SOLDIERS' CLUB.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16520, 12 May 1919, Page 4

SOLDIERS' CLUB.

LIVERPOOL FUND GRANT

PROPOSED TRANSFER ILLEGAL.

A very large deputation —"thoroughly representative of the city," as the Mayor (Dr. Thacker, M.P.) said in introducing it—waited on the Hon. G. W. Russell on Saturday to urge him to reconsider the refusal of his Department to sanction the transfer cf £3000 from the Lady Liverpool Fund to the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association j Building Fund, to assist in the building of a club.

The Mayor, after introducing the deputation, urged the Minister to try and get over the phase of red tapeism which was preventing him from permitting the Lady Liverpool Fund from making this grant to the returned soldiers. He understood that there wei*e technical and statutory difficulties in the way, but surely these could be got over bv the framing of a war regulation. ' Tho Mayor made a strong appeal on behalf ot the men. They were coming back in huge numbers. anrt there was absurdly inadequate acconimoj dution for them in the present premises.

Mr 0. T. J. Alpers (chairman of the Building Fund Committee of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association) said, as a lawyer, he considered that there was power under the War runds Act for the proposed grant to be made, and he intended to present a written memorandum on the subjoet to Mr Russell at a later date. He pointed' out that t|jp proposal was not to sink a lot of money in bricks and mortar for a building which was to be a permanent club. If the active membership ot the Soldiers' Club at auv time fe.l below 1000 the trustees had the Tight to convert the place to auy other use nected with, or the outcome of, the war. He thought it was entirely incorrect to think that a club cf the kind proposed would retard tho soldiers' absorption into civil life. He believed tile contrary was the fact. The proposed club was not entering for the married men. who had their own amusements and home ties, hut for the men without/ home ties. He admitted that possibly

all the returned soldiers were not in favour of the club, but at least 2000 of thom were verv keen indeed. An association of 3000 members and more said it wanted it, and he thought thero could bo only one answer to the request, and that v/as that they must have it. SWice the Lady Liverpool _ Fundi had offered to subscribe to the building fund, tho public's money, which had b°cn fairly liberally subscribed before, had not been coming in so freely.

In reply to the Minister, Mr Alpers said that" tho £3000, with what they had already in hand, -would be sufficient to start the club free of encumbrance. They might have to go round with the hat for £1000 for furnishings and a billiard table.

Mrs H. Holland described the work of the Ladv Liverpool Fund, and detailed tho wide scone of that work, with the object of showing the Minister that all kinds of objects had been assisted with money and gifts in kind. No voice had been raised in the past against the manner in which the management of the fund had dealt with its monov. Mr N. B. McCallum, president of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association, said the Association felt) that it was absolutely necessary to have the club, so that returned men would have a pl-aco to assemble. They would be kept off the street, and there was no doubt that the club could; assist men back into civil, life. During the war the men recognised: that tha claims of the men at the front were paramount, and had made no appeal to the public.

Mrs W. S. Bean said the soldiers were primarily responsible for the good peace terms which the Allies .were able to impose on the enemy, and she thought that tho public should do all it could for the men now they had returned. She suggested that Cabinet could easily, if it so desired, make a war regulation which would enable the money to be transferred as proposed. The llov. W. Walker expressed a strong hope that the Minister would see his way to facilitate the transfer of the money. Tho object was in entire accordance with the law on the subject, and he could not believe that the Government .would care to deliberately flout the legitimate aspirations of the men. He pointed out that there could be no surer way for the Government to arouse the antagonism of the soldiers than by adopting such a course, and indicated that however undesirable such a thing might be,^.there was a chance of the soldiers adopting political action in the event of their desires being ignored. Mr H. Holland suggested that tho Government should authorise the transference of £20,000 from the Patriotic Funds of the Dominion for the provision of clubs for soldiers. A sum of £3000 each for the four centres, and for provincial requirements.

THE MINISTER'S REPLY. The Minister, in his reply, said that ho was sorry to hear the Rev. Mr Walker refer to possible political action on the part of the returned soldiers. So far as the Government was concerned, it had not considered the political aspect of its work during the war. It had only tried to do its duty to the country. If his reply to the deputation was not quite what thoy would wish, there was no idea of antagonising tho soldiers. He had, what he believed, was his plain duty to do, and from that he wquld not flinch. Ho had listened with very great care to what had been said that morning, and agreed entirely .with the eulogies passed on the work of the Lady Liverpool Fund in Christchurch. He admitted that he was under the impression that it was not desirablo that the returned soldiers should bo kept in any way as a separate part of the population. He thought that it was in the best interests of tho coi.titry that they ellould all be absolutely absorbed into civilian life as quickly as possible, and that they should try to forgot that they had even been soldiers, if possible. * He' would bo prepared to revise his opinion oji the production of evidence, but, rigrhtly or wrongly, that was the opinion he hold then, and ho fancied it was held by a large number of the returned men, also. He did not balievo it was necessary for the returned soldiers to have an instituto with bowling greens, etc., set apart for themselves, j There wore plenty of clubs in Christ- j church who would, he felt sure, allow j a man holding the returned soldier's j badge the privilege of membership.l Dr. ThaCker: They don't do it. A member: Thcj' are too crowded, thnt's why.

Dr. Thacker: "Wo! I. the civilians should stand down. Soldiers first, I sav.

The Minister said thai the strongest point in favour of the proposed clubs was that they would form a rest house for medically unfit and limbless men. The Government would certainly not stand in the way of the raising of funds for the purpose. As regards tho deputation's request, however, he could not grant it, because, on the advice of the Solicitor-General, it would be illegal for him to do so. He had submitted the whole question to tho Soli-citor-General, who had gone most carefully into the matter, and -his- studied opinion was that the transfer could not made. —

Mr Russell went on to say that Iris hands were absolutely tied by the law as interpreted by the highest authority in the country. He referred to tho great responsibility he had in regard to establishing any precedent by which war funds could be disbursed. The patriotic societies of

Xew Zealand at present held £1,730,442, mad© up ns follows: — £ Auckland ... 461,000 Hawko's Bay . ... 123,000 Tnranaki ... ... -30,000 Wellington ... 524,C00 Marlborough ... 4:3.000 Nelson 38,000 West) and 11,000 Canterbury ' ... 259,000 Otago ' ... ' ... 138,000 Southland ... 78,000 There wore also huge sums held by the lied Cross Society, totalling £200,000. and ho could not establish a prooedont -which might result in these moneys being diverted from their proper purpose to .such uses as memorial town halls, colleges, and museums. He concluded by saying that the matter would have to bo settled by Parliament. and the deputation could arrange with tho Canterbury members to have a Bill brought in. Parliament was the sovereign court of tho country, and it could he there if power was tn bo eiven to widen tho scopo of thq War Funds Act. Mr lhiss'oll laid stress on tho need to conserve every penny for the use of soldiefs and their dependants, not only now, but in the years to come. He was trying to safeguard the sums of money now in hand for tho benefit of the soldiers, and for their wives and children.

Mrs Chilton, lnsforo the deputation withdrew, remarked that they did not consider the money in question as being in the same position as other funds, Mich ns the Hed Cross and Patriotic Fund money. It was Christchurch money. raised here, and they thoupht they had a right to spend it for Christcliurch hoys.