THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11794, 25 July 1900, Page 2

THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

OTAGO & SOUTHLAND FOURTH

CONTINGENT.

PROTEST AGAINST PROPOSED LEGIS-

LATION.

A public meeting of subscribers to the Otago and Southland fourth contingent fund \va.i held in the Town Hall last evening. Mr T. AY. Kempthorne (the chairman of the

Organising Committee) presided, and amongst

those present wore the following:—Messrs James "Mills. J. Hazlett, J. A. Park, J. F. M. Fraser, J. H. Hoskiug, C. Speight, G. L. Den-

niKton, D. E. Theomin, W. L. Sinipson, H. North, W. Henderson, M. Cohen, J. F. Kirby C. U. Chapman, R. M. Clark, James Hogg, AY. A. Shields, J. 11. Chapman, AY. Mills, James Robin, J. Moloney, E. F. Duthie, AY. Wathen, Neill, Brown, Skinner, Houston, Marks,Oripps, Young, Adam, Jamieson AY. Moore

(mayor. of Milton) Drs Coughtrey, Ifulton, Gordon Macdonald, Brown, Captain Fox,' Mosdames Houston, Marks, Cripps,#Young, Gordon Macdonald, James Mills, Misses Laiug, Bpycl, Burfc, Patrick, Park.

