PATRIOTIC COUNCIL

Grey River Argus, 4 June 1942, Page 3

PATRIOTIC COUNCIL

Westland Province Mr. F. A. Kitchingham, Mayor of Greymoutn, presiaeu at last evening’s meeting or tne Westland ro ynicial patriotic Council, there beiag also present Messrs J. Smeaton, J. Kent, J‘. A. Murdoch, E. W. Kelll^ T. G. Jamieson, A. R.. Elcock, J. Mu care, W. Clayton, J. O’Brien, M.P., A. H. McKane, F. H. Dentof • ’ coates, a. B. Spiers M H. Houston, and the Secretary (Mr. D. J. The Secretary stated tne d PP^ a ment of Mr. Kitchingham as umi man at last meeting - waa The position of was to go m the Mayor of Hokitika. Kitchingham declared the P r^ invalid, and declared Mr. A. R. - erck Mayor of Hokitika, Chairman of the Council. Mr. was appointed Deputy-Chairman, ana resumed Chairmanship in Mr. Li COC I2 HoStika Committee, advised 'of tne .appointment to the Council of Mr M. H. Houston, to whom the cnlirman extended a welcome. Forwarding copies of Whats Wrong with the War?”, the Natioim. Patriotic Fund Board advised that the publication was for sale for patriotic purposes. Tne National Board advised (1) that the Girl Guides' Association was tq raise £2,400 to pay for four huts m military camps; and that while the N.Z. Division was transferred to Syria, base camps’ huts were retained at Maadi, the huts to be kept open for other forces. The Westland request re safety razors would be given priority. Future purchases of gift parcels through the Food Controller were also explained. Mr. Spiers suggested sending money to the forces to allow them to purchase their own requirements, thus saving shipping space, customs and sales taxes.

The Chairman said the Minister of Finance would not allow so much mone v to be sent out of New Zealand.

Hokitika Patriotic Council forwarded a resolution that all gift parcels be packed at a main centre such as Wellington. Mr. McKane said that if the packing were done at W eilington, the committee might have to pay morp for it than for transport. Mr. Clayton said it would not oe satisfactory to send standard parcels.

> The Chairman said the main centres were packing the parcels for prisoners of war. About 3,000,000 of those were handled each year. It <was a matter for the National Council.

Mr. O’Brien said the Syrian pound note was worth 2s 3d. If money were sent to soldiers in Syria, they could, do a loti with itMr. Houston’s motion that it be a recommendation that all gift parcels be packed at the main centres, was lost.

Mr. O’Brien was asked to make inquiries as to the possibility of sending money overseas. Writing in regard to issue of esse; tial woollen comforts for men in the forces in New Zealand, the National Board asked for returns to be sent quarterly. The Chairman said local members of the 17th. Independent Infantry Company who wanted mittens, etc., had been supplied. He asked the position in regard to men in the Army Office, Greymouth. Mr. McKane objected to men being supplied with the articles, and the matter was held over. A request that a supply of hussifs be sent to a Canterbury camp, was received from the National Board, the Secretary stating the matter had been attended to. Advice that) the provision of sports gear for troops was a matter for the Provincial Council, was received from the National Board. Marlborough Council wrote requesting that the Council assist in the supply of football gear for a camp., The Greymouth Patriotic Committee also wrote in connection with football gear for the 17th. Infantry Division. The correspondence was received. Notifying the sale of rare books, by Mr. Pat Lawlor; for Patriotic purposes, the .National Fund Board asked for assistance in securing suitable books. The New Zealand Breweries, Wellington, forwarded a donation of £5O as Westland’s proportion of £l,OOO contributed to the AH Purposes’ Appeal. The financial statement for May, as follows, was received: —Revenue: Hokitika Savings Bank £10; Butler Bros, and Employees £l5; N.Z. Rail; way staff £3O 12s 2d; Koiterangi Basketball (parcels) £2 2s; Ikama.ua W.L (parcels) 10s; Koiterangi W.I. (parcels) £1; Ross W.I. (parcels) £1; Grey County Committee (discount) 6s 4d; Ross Committee £23 10s 9d; Runanga Committee £lB 19s 2d; N.Z. Breweries £5O; Interest on deposits £5O; Okarito. Committee £3 11s; P.O. Staff, Hokitika £6; Kokatahi Committee £2l 6s 6d; Inangahua Committee £23 13s lOd; Greymouth Committee £338 11s 4d; Hokitika’ Committee £527 18s. • Total £1,124 Is Id. Payments for May: National Board (sick and wounded) £806; Grey County (supplies) £5 6s ]d; Greymouth Committee (supplies) £59 IJs 8d; Hokitika Committee £3l 3s Id; Inangahua Committee £47 16s <>d, Greymouth Committee (imprest advance) £4B 7s Id. Total £998 12s Ba. Fund balances:. Deposits at banks £23,286 5s 8d; Credit current account £B9B 2s 3d. Levies Account: —Amount paid to May 31 £8,063; Amount due- by September 30 £5,061. A payment ol £1,611 is now due. Payment of levies, to May the levy being in parenthesis:—Greymouth £4,446), £2,40>2 3s 3d; Hokitika (£1,433), £1,992 17s 7d; Westland County (£2,592), £739 12s; Inanga.hua County (£1,587), £598 0s lid; Grey County (£2,4,89), £241 14s 2d; Ross (£145), £l7B 18s; Runanga (£583), £77 4s 2d.t Kumara (£124), £3O; Brunner (£513), £5 18s 7d; N.Z. Railway‘Staff £3(15 14s Id; Interest on Deposits £285 0s sd; National Board £136 17s s'cl; N.Z. Breweries £5O; Miscellaneous £3 15s lOd. Total levy £13,912. Total paid £7,047 16s sd.

The. chairman said the total levy was nearly £14,000. The district had raised just over half that amount. Hokitika and Ross had contributed considerably more than their quota. Other districts had much further to go. . They would have to make a hard drive to obtaiar their quota. Greymoutli was just £2,000 short. Mr Smeaton: “There is only one other way to raise the money by taxation. One man collecting was refused at the first three houses he went to.

The chairman said there were 70,000 men lighting overseas. If the people of the district v>ere not prepared to contribute enough to give the men a parcel, periodically, they were not very interested in the ' army or th.e country. There were many prisoners of war in Germany and Italy. .If the people were not prepared to subscribe to a weekly parcel, but would let them freeze and starve, they had no in terest whatever £n the country in vzhich they lived, and would be bettep in