MONEY FOR SOLDIERS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15338, 23 July 1915, Page 9

MONEY FOR SOLDIERS.

(METHODS OF TRANSMISSION. (-reciAi. to ,: Tin; press.") WELLINGTON, July '22. .Mr A. Green, Wellington manager for tho Ua'i , - «>>' fee.v Zealand, has icade a fctnteuieiu on the .subject of tho or inoi.cy to i-oldier*. The Bank of New Zealand, ho said, jvas remitting amounts up to i-'-o sent to .-oUhts free of exchange altogether, and all pa renin or relatives hud to do was to pay the necessary cable charge , -. The Bank hail an ayont in Cairo, and ■nn;, able 'to make -ill communications direct with that <-ity. With respect to boldiers in the hospitals at Malta, the -fa si j \»ah slightly different, nx tho Bank liad no agfiit there, and the husi- - - n(*s had to Ik> arranged through Cairo. to there'would be cable charges to bn paid between Cairo and Malta. In any case, the Hank.-, charye for cabling £%"> • to Cairo «as only aliout -s Od, «o liow the i'l commission Mid to have been I rhareed vns made up he was at a loss I to say. 1 Mr Green further stated that tho Dank was lorwarding draft,- for money for Sew Zealand M'ldicrs iren of charpe. It had also remitted all tho . Patriotic Fund money that was forwarded to England for various piirjKise.s absolutely free of charge, realising that, as a national institution it should do its share to ease the general burden. Referring again to tho remission of money to Egypt, it was made quite clear that up to £125 money would lie ouhled free l>y-the Bank, but over and aixivc that amount a eharuo of 1 [ per rent would lx< made. In the '•arly .stages of the war the Hank had lotiiid it to communicate with Cairo through London, which had ineunt extra cabling charges, but that had not been the case for .some time now. On an enquiry bciny made at tho local oiTae <>i .Messrs Thomas Cook and Sou as to th* , rate charged for cabling lEoney, Mr W. Doshoroiigh (the local manager) .said fie had noticed the statejnoitt ni'iule by Mr Coate.s in Uie House, and could not believe it to have any foundation in fact. Thomas Cook and Son were able to do direct business with either Cairo or Malta. The charge for the remission of IV) was 'is, for ,L'lO it was Is Gd. and for £'20 the cost was ?s. That, of course, did not include the charges made by the cable companies. "Wo are now able." said Mr. Dosborough. "to send such messages to 'soldiers at 11J«| -tier word, and in that message the linn is allowed to mc <i cypher word- as an assurance of tho genuineness of the origin of the mo.s- ---' sage. Anyone c<mid send a mes<-;igo to Cook's, Cairo, .saying. 'Pay Thomas Smith, Canterbury Infantry, .CIO, , but Cook's. Cairo, would never act on such i: message, as the cypher proving it io be genuine would be missing. Then, again, the man to whom the rnonev Las to be paid has to be identified, so it boconies necessary to forward his full name .unci regimeht, 'and in some-oases Jii-s regimental number, in order to protect ourselves. The ll.Jd rate only operate* the one way. 'If a soldier juishes to cable to New Zealand he cannot do to for He has to pay the ordinary rate, ,3s 0d per word, so" that even the barest message 'acknowledging the receipt of money is expensive.'' STATEMENT BY MR ALLEN. In the House this afternoon Mr Allen referred to the statement mac'o by Mr Green, of the Bank of New Zeajnnd. In this connexion ho said that the •parents an,| relatives of soldiers should bo on their guard, as some telegrams that were not believed to be ee ?r' m £ 1 been rcco ""e<J from Egypt. -Mr.Poland suggested that those interested should send remittances only through the Hank of New Zealand or through the Defence Department. Mr alien: That is what I suggest. •—— . j