REPORT TO PROVINCIAL COUNCIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25385, 17 November 1943, Page 2

REPORT TO PROVINCIAL COUNCIL

TOTAL PATRIOTIC DONATIONS

The passing of the £500,000 mark in the donations received by the Otago Provincial Patriotic Council since the commencement of the war was re-, corded at the monthly meeting of .'.the ” council yesterday afternoon. The Mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) presided, and there were also present Messrs Edgar Hazlett, W. G. Kindley, John Bennetts (Tuapeka), N. D. Anderson, J. Sutherland Ross J. L. Salmond, J. J. Marlow, L F Evans. J. W. Dove, W. B. Taverner, R. A. Johnston, Dr W. Newiands, Dr A. R. Falconer, and Dr R. E. Austin (Vincent). Brigadier A. S. Falconer, the newly-appointed commissioner for the National Patriotic Fund Board in the Middle East, also attended the meeting. The treasurer (Mr R. A. Johnston), in his monthly report, stated that the total expenditure on approved patriotic purposes to November 15 had been £224,482 Is Id, the administrative andi incidental expenses had amounted to £ll 809 14s 6d, and the funds in handi totalled' £210,078 6s 2d. In additmn, the amount collected by the Joint Council totalled £56,382, and £II,OOB 5s 6d had been collected by the Spitfire Fighter Plane Fund, bringing the total donations from Otago to £513,752 7s 3d. The receipts since the previous monthly statement had been £18,299 10s 2d, and the grants and other expenditure for the same period had 1 amounted to £2677 2s Id. The chairman said that Otago’s achievement in passing the £500,000 mark was highly creditable. There had been times when the council had had to face difficult periods, but the loyalty of the people of the province indicated their confidence in the patriotic effort. In reply to a question by Dr W. Newiands. who asked what fund was now available for rehabilitation purposes, the chairman said that the council had in hand the sum of £175,000, which would be increased by the allocation from the 1943 All Purposes Appeai.

Annual Statement

The treasurer presented the financial statement for the year ended September 39, 1943, which showed that actual receipts from all sources during the year were £117,716 16s Id. The total collections for the previous year were £144,141 18s lid. As appeal collection periods did not synchronise with the financial year period, the balance of the collection for the previous year’s appeal was shown, and also the collections already made for next year’s appeal. In the case of the/1942 All Purposes Appeal, the combined receipts for the two periods were £153,706 13s 6d. Similarly, in the case of the 1943 appeal, £88,326 14s lOd did not represent the closing total. Further collections made after balancing date would appear in next year’s statement. Income from investments totalled £4694 11s Sd for the year, or an advance of £1703 14s 7d over the previous year. On the payments side the total outgo for the year was £100,424 8s 2d, of which the principal items were grants for camps, Y.M.C.A.', and Mercantile Navy Committee £1146 15s 9d, payments to National Patriotic Fund Board £82,480 3s 9d, gift parcels £7069 19s 3d, Wool Committee £4280 12s Bd, general relief £2300. The council’s cost of administration was £849 11s sd, which was equivalent to 0.72 per cent, of the receipts for the year, as com.pared with last year’s figure of 0.65 per cent. The surplus of cash receipts over payments for the year was £17,132 7s lid. At the close of last year the balances awaiting disposal were substantial, amounting to £74,663 Bs. During the current year £81,595 12s 6d had bsen expended in the purchase of Government stock and other debentures, and the cash balance to carry forward this year was reduced to £10.268 9s 9d. The balance sheet showed the council’s assets as £198,728 9s 7d, being an advance of £17,272 8s over the figure for last year. Investments now totalled £186,694 Is 3d. Interest earned and accrued this year totalled £SBBO 10s 4d, or £2043 14s 8d in advance of the previous year. The average earning was equivalent to 3.14 per cent, on the stock held. Liabilities comprised £2416 8s 2d, and the accumulated funds for this year totalled £196,312 Is sd, compared with £181,054 4s Id last year, an increase of £ 15,257 17s 4d. Mr Edgar Hazlett said that the treasurer should be thanked for setting out the financial position so fully. The chairman replied that Mr Johnston and his staff were doing excellent work gratuitously for the council. The report was adopted, subject to audit. Concert and Exhibition Receipts It was reported that the net receipts from the Kiwi Concert Party’s concerts in Dunedin totalled £1042 11s Bd, and that those from the exhibition of Captain Peter Mclntyre’s \ paintings amounted to £305 6s. v Relief Committee Dr Newiands reported that the Relief Committee had dealt with 104 cases during the month, the disbursements amounting, to. £2ll 10s 3d. He stated that the mufti allowance of £25 was not sufficient for men who had to re-equip themselves fully. The Mayor said that the payment of £25 was an army matter, but he would bring up the subject for discussion at the conference in Wellington next week. All Purposes Appeal The position of the zones 'in the All Purposes patriotic appeal at November 15 were reported to be as follows (the quota for each zone being given in parentheses): North Otago (£14,145), £16,525 3s 7d, surplus £2380 3s 7d; South Otago (£11,535), £8790 8s 4d; Tuapeka (£5280), £4514 9s Id; Vincent (£4324), £4516 17s sd, surplus £192 17s sd; Maniototo (£2944), £2467 Is lid; Lake (£2966), £3252 10s 2d, surplus £286 10s 2d; Metropolitan (£73,806), £65,538 Is Id. - Totals: (£115,000) £105,604 11s 7d.