FLOCK HOUSED TRAINING

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21384, 29 January 1935, Page 3

FLOCK HOUSED TRAINING

UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD GRANTS SUBSIDY ASSISTANCE FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS' SONS Special subsidies to assist the training of sons of New Zealand returned soldiers at Flock House will be granted this year by the Unemployment Board, according to advice received in a letter from the Flock House Estate at a meeting last evening of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association. Considerable negotiations had been in progress during the last few months between the Flock House Estate and the Unemployment Board for further assistance to enable sons of returned soldiers to take advantage of the farm training offered them at Flock House, the letter stated. It had been stated to the board that whereas Patriotic and War Relief Associations might utilise their funds to assist the sons of New Zealand soldiers who were killed or incapacitated during the war, they

were unable to provide funds for the training of sons of fit men, or of those whose injuries or sickness were such as not to prevent them carrying on their vocations. Number in Training It had also been stated that through this difficulty of finance the number of boys entering Flock House was almost at a standstill, and that the number of boys in training was at such an uneconomical figure that it was impossible to carry on. To overcome this difficulty and to enable the Flock House organisation to proceed with the policy of training New Zealand boys, the Unemployment Board had decided to increase the subsidy as from January 18' to December 31, 1935, as follows: fa) In the case of sons of soldiers killed or incapacitated during the war, the subsidy will remain as before, at £lB, it being understood that War Relief and Patriotic AssociPtions will be able to provide the balance required. (b) In the case of all other sons of soldiers, the subsidy will be £36. War Funds Subsidy The letter stated that it was understood that the subsidy from the War Funds Council payable on all sons of New Zealand returned soldiers entered for training at Flock House would remain at £7 Is 9d. The cost of training and maintenance at Flock House was £43, so that for the future there would be no financial difficulty when any suitable sons of returned soldiers presented themselves.

The Unemployment Board had further stated that it was willing to enter upon a scheme for subsidising the savings from wages of sons of New Zealand returned soldiers trained at Flock House, to assist the best of such boys to make later a start for themselves on the land. The letter was received. "Flock House will not be short of boys now," said Mr W. E. Leadley.