A GREAT WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 100, 27 April 1917, Page 3

A GREAT WORK

RED CROSS ACTIVITIES

THE WELLINGTON CENTRE

PAST YEAR REVIEWED.

The annual meeting of the Wellington Centre of the New Zealand Branch of the British .Ijted Cross Society and Order of St. John was held last night in the Mercer-street rooms. Mr. T. Young, chairman of the executive, presided*, and there was a. representative attendance of ladies and gentlemen.

The annual,report stated that during the year the New Zealand branch had completed its organisation, and the affairs of the New Zealand branch would now be under the control of a central council, which consisted of the President (Her Excellency Lady Liverpool), the office)' in charge (Lieutenant-Colonel Moorhouse), and twenty-four members, six of. whom were ■ to be appointed by each ,bf the four "centres.. The, New Zealand Council has appointed a standing executive, which includes the president, the officer-in-charge, and six members, two of whom are appointed by the council and one by each centre, and this executive will carry out the policy of the council. A committee in London and a New Zealand Red Cross Commissioner have, at the request of the British Red Cross Society, been' appointed to look after'the affairs of the New ■ Zealand branch, and this committee takes charge of all goods sent and all money remitted to England. The present commissioner is Mr. Charles Elgar, and the committee, which is a sub-committee of the New Zealand War Contingent Association, consists of Lord Plunket (chairman) and 'Sir Thomas Mackenzie, and Messrs; J. B.: Coates, Douglas M'Lean, Sinclair Thomson, and .P. Waldegraye, all of •whom are well-known in New Zealand.

The output during the year was represented by a. sum of £37,071 19s 6d for the Wellington Centre, goods and money being sent to a number of different organisations and various scenes of operations. As to the destination of goods and money), it is hoped that, now that arrangements have been made, all will be sent through the London Committee. The committee's first care is to provide for the sick and wounded New Zealanders, and any surplus is handed over to the parent society. This arrangement is made at the express wish of the parent society, which explains that if each country will look after its own men, the work of the society will be greatly facilitated. ■■'■■■■ "Your committee (the report continues) is desirous of providing as much as possible for the wants of the sick and I ■wounded: of all the Allies, but you will see that they have been requested to make the. wants of the New Zealanders their especial,care. Goods and money j which are not sent through the London Committee will probably never reach the New Zealand, sick and'wounded, and do not assist the carrying «0t of the obligation to look after, our own sick and Wounded. The public are most generous in their support of any deserving cause, but promiscuous voluntary effort is often a cause of embarrassment to the authoril ties, who require supplies to be of a uniform character and to comply with their requirements. Those who desire to assist can best do so by" conforming to the exact requirements of the authorities and by making their contribution of money and materiaJ through :;the society which has. been organised for the purpose of ascertaining the wants and rendering the assistance in the form in which it is required and to the points to which the authorities direct, them.to be supplied." Particulars are given of the result of the " Our Day " effort, and of the goods supplied to various organisations. Hegarding street, collections, the report states: "Owing to complaints having been made that a generous public was being harassed by promiscuous collections, and collectors in the street, at all seasons, a: regulation was gazetted requiring every 'collector to have a written authority to collect, and ,your committee decided to authorise street collections only on certain approved.days at reasonable intervals, with the result that when a day is set aside the public shows its appreciation by making a generous response, and the collections are made under proper regulation." It is noted that the New Zealand executive has decided to issue badges under regulations which are about to be framed. : ;, FINANCE. . . ■ .. The balance-sheet of the branch showed receipts amounting to £14,523 5s Id and payments £12,799 16s lOd, leaving a deposit of £1000 in the Savings Bank and£723 8s 3d in the Bank.' The balance-sheet of the Wellington Women's Ked Cross Committee, which was also presented, showed receipts totalling £3732 18s 7d, with a cash balance of £415 11s lOd. \ The Chairman • briefly reviewed 1 the work of the year, as contained, in the report. In doing so he emphasised the necessity of having all parcels and money sent to the addresses advised by General Bi.chajdson. Speaking ■of the balancesheet, Mr. Young said it was often embarrassing when sub-centres earmarked their contributions for any particular fund. One • instance of this was that a sum. of £650, sent earmarked for a. special fund,' was lying in London un-, used so far, as there was no need for it for the fund for which, it was earmarked. Mr. Young concluded by stating tlhat , the whole expenses of the centre worked out at less than 3d in the £ handled. On the motion of Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. J. W. Bridge, the report and balance-sheet were adopted. . ! The Mayoress (Mrs. J. P. Luke) said' that it had 1 been a year full of work. She acknowledged gratefully the help received from country centres, and' expressed thanks to the gentlemen's committee for . assistance in finding the women a "home" in the Mercer street building. DEFENCE-"AUTHORITIES ; GRATEFUL. Surgeon-General Henderson, Director of Medical Services, said that his connection with the Ked Cross Society was chiefly in the nature. of a beggar.. He | gave an instance of how an urgent demand for articles of clothing recently fiad been met. The Defence authorities acknowledged gratefully what had been done, and the centre was to be heartily congratulated on the amount of money it had raised and sent Home. He suggested that where a centre desired money j to be earmarked for any particular purI pose they could do so, but with the alternative that if the money were not required for that purpose it should be used to the best possible advantage. He also urged for the sending of goods to the central' ■ depot at Southampton for distribution rather than to particular hospitals. What the Defence people had to thank the ladies most, for was for the splendid work which they had done in connection with the supply of garments, etc., for the local camp hospitals; also in regard to the supply of biscuits, cakes, etc., and little luxuries which often the matron was unable to get. in /the ordinary way. It was a tremendous comfort to him to know that if he were pressed for' anything at any time he had only to come to them and ask for, and get, it. "I wish to thank you warmly," ho concluded, "'for wliat

you have done for the sick and wounded of New Zealand." OFFICE-BEARERS ELECTED.

The women's committee was elected as follows : —President, Mrs. J. PLuke; vice-presidents, Mrs. Massey, Lady Ward, Mrs. W. Nathan, Miss Coates; treasurer, Mrs. J. P. Firth; present members of committee were re-elected with ithe addition of Mrs. J. B. ■ Finlay.

The executive of the Wellington Centre was elected as follows :—Mr. T. Young (chairman), Messrs. A. Veitch,. G. Shirtcliffe, D. M'Laren, H. L. Nathan. W. Allan, J. W. Bridge, C. H. Seville, T. Munt, L. Tripp, A. Hamilton, S. F. Wright, T. Bush, J. B. Hackworth, and F. Holmes, and Mrs, Luke and Mrs. Nathan (representatives of the women's committee); trustees, Hon. C. j. Johnston, Hon. J. G. W. Aitken, and Mr. Joseph Joseph. Complimentary references were made to the work of the treasurer, Mr. Jospph, and the - retiring secretary, Mr. J. \ W. Bridge. . SOLDIERS' .COMFORTS FUND. A special report and balance-sheet in connection with the Soldiers' Comforts Fund was also presented. It gave details of what had been done, and the statement.of finance showed a balance at hank of £66 8s Id.