£2,500,000 RAISED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20619, 21 November 1941, Page 8

£2,500,000 RAISED

PATRIOTIC FUNDS VOLUNTARY EFFORT MINISTER'S REVIEW (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. “In round figures the sum of nearly £2,500,000 has been raised by voluntary effort. The value of goods actually given, apart from gifts bought out of patriotic funds, is in all probability £500,000, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, at the opening of the national conference of patriotic bodies in Wellington yesterday. The activities of the knitting and sewing circles and various branches of the Lady Gahvay Guild had resulted in the dispatch from New Zealand of hundreds of thousands of articles. Mr. Parry said that not all the funds raised had been spent yet, but over £1.000,000 had been expended. The ultimate destination of every penny still in hand and of all moneys yet to be collected had been clearly visualised. Referring to the early misconceptions that arose when the patriotic purposes emergency regulations 1939 were put into operation, Mr. Parry said that the thought had been prevalent in many quarters that the new scheme meant Government control of the patriotic effort and of funds. Misconception Cleared “Secure in my belief that the new scheme would be to the national benefit, I felt that the less the Government had to say the more quickly would that misconception be cleared away,” continued Mr. Parry. “I preferred to let the results speak for themselves. One of tnese results is that the Government, so far from attempting to control the funds, has itself materially helped them. The whole cost of salaries and travelling expenses of the patriotic purposes branch of the Internal Affairs Department, including the staff of the National Patriotic Fund Board and National Council, the rent of premises, office administration costs and travelling expenses of the members of the national council are charged to the Internal Affairs Department. Out of the war expenses account internal freight charges are met on all goods consigned by patriotic bodies. “All assisting in patriotic work should never cease to bear in mind that every man and woman who went overseas was something more than a resident of this, that or the other locality. They were New Zealanders and the object of the patriotic funds was to deal with all as New Zealanders. Government’s Responsibility “Instead of the word ‘rehabilitation’ I would prefer a word or phrase that would more clearly contrast the respective responsibilities of the Government and the patriotic organisations,” sqid Mr. Parry. Mr. Parry said he knew that the work had been referred to at an earlier conference for want of a better name as “rehabilitation,” but the word seemed to him to have embarrassed all concerned ever since. “Rehabilitation” in its accepted sense of reinstating men and women of the fighting services into civil life fell within the province of the Government. This was a responsibility, Mr. Parry added, that the Government could not and did not in any way desire to pass on to the patriotic oi'ganisations. Mr. Parry said that the latest advice received from the office of the New Zealand High Commissioner in London was that, subject to further consideration on the return of the High Commissioner from the Middle East and in the absence of considerable air raids, it was considered that further grants from New Zealand for the relief of distress in Britain were not called for ! at present. Mr. Parry said that this should ease the minds of those who might have felt that New Zealand was not doing quite enough for the people of the United Kingdom. AID TO DELIVERY MAIL FOR SERVICEMEN NUMBER AND NAME (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. In the course of a message to the Prime Minister, the New Zealaid High Commissioner on London, Mr. W. J. Jordan, referring to projected measures for improving the delivery of mail to New Zealanders serving in the United Kingdom, has drawn attention to the importance of clear and effective addresses to expedite correct delivery. He says that all packages should bear the service number and full name of the man for whom the package is intended. By providing the double check of the number and full name, senders quicken the delivery in the United Kingdom, especially as the men serving in the Old Country are so widely scattered.