REPATRIATION.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 1872, 13 February 1920, Page 2

REPATRIATION.

INTERESTING STATISTICS. The progress report of the Repatriation Department for the 11 mouths' operations ended on January 20, has | just come to hand, and shows a very satisfactory state of affairs. The register of the department now contains the names of 76,982 men, and of that number 50,317 have returned to the Dominion since the beginning of 1919. It is pleasing to notice that the department states it- is finding no great difficulty in securing suitable employment for discharged soldiers, the figures as at January 20 showing that 14,093 men had been suitably placed in employment, whilst the number on the "unemployed" register of. the department did not exceed 251 —about four days' placement. During 1919 no fev.-er than 50,000 men returned to the Dominion, and the fact that it was found necessary to pay unemployment sustenance allowances in only 831 cases during the whole of that period speaks well for the success of this important phase Jof the department's operations. At the | date of the report, I.'! men were rcceiv- ' ing unemployment allowances. | The vocational training of partially ! disabled soldiers, apprentices, etc., has j received careful attention, and up to the present time training has been arranged for 3496 men, 387 of whom commenced during the past two months. Up to the date of the report some 008 men had .finished their course, leaving a balance of 2828 still being trained in the various technical schools or special soldiers' classes, and in the workshops and factories of the Dominion

During the 11 months, 2008 loans for the purpose of establishing discharged soldiers in business (involving an expenditure of £606,642) have been approved by the Ministerial Board, and during the past two months £177,574 has been paid out on behalf of the soldiers for furniture, tools, business sustenance, training fees, subsidising wages, assistance to apprentices, ete. —the total sum expended to date under these headings amounting to £785.135 17/6. During the months of November and December £26,684 was repaid by instalments, making a total of £49,315 received to date in reduction of loans granted. The figures for Canterbury show that i from November 20, 1919, to January 20, i 1920, 373 men were placed in employI meat, the grand total of men placed in Canterbury now amounting to 3211; the number remaining on the unemployment register, 41; granted unemployment sustenance to date, 346; and receiving i unemployment sustenance on January 20, 7. Meu receiving sustenance while attending classes numbered in Canterbury 217, and subsidised workers 392. The' total number of applications for financial assistance received to date in the Canterbury province is 2289. Of these, 1771 have been granted; 121 are pending; 248 have been refused; anil 149 withdrawn. Financial assistance in Canterbury for the 11 months covered by the report amounts to £128*341 18/5. Loans amounting to £5836 6/11 have been repaid in the province up to December 31, 1919.