PRAISE GIVEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 123, 20 November 1941, Page 11

PRAISE GIVEN

PATRIOTIC BODIES

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Far from attempting to control the patriotic funds, the Government had materially helped them, said the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. Parry) today, when he attended the opening of the national conference of patriotic bodies in the old Legislative Council Chamber, Parliament House.

As an instance of this, said Mr. Parry, the whole cost of salaries and travelling expenses of the patriotic purposes branch, including the staff of the National Patriotic Fund Board and the National Council, rent of premises, and office administration costs were charged to the Department of-Internal Affairs. Out of the War Expenses Account internal freight charges were met on all goods consigned by patriotic bodies.

Mr. Parry said that after two years of war, he desired, on behalf of the Government, to express appreciation of the results achieved by the organisations administering the patriotic funds. The National Patriotic Fund Board and the eleven provincial patriotic councils with their local committees had achieved what, during the last war, was done by over 600 bodies.

The value of goods actually given, apart from gifts purchased out of patriotic funds, amounted to a large sum, in all probability to £500,000. "Throughout the Dominion," said Mr. Parry, "the flow of gift goods has grown from a trickling stream to a mighty river. The activities of knitting and sewing circles and of the various branches of the Lady Galway Guild have resulted in the dispatch from New Zealand of hundreds of thousands of articles."

Not all the funds raised had yet been spent, but over £1,000,000 had been expended, said Mr. Parry. Under the system put into operation a longrange view had been possible and had been taken.