THE CANTEEN FUND

Otago Witness, Issue 3513, 12 July 1921, Page 24

THE CANTEEN FUND

At last week’s meeting of the executive of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, presided over by Dr T. Harrison, permission was extended to" Colonel M'Donald to amend the form of his motion, of which ho had given notice. He acordingly submitted the following : That this meeting of the executive of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association requests the District Council of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association to request from the Government a statement showing-—(1) The sum actually handed over to the Canteen Board; (2) details of receipts, from all sources of canteen profits; (3) details of all expenditure, if any, (a) actually incurred, and (b) pledged and bv whom so incurred or pledged; (4) details of the constitution and powers of the Canteen Board; (5) how much, if any, of the Canteen Funds are actually in the State Treasury, and what rate of interest is being paid on same; (6) how. and at what rate of interest, any funds not in the State Treasury are now placed, also that the District Council hake steps to obtain the co-operation of other district councils on the matter. Colonel McDonald said business men had expressed astonishment that £BO.OOO .of money should be lying somewhere in the domyiion. and that suddenly a motion could be carried recommending its use for a purpose quite external and extraneous to that for which it was held and has accrued.. Colonel M‘Donald went on to refer to the canteen funds at Home. He said they amounted to about £10,250,000, and of that amount £2,000,00ft had been lent out to a society that had no funds of its own and no assets. Now there seemed to be no prospect of getting back either the interest or the principal. He referred to the position at Home merely as a warning: it was advisable, tie said, to bo very careful with regard to the Canteen Fund in New Zealand One had only to look round and observe to be impressed with the necessity throughout the dominion for such a fund devoted to the relief of soldiers' dependents as originally intended. Mr Wood, in seconding the motion, said that every second soldier met in the street asked what was being done with the Can teen .Fund. The motion was supported by Mr Calkin, and others and carried unanimously. Gypsum, a deposit, of which has been discovered on the Waikarcmoaiia road is quoted at £7O per ton (states the Daily Telegraph). New Zealand, during the first quarter of this year, imported from Australia 20 tons It. was stated by Mr W. Morrison, of the State Forest Service, speaking at Rangiora recently, that, the Government of New Zealand had planted 40,000 acres with 100,000,600 trees in tile last 20 years.