NEW ZEALAND PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16546, 20 November 1915, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND PATRIOTIC FUNDS.

OVER £1,C00,000 RAISED. THE QUESTION OF ADMINISTRATION. IPeb L'uxen PbKsa Association.) WELLINGTON, November 19. A conference between representatives of the patriotic societies throughout New Zealand and the. Hon. Messrs 0. W. Russell (Minister of Internal Affairs), A. M. (Pensions Department), James Allen (Minister of Defence), and A. L. Ilerdman (Discharged Soldiers' Information Department) was commenced to-day in Wellington. Mr Russell presided, and in his opening remarks said that the patriotic societies had raised a total of £8J2,154, of which £272,003 was for wounded soldiers, £358,000 for British. Belgian, and other relief funds, and £264000 for other funds. Since then other amounts had been subscribed, till at the present, day the funds totalled over £1.000,000. Tho Department of Internal Affairs had already received £167,000. Over £15,000 had- been passed through the department for the Red Cross, £-628 for the i iS'ew Zealand lied Cross, and £54-.649 for ' the hospital ships. j The lollovving is a summary of tho funds raised as at the beginning of September: — DistriCollected. buted. In hand. Auckland £i23,23J £50,t06 £36,618 Taranaki 22,150 17,274 4,902 Hawke's Bay 46.90b 3i,c30 13,030 Wellington ... 185,430 1C6.326 78,095 Marlborough ... 14.325- 4,'£91 10,030 Nelson 20)120 14.4-06 5,654 Westland 155 442 Canterbury ... 145,8/4 105,998 34,628 Otago 3M.433 122,287 180,080 • Southland ... 28,001. 16,426 11,575 *5,440 Totals £392,154 £511,660 £375,054 * Doubtful whether in hand or distributed. Mr Russell, said he wished to clear up an impression that the Government intended, by means of tho War Funds Act, to "col- ■ lar tho patriotic funds." There was no such idea in establishing tho War Funds. Council. Tho object of tho council was to secure the efficient administration and control of the funds, and the council would only take over iunds which were handed over to it by the bodies concerned. The Hon. J. Allen the delegates. He said he was interested chiefly in the matter of pensions and of providing for those who were not specially provided for by law. An important aspect was dealing with sick and wounded soldiers outside New Zealand. The Government provided for all actual necessities, of the soldier, and could not be asked to do more; but there were other requirements—tobacco, fruit, motor car rides, and so on—which the Government could not provide, and which were a fair charge upon the patriotic funds. ' Mr Herdman said tho Defence Department looked after the men while in the army or on leave; whilst he was sick or wounded the Health Department* looked after the soldier, and then the Pensions Board concerned itself with him and his dependents. Mr Herdman's own department wai concerned chiefly with providing work for returned soldiers. The work of the Organising Committee throughout New Zealand was now quite complete. An essential for the success of the work of the department was that the duties of all representatives and agencies should be carefully and faithfully done, and the department kept fully in touch with what had been and was being done. The Hon. A. M. Myers (Minister of Pensions.) said that out of the £1,000,000 already raised, £500,000 had been spent, and he hoped that before long the amount raised Would be doubled./ It was clear that there was a large sphere of usefulness for societies to augment what the Government could do. CONFERENCE SUGGESTIONS. The conference then adopted a series of suggestions for the functions of and expenditure by patriotic epcieties, as follow:— 1. Supplementing 'separation allowances for wives of married soldiers where necessary. 2. Assistance to parents or others depending wholly or partially on soldiers or sailors. —Adopted 3. Assistance to and comforts for children of soldiers, so that none may suffer from the absence of parents at the front. — Adopted. 3 (a) Additions, to the incomes of soldiers, whether on service or discharged, where necessary. After some discussion, a, suggestion by the Hon. James Allen that £6000 be devoted monthly to supply comforts for sick and wounded soldiers was adopted. After varlious recommendations had Ueen dealt with, Mr Russell brought up the ques-; tion of thei establishment of inter-communi-cation, and aftlr a brief discussion a resolution was passed, on the motion of the Hon. J. T. Paul, affirming the principle of full co-operation between societies to avoid overlapping and duplication of assistance. The matter of devising the method of securing this co-operation was held over till a later stage of the conference. HELPING THE WEAKER DITSRICTS. (Feb United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, November 19. \ At a meeting of the War Funds Council a discussion arose with regard to the inequalit- of the patriotic funds raised in different provincial districts, and the case of Westland was quoted. It was stated that in that district a large of men had gone to the front, but the patriotic fund waa very small by reason of the comparative lack: of wealth in that part of the country. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr J.

Roberts, C.M.G. (Dunedin), seconded by • Mr J. P. Luke (Wellington), that an app«U be made to the various patriotic societies throughout Nov.' Zealand to assist the weaker funds by sending to the National War Funds Council such a sum of money as they feet disposed to allot for the purpose, in order to enable the council to jielp any district where the local fund is not strong enough to provide for the wmlnded and invalided soldiers and their dependents.