The Secretary having read the advertisement calling the meeting,

The Chairman referred to the principal items in the balance sheet, which lias already boon published. He then went on to say, in presenting it, that the delay in publishing.-it has bean longer than, they desired or expected, owing to a number of people not rendering their accounts as promptly as they should have done, and delay in getting back voucher.? covering remittances sent to country people. Then our settlement with the Defence depart-, ment has taken a much longer time than anticipated. The report and balance sheet were published in the Otago Daily Time 3 and Evening Star of the 14-th inst., and doubtless most of you have read it, but. there may bo some present who have not done so, and as it will not take long I will run through the ■ figures, so that any present who desire to make comments or seok information may have an opportunity of doing so. The speaker having done this, continued to say: Before formally moving the adoption of Hhe report and balance sheet, I will ask your permission to make a few remarks. First, I will call to remembrance that a meeting was held in this building qu the Ist February last and a resolution unanimously passed1 to offer a fourth contingent, to consist of 100 men and horses, and' 30 remounts, and an Organising Committee was appointed to undertake all the duties in connection with the raising and despatching of this contingent. The1 committee immediately set to work and sent prompt information to all pub-, lie bodies and leading men from AA'aitaki to tho Bluff. The response was prompt—we were besieged by telegrams, letters, and messages, from residents over, this area offering help in all sorts of ways.. From these en-' couraging results the committee on February j 8 requested the Government to increase tho number of the contingent from 100 to 150, the offers received of men, horsea. and money at that, date satisfying the committee thatthey were justified in increasing the number to that extent. The s.s. Monowai took 194 horses, giving one horse to each member of the contingent, two horses for each officer in charge, and the balance to make up any deficiency in case of death during the voyage. The committee were still enabled to augment tlie numbers, and shipped 30 more remouht3 by the Undaunted and 200 by the Ormazan. We have thus despatched •to South Africa ■ 42+ horses and 162 officers and men. —(Applause.) It would be impossible for me to thank all those who kindly assisted in the despatch of- this contingent, and I can only ask those beyond Dunedin to accept the committee's all-round acknowledgment of their, great generosity. The committee also cannot re-, frain from especially thanking Surgeon-major " Coughtrey—(applause) ,—who had complete charge of the equipment. Dr Coughtrey was an expert, and every article had practically to bear his "hall nuvrk " before it was allowed to go tc the camp, he being convinced ,that everything was of the best material and finish, and I feel satisfied that no contingent leaving this colony for South Africa has been better equipped than the members of the fourth contingent.f-{Applause.) Surgeonmajor Coughtrey gave his undivided time foilO weeks entirely to this work, and you can estimate what a. .pecuniary sacrifice this "was to a professional man. —(Applause.) To our secretary, .Mr E. F. Duthie—(applause),—the committee also desire' to' convey their highest estimation for his unselfish devotion to the committee's v/ork from start to finish.—(Applause.) I also take this opportunity ..of--most' Heartily thanking-' the press for the great. assistance rendered," and tho pidjlicity given to the committee's" work! To the Government we also tender our indebtedness. The Right Hon. the Premier sent-us many encouraging telegrams, and was keen indeed to know how we were getting on. The Hon. Mr Ward fortunately visited Dun-'' edin several times when we were in full swing. He did what he could to help arid advise its, and generously offered on behalf of the Go : vernment to frank our telegrams and letters, which was .a most acceptable help.—(x\pplause.) Then the Hon. John M'Kenzie, whose illness we .deeply deplore, sent vs1 a telegram that nothing short of a calamity would prevent him from being present at the send-off.—(Applause.) The Hon. the Premier visited Dunedin just at the beginning of the fourth contingent agitation, and a deputation of the committee interviewed him, the result baing that he offered free transport on behalf of the Imperial authorities for conveyance of. men and horses to South Africa, the committee undertaking to provide all necessary funds for equipment of men and horses. To Lieu-tenant-colonel Webb and the officers who as-' sisted in training and managing the camp and the medical board, the committee are indebted for the valuable time they gave in testing and training the members of the contingent ; for other valuable ,help given by parading the volunteers when necessary, and for the free use of the Garrison Hall to the. committee and staff. . With regard to the committee's work, whether we gave satis.fo.ction or whether we did not, I can truly say this, that every member and the secretary worked with only one thought, to unselfishly, carefully, diligently, and thoroughly carry out, to the best of their ability and.energy, the important business entrusted to their care. —(Applause.) That our efforts were successful was. proved by the magnificent send-off; of our volunteers on Saturday, the 24-th March, 1900. which, with the other send-off, days of the first, second, and third contingents, will" ever remain historical, red-letter days in early New Zealand history, and additional interest was given by the attendance of his Excellency, the Governor and Lady Ranfurly, the Right Hon. the Premier, and the Hons. Ward and M'Kenzie honoured us by their presence, adding dignity and attractiveness fo the proceedings, and also enabling them to .witness the largest assemblage of human beings ever congregated, in Dunedin, and at the same time giving them convincing proof of the ability of the committee's civilian marshals to.deviso plans and parade this vast concourse of people through the cityj and subsequently to Port Chalmers, placing the volunteers on board the troopships without a. single block or hitch, thus, showing, incipient military ability of a very marked character. — (Laughter and applause.) The satisfactory results achieved could not have been obtained without the cordial support of all classes, the least affluent being proportionately the most' generous. During the time the members were in camp they were not forgotten, and many cases of delicacies were sent out for their use; while on board the ship gifts of all descriptions, pamphlets and periodicals, were sent in large numbers for use'on the voyage, and if further proof was necessary, I might add >that some 25g tons' measurement, containing numerous articles and presents, were sent to the members now serving in South Africa.—(Applause.) . In addition to sending horses ancWnen, a number of Indies in Dunedin thought that our contingent would be incomplete unless we also sent trained nurses. This suggestion met tlu> unanimous approval of the committee, who advised that two of our number—Messrs Fraser and Shields—should join these ladies forming an independent committee for this work, Mrs Gordon Macdonald being appointed president. The work began in dead earnest, a force of ladies having set to work, and so systematic w"ere their labours that in a very short time the splendid sum of £1200 odd was collected, and seven highly competent nurses elected to go to South Africa. From all accounts received those nurses have done admirable work.--(Hear, -hear). —and wore so highly thought of that they were soon sent to the front, and arc now at Bloemfontein. excepting Nurse Monson, who. unfortunately, was attacked by enteric fevor. which may necessitate her return, although a letter has just been received stating that she has been granted one month's sick leave, and she hopes by the expiration of that time to be again fit for duty. As. regards the balance sheet—you will notice that it only deals witli the actual cash receipts received. This does not, however, represent thn full contributions received from the provincial districts of Otago and Southland. To give any detailed list of the amount? subscribed, it would occupy considerably more than 100 pages of foolscap. The committee passed through thoir hands no les? a number than 520 horses. Of this number 185 were donated or received from different country committees, and they might bo fairly estimated as worth an average of £18 per .head. The committee also received a large quantity of horse feed, which was utilised as forage in the camp—articles and materials of euuiuments and liberal n™.

