WELLINGTON RED CROSS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 118, 12 February 1920, Page 2

WELLINGTON RED CROSS

MONTHLY MEETING. Tlio monthly mooting, the first of the year, of the executive of the Wellington Med Cross was held in the rooms, .Mercer Stret, yesterday. The president (Mr. T. Young) was in the chair, and also present were:—Mcsdanies Pearce, L. Blundell, Firth, Moorhouse, J. P. Luke, and Adams, and Messrs. Holmes, 11. Nathan. Kinniburg, Tripp, Seville, Veitch, and Miss S. Nathan, lion, secretary. The expenditure of J285 by the Emergency Committe was approved. This was incurred in concreting ground between two hutments and around another, as suggested by Colonel Wylie, in order that patients might be carried outside. A. letter from Colonel Wylie to the effect that he and the matron thought it would bo a good plan to convert tlio old cookhouse into a billiard-room was, received. The situation is good, being next to the Bed Cross Club. The .approximate cost is estimated at aljout ,£75. It was agreed to have the work done, and the matter was left in the hands of the chairman. The Y.M.C.A. ladies promised to provide tha billiard table, and the question ot further furnishing will be decided later. The following letter was received from the treasurer of the Wairarapn Patriotic Association;—" You will .remember that late in 1918 an appeal was launched on behalf of the Red Cross Society for funds, and, resultant on a visit of the Hon. T. M. AVilford, who addressed my Executive Committee on Red Cross matterms a grant of J310,000 was lmulc to your funds, and was paid through the 'copper trail.' When this grant was made, my Executive Committee, in common with other patriotic organisations, renlised the urgency of tlio appeal, and tlio work the Red Cross was'lining, and this led lo my Executive Committee making the substantial grant. Happily the next month (November, (918) the armisice'was signed, which meant the. easingolY of the labouis of your organisation, and simultaneously the reduction of your expenditure. On the qther hand, sinco the date of tlio armistice the. work ot jny association has but commenced, anil tho demands made by the returning soluic-rn upon our funds .have depleted our capital considerably, and we are at present working on an overdraft of approximately .£27,000. .As you are aware, earlier in the war wo were obliged, under the War Funds Aot, to invest our funds, and, of course, these investments are Tor a term of years, and it was never anticipated at this time that such heavy calls would be made upon the funds of tills association. Our' position at present is that I we have a sum of /C 15,400 in Government debentures maturing in December, 1921; J3.500 is invested .on mortgage, maturing from IS2I to 1(123; and the balance of our-money is advanced to soldiers, I i approximating which latter amount., will come back into t>e funds "loivly, but not sufficiently fast enough to master our huge overdraft, My trusters have, therefore, decided to approach you for a refund of the whole, or portion of the *£10,000 voted you in Octo191S, and we feel 6iire that you will realise our need for makingi this request when you learn that, something like .£3OOO per quarter in being let out on advances to soldiers, this sum-being irrespective of cash grants to meet eases of hardship which also run into considerable figures. Our bankers have limited our overdraft to .£30,000, and by March 31 we «hah have readied that limit, and shall be compelled to ca]l in our mortgages «r to sell our investments at a possible loss in order to meet our responsibilities. My trustees are, therefore, hopeful that your Executive Committeo will favourably consider their application for a refund of .£IO,OOO, which will tide us «\er fcrouolesome period/' In a discussion that followed Mr. L Tripp voiced the opinion that the Bed ■ross would need every penny of its funds to help totally and partially disabled men. and those men who, apparently well, commence work, and then break(town. In many cases men married and had children, and then broke down, as n result of war experience, and thesa wero cases m which he considered the J, ~ could co-operate with the War If Association. Finally, on the mop of ,^ r ', seconded by Mr. I earce the following resolution was earned: In view of tlio appeal of the Wairaraua Patriotic Association and of the tact that a portion of the amount con. tnbuled was forwarded to the British Red Cross, a sum of .CSOOO be refunded diers " 61c k and wounded sol-

A letter was received from Mr. Hope (ribbons, enclosing a copy of one sent to .1 « , WJ th reference to converting tho Soldiers Convalescent Home at Waniranni into a maternity home, and asking it tho Red Cross Committee had any oliiection to the motor-car also being transferred for its use. It was decided to reply, agreeing to the transfer, subject to the approval of tho Wanganui lied Cross Committee.

In answer to a letter from a lady regarding the use of a motor for the patients at Pukeorn, it was agreed to continue paving for hire.

Letters of thanks were recived from General M'Gavin, the matron at Trentliam. New Zealand Defence Headquarters nnd the matron of Pukeora Military Sanatorium for Christinas gifts and comforts.

The London Committee had its final meeting on November 20, 1919, and disbanded. They remitted ,£15,000 to New Zealand, and retained They passed votes of thanks to Mr. Wnldegrave and Sirs. Wilson for tho splendid work fhev had done. ' Mr. Waldegrave spoke vcrv gratefully of the work of the staff. There was also sent on from the head office a conv of a letter from Sir Arthur Stanley setting out the agreement between the Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance. which, summarised, was that flicv agree to work together indefinitely, and that six months' notice will be re : nuired to terminate the agreement.

Mrs. .T. P. Luke asked that about 170 yards of brush fencing be- dono at Trentliam in order to make a small privnte vard for the use of nurses and V.A.D.'s. On the. motion of Mrs. Holmes, Mrs. Luke was authorised to allow the matron to have the work done. Authority was

also given her to purchase four new billiard cues.