LIFE-SAVING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 47, 1 April 1914, Page 10

LIFE-SAVING.

GOVERNMENT HELP DESIRED. At the Lyttelton Harbour Board's meeting to-day Dr H. T. Thacker moved: moved: —That this board make representations to the Minister of Marine that the Royal Life-saving Society be subsidised, and life-saving frota drowning be made a national subject. Up to the present, said Dr Thacker, life-saving throughout New ealand had been done by individual efforts. It was time that a national effort was made. He believed that in New Zealand every year 150 people were drown. The Government assessed each immigrant at £IOOO, so the Dominion was losing £150,000 by people being drowned. The board had assited life-saving organisations, but it was its duty to pioneer an effort to get the Government to assist by putting something on he Estimates for each centre of the Life-saving Society. That organisation did very good work, but it had hard and difficult work in financing its operations. Mr .J. Little seconded the motion. Mr M. J. Mille. supported the idea of asking'the Govern:...nit to subsidise the Life-saving Society, but he did not believe in discouraging or doing away with individualised public spirit. In order to give members more time to consider the question, it was referred to the Harbour Improvement Committee, which consists of the whole board.