to retain in the colony the money subscribed, and to devote it to tho same purposes for our own men and! their relatives. Fortunately the local cases requiring assistance have been comparativelyfew, and though no money has been grudged where actually required, a good •urn still remains to tho credit of the fund, while application* for relief are becoming few and far between. Under these circumstances, and in view of the suggestion that thu balance should be handed over to ihe trustees of the Veterans' Home, to be kept separate from the general fund nnd administered by tho trustees, tho Committee decided to remit tho whole matter to the subscribers. A proposal will probably be placed before them that £500 shall he handed over *v> the Veterans' Home, either with or without conditions, £100 given to the Jubilee Memorial, and tlie remainder, £600, retained to meet any cases that might require assistance in future. Tlie donation of a, portion of the fund to tho Veterans' Home would be, to a large extent, iv keeping with the purpose for which the Patriotic Fund was raised, especially as it w understood tho Home is not to be restricted to actual veterans, but will bo available for members of our contingents, whose eiroums.tances warrant their admission. The suggestion to give £100 to the Jubilee Memorial is more debatable, hut it may be pointed out that the 3femorial will not only commemorate Queen Victorit-'a reign and the Jubilee of Canterbury, but will also mark the despatch of our men to the war in South Africa, and Tecord the names of those who fell therein. It may be thought that to give some assistance from tho Patriotic Fund towards the cost of the war portion of the Memorial may not be straining the original purpose of the fund too greatly. The whole question Is one for the subscribers to decide, but they will be wise, we think, if they agree to retain at leats half the money in view of pc«sible future necessities.