OLD VOLUNTEER FUND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8533, 25 July 1889, Page 2

OLD VOLUNTEER FUND.

Thb following ia tbe substance of a conversation which took place in the street the other evening with reference to tho old Volunteer fund :— James : Well, old chop, now that matter is settled what about the old Volunteer fund. Having been away so long I don't know if anything has been done. Will it evei ba wound up ? William : Yes; I think it will not bo iq U c£ DOW< Uader a new Act passed in 1886 a Board was recently appointed to make out a list of persons who in tho opinion o£ the Board were entitled to participate in the fund. Thiß has been done, and a list of 391 names has, I understand, been forwarded to the old Trustees, who are to convene a meeting of persons named in the list for the purpose of deoiding as to the disposal of the property and funds. Jauies : How on earth did they get so many names on the list ? William : They advertised for claims to be sent in, moßt of which were accepted. They also obtained old lists, pay sheets, and all the information they could get, and put on all they thought had a right to be there. No doubt tbere are many names that should not be on the list, but it was open to public inspection, and nobody took tho trouble to object to any of the nameß, so tbat is now settled, and it is useless talking about it. James : What amount is now available ? William : Just tho wreck of the original Bum, consisting of a dividend from Halse's estate, with interest, and an unsold bush section of 105 acres at Omata. A paragraph in the papers recently stated that after deducting expenses there would be something over £400, which would, if divided, be about 22« 6d per man. James : What a terrible mess has been made of the affair from the aturt. With ordinary caro and management the fund ought now to have been worth over £3000. Are the trustees not liable to make good the money lost ? William : They probably would have been, had any one brought an action before the present Act was passed under which the f and it now being wound up. It is rather late in the day now the money is loot to talk of an action. We are as much to blame as the trustees for allowing the thing to remain a festering sore so long. The time to have brought the thing to an issu* was shortly after we held the last meeting, aome 10 or 12 years ago, when there was a good sum in hand, and we found the trustees took no notice of the resolution passed to divide tbe money. James : Has nothing been done since then? William: No; the Trustees evidently did not care to risk acting on the resolution, as Major Atkinson, in reply to a question at the meeting, stated that " there would be great praotical difficulty in dividing the money amongst the members of the corps, and if that oonrse was decided on he should at once resign his office as trustee, because the difficulty of finding out who were to share ia the fund would be so great, and if a mistake was made in the distribution the trustees would, of course, be held responsible." The majority of the moeting, however, in their eager desire to grab the money — as some one there remarked, "If it's only half-a-crown a man, let's have tba money "—blindly adopted a list of 329 names whioh was on the table, without having it read over or knowing who was on it, although they were told it was quite unreliable, and contained names of persons who wero never in the Volunteers at lha time. They also foolishly rejeotsd a resolution, proposed by Mr J. Elliot, to the effect that a committee be appointed from those at the meeting to make oat a correct list of persons entitled to participate in the fund. Had that course been adopted, the committee would have done then what has since been done by a Board recently appointed by the Governor for that purpose only. James : What a mistake. All these yeara of delay might have been saved, aud perhaps the money too. William : Yes I instead of which the whole thing was thrown book to the trustees, who had so neglected and grossly mismanaged tho f und from the beginning. I should tell yon that there were some meetings held previously, when a Committee was appointed to enquire into the position, report, and suggest as to the^isposal of the fund. After investigation a report was duly made, and a scheme suggested to uso the fund for general public benefit. James : What was it ? William : The report simply stated how the fund had been invested, what properties at the time had fallen ia and belonged to the Trust ; tho amount received, and details of the expsnditur*. The scheme proposed for disposal of the fund was a trust or a committee to be elected at the meeting, apply for the Government subsidy of £600 then open for a Volunteer drill shod, co-operate with the Agricultural Society and thus acquire a sum of about £1500 in all, to bo expended on Poverty Flat which oould then have been obtained free, level and fence it as a Recreation Ground for parades, football &0., Erect a large building suitable for Agricultural Shows, Drill shed and other public purposes Also a drinking fountain and monument to the Volunteers who were killed during ths war; and in consideration of tbe fuad being voted in that way it was proposed to give each member having a claim on tbe fund a life ticket of admission to all shows or whatever took place oa the ground. (To be continued.)