cessions on accounts from various sources, th« aggregate funds provided by tne public reaching oVer £20,000. —(Applause.) It must not be forgotten that previous to this movement some £16,000 was collected for the patriotic fund, and subsequently to ,the contingent contribution, some £6000 nas'baen collected for the 'Indian famine relief fund, clearing proving the great generosity <>t the people of this colony. And now, most- important of all, wo have to tender our sincere thanks to the noble band of volunteers wLo responded to our call, most of whom arp now in South Africa, and will keep up the reputation gained by former contingents. . Wo ought indeed l<> be highly, gratified to hear the eulpgistic and doubtless well-merited reports that are reach

ing us from the higheMj and most competent Imperial officers as to the thorough usefulness and bravery of ours and the other colonial troops. Some of our brave ftilows have fallen, and others have, unfortunately, been invalided home, but these are the misfortune? inseparable from war. We- convey our sincere sympathy to the relatives of those who arc dead, and express the hope that the invalided ones will soon be in trim to fight again :"£ necessary. I now move the adoption of tlip report and balance sheet. r Mr Mills said, that the chairman had askc] him to second the adoption of the report, although the fact that he was-a member uf" tlie committee might make it. seem a little ftrange. However, he had not taken an aetiyo . part in the work of the committee in despatching the contingent, as he was. absent' from Dunedin during the first .month the committee were at work, end when he returned the work, was., .well. advanced. Mr. Kempthorne had dealt a few well-chosen words of praise to the work of the secretary and Surgeon-major Coughtrey, and others; but naturally was modest about the Work of the more active members of the committee. Ho (Mr Mills) would like to emphasise the credit due to the chairman , himself —(applause),—md to such active members of the committee as Messrs Park, "Speight,' and Shields, —their civil and. military field marshals, as Mr Kempthorne described them, — , and Messrs Fraser, Hosking, Hazlett, and Glendining. Mr Kempthorne also gave a de- . served word of praiso to the lady workers for . aid-in raising funds for the contingent, and also for. the despatch of nurses. It was .very refreshing to see the amount of energy and ability the ladies put into this work, and it went far to justify views ihat might be held about their, having equal rights with the other sex. The few words the chairman said in 'reply to criticisms of two of the- items in the - balance sheet would serve to dear away some misconceptions. Considering the great work undertaken and carried through by the committee in dealing with some £20,000, they deserved well of the public,, and he was sure ■ their eiforls were appreciated..—{Applause.). Mr Hosking said he would just like to make a few remarks with, regard to : one'or two items. He would refer first to the Demon- , stration Committee.. The committee were . . sadly attacked, chiefly, by anonymous^ corre- ". "spondeiits. raid on the. strength of which" the Daily Timss, thinking to -gauge public opinion, lashed the committee on the morning ' the contingent went.away, without, he ventured to say,--a due appreciation of the. circumstances of-the case.*, The committee were driven to find a more; convenient place than ■ the Forbury Park, because the -steamer had to go away witlv the tide. Had they started the contingents away from the Forbury Park they would have had to leave long before the , ■country trains came -in,' and the-country-people would therefore be deprived'from par- ■ tieipating in the function of the day.. ■ Even as it was, the' committee had great' difficulty . with the military people. At the last moment Colonel Penton's ide"a was.thatthe troops ' should be, taken by the shortest route and put on board the boat in the shortest possible time, and it was only after the intervention of the' Premier that'the plans'were enabled to be carried out. If they had not.had the Oval they would not have got the mcii . away on that occasion. As to the cost .of the" stands, that was abed-. - hitely necessary in. order that- the.core ■: mouy might .'be carried out in a way that would form a lasting impression on those who, witnessed it. After the plans for putting; up the stands were, agred upon, they were told the Government intended to send away . the fifth.contingent at the same time, and the ' committee then had to meet the expense of . enlarging the stands and strengthening them, which greatly, increased the expense. Another matter with which the. committee had . been charged by the Daily Times was as to why thej did. not charge for admission on the various steamers that went down, the harbour. - Two steamers —the Te> Anau and Moura—were placed at their disposal by the Union Company.—(Applause.) The Moura. was placed at their disposal on condition^ she ' was put into commission. That was only one of the many acts for which they had to; thank the Union Company. The committee7!} wish was that the troops 'should be accom- : pahied by their friends as far as1 possible1 to ' the point of: embarkation. They also'wished that the country people should not feel that they "were out pi it if they came to town.f Their choice in that matter, was based upon - what happened in Wellington and : the north. In. Christclmrch parents and.friends of the troopers were separated, and great confusion - prevailed. The committee had received the thanks of many of the friends and relatives' of the troopers. One old gentleman and his wife came into the committee's rooms and thanked the committee. They said they had been separated from thoir son on the. departure from Auckland, and they came-down : . to Dunediu to sec: him off". They expressed then* gratification that there were facilities for. seeing him off here. The committee'also', forewent the making of money in order thaf: ■ Port.Chalmers might collect funds there. The only other item was thai; of the souvenirs. They had. an offer from Wilkie and Co. to give them so many books. They thought that by selling them at a slight advance they . would be-able to pay expenses in connection with the affair. Tne difficulty, however, was » that they could not control the copyright 0f... y photographs of the camp. Rival publica-■ / tiona came into the field, and the committee's / being printed late, they were delayed in get- ; ting.it into the market. Hovyever, on the / return of the contingent they hoped to be able ' to dispose of them.; He might add that £5 \ was offered for a copy of the work.in South "'.-, Africa, so that the price of sixpence asked for one here was not out of the way. . In conclusion, the speaker added that in the Daily Times criticism was indulged in without any attempt to get a true knowledge of the facts. . :

