TIED UP MONEY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2569, 17 September 1915, Page 8

TIED UP MONEY

, FOR SICK OR WOUNDED SOLDIERS THE MAYOR'S DILEMMA f Some £75,000 was recently raised in Wellington and its vicinity for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers aud sailors and their dependents, "but so fatr as can be gathered this is not available' for disbursement at present, although applications have been made for tentporary assistance by those for whom the fund was intended to benefit. The.73 is the case, for example, of one m;ijn who .went forward with tho Main Bo'ly from Wellington, and served in Ga'lipoli, where h© contracted rheumaiio fever. He was invalided to a Cairo hospital, and subsequently was sent bafk by the Willoehra, and has undergone treatment at tlie Oriental Bay Kicii&. He lias since been paid off -*a)id discharged, and is at present looking $or work. He ha 6 a wife and child to support, and is practically without meDDis. He is an Australian, but was a resident of New Zealand some time before (the iva,r broke out. Since he has then searching for work nothing has tuiaiod up. He said ho had been to the Mftwor, who had stated that hie could do nothing for him. The Mayor's Statement. _ When seen yesterday about the [position of the Wounded Soldiers' lPund, the Mayor (Mr. J. P. IVuke) said that applications wero beiiij| received from returned soldiers for a ssistance, and the more needy cases ;were being attended to. As far as the main fund was concerned, £13,000 of .1,1; had been paid into the bank througlil him, and there was the balance of also in the bank. He And tho ; Hon. J. G. W. Aitken were'the trustees of the fund in the meantime, but; until the conference 'decided whether ' these fi'iids were to be administered oh. local or national lines, there wsjs 110 power to operate upon them, at the conference held'ui Wednesday, at was decided to make a final effort to; induce those centres who were opposed fto tHie national scheme, to como into line, and Mr. C. P. Skerrett was personally getting into touch with them, butt until that point was settled and a, definite basis of administration was dec ided on the money could not be touchecll. '.'Personally," said ■ Mr. Litke, "I : believe these places will come in. I :shall bo disappointed if the scheme is 11 ot thoroughly established on national/ lines, though I can see thai the funds must, to a'Targe extent, be controlled' locally." So far a date has not been fixed for the next conference of patriotic' committees, so that there is no toll ing when the funds raised in .Wellington will be made available "for tho purposes intended. .' In the meantime MriV W. B. Hudson lias been made director of a bureau, which, in conjunction.'with the Labour Department, will cndo-avoiir to open up avenues of employma at for returned soldiers, and to makoi arrangements for teaching men neVV trades, etc., who are unable througji misadventure at the front to les'ime their former occupations.