The Chairman said that the committee now wanted direction as to the disposal of the cash in hand, but before they went further he thought, perhaps, he ought to read one or two letters he had received. These may be summarised as follows: —From Mr A. J. Valpy-.—. " I wish it might bo laid to your heart to enter your protest against, the commandeering of. tho Otago patriotic fund. Tho subscriptions were specially intended to be apportioned by our

own committee, in whom we have confidence. 1 hope there will be an indignation meeting, and that Dunedin will make a stand against this injustice." From Mr James Dawson (Invereargill). stating that he was strough- of opinio.n that the Otago and Southland funds should be left in ihe hands of .Otago and Southland to administer, and by no means to he made a '' poo) " of and administered from a central source—From Mr Alexander Thomson, stating that, as - a .-.-ontributor, he protasted against the diversion of the funds in hand except for the purpose of giving assistance to injured or invalided members of contingents and their families belonging to the provincial district of Otago and Southland. Mr W. Moo'e (mayor of Milton) moved the following resolution:—"That the balance of the contingent fund be placed in the hands of the Organising Committee, and, subject to the payment of any outstanding claims, be devoted to the tome purpose arid dealt with in the same manner as may be.determined in respect of the patriotic fund?." Speaking to the motion, Mr Moore paid a compliment to the ability of the corrfrnittee, and said that the ability that thoy had displayed in raising the amount—which had surprised everybody—justified the people's confidence in them. The men who had been able to " bleed " Scotchmen as they had done were certainly the men who ought to have control of the money that was left. —(Laughter.) He''thought the motion would be carried unanimously, and it was only right and proper that it should be. He ■ would be very sorry to see the funds taken away from the gentlemen who had gathered it together.—(Applause.) Dr Brown seconded the motion. He understood that this wasrnot the fighting motion of the evening, so he was not called on to make a fighting speech—not that he was adverse to it under the, circumstances. The people of Dunedin recognised the consoicucus business ability that the Organising Committee had displayed all through the organising and despatch of .the contingent. He was perfectly certain that the citizens would bear him oat in saying, that they recognised • the high integrity of the members composing that committee, and to whom could we better confide the disposal of the funds that remained in hand. Them might be certain advantages in having an official to deal witli tha business in the same way that the old-age pensions were dealt with; but they must have an element of sentiment, which they could never look for in a Government office.—(Applause.) The motion was then put arid carried. The Chairman said the next business was ihe settlement of the question of the' distribution of the balance of the nurses' fund. The corn-

mitteo knew that, the opinion of the ladies who raised the fund was that it should be dealt with as a separate fund, and dealt with by special trustees.

Miss Burt moved— ■" That the balance of the nurses' fund be placed in trust in the names of Mesdames Macdonald and Theomin and Messrs W. A. Shields and J. F.. M. Fraser for the purpose of carrying out the intention of the donors—viz., to provide for the maintenance, passages, and other expenses of the nurses sent from Otago and Southland, any surplus remaining after the nurses have returned and •..their necessary wants- fully supplied to bp paid over to the patriotic fund." Mr Simpson seconded the motion. This money, he said, had been raised for sending nurses to South Africa, and a more humane thing could not have been done. The only thing to be regretted was that they could not follow the example of' the New South Wales people, who had sent an army medical

corps, special notice of whose work had been

taken by one of the most eminent surgeons in London at the present time. The 'threat to take away the funds that had been subscribed by themselves for charitable and humane purposes was taking away the freedom of the people of New Zealand.—(Applause.) The Government and oligarchy who were attempting, to do that were only following the footsteps of Kruger— (laughter and applause),—when he usurped the freedom of the Transvaal. It was following in the_ steps of the chambers of commerce affair, which was another attempt to enslave them, and they should resist it with every effort. ■ The motion was carried unanimously. ' The Chairman said that they were not overlooking the men who were coming back, and he read the following circular letter, which, marked "private and confidential," was sent to each man : —

Dear Sir,—My committee congratulates you on your safe return to our colony after the arduous and honourable work you. and your comrades have done in South Africa, and we recognise 'that many, of you may possibly be without funds for 'an outfit, or may be incapacitated by ill-health from following for a time your usual avocation, we desire to ask you whether or not you need assistance from tlie public funds under mv committee's control. This memorandum will be addressed to each man who comes bad:, and we are desirous of kr.&whig as far as. possible the- extent of the demands on our funds. Your reply will be deemed confidents] ] and no publicity will bo given hereafter either to your letter or to our subsequent action. The fund is primarily to bo devoted to the sick' and wounded and their dependents, but we are desirous of helping any of you on.in life as far as our powers go'; and it you do not need money, it may b° that we can assist you in some other way. Be good enough to let us know as soon as you poseiblv can. .Dr Coughtrey, of this city,- is ■' our honorary medical officer, and he will treat such of you as require treatment without feemedical comforts and .medicine will also be provided for you under his orders.—(App'ause). ±

Mr Cohen moved—"That the meeting nlace 3n record its appreciation 'of the services rendered by the chairman and his colleagues in the equipment and despatch of the fourth contingent from Otago." He did not __ think it required .one word to be" said in lavour of it. and he was sure that the resolution voiced the feeling of the people of Otago and Southland.

Mr Wathen seconded the motion, which was carried with acclamation.. ■

Mr Kempt-home, m reply, tendered those present his sincere thanks, remarking that the work of the committee had been" a labour of love.