KING GEORGE'S FUND FOR SAILORS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16037, 23 January 1918, Page 5

KING GEORGE'S FUND FOR SAILORS.

HANDSOME SUBSCRIPTIONS., £SOOO FROM THE KING AND £SOO FROM THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.

A meeting of the General Council of King George’s Fund for Sailors was held on November 8, 1917, at the trinity] House, London. , , , H.R.H. the Duke # took the chair. In addressing the. .Members of the Council His Royal Highness said that it was a great pleasure to him to be present on that occasion, and he felt that he might congratulate the fund on the great progress which had been made and upon the cordial reception that had been accorded to it by the public, although, he honed, the support already given was nothing to what it would receive in the future. He expressed his confidence as to the great advantage that the Fund must be to the Marine Benevolent Institutions, and, through them, to the gallant men of the sea and to their widows and children. His Royal Highness also expressed the conviction that th© fund would appeal to Englishmen in. a way that no other fund had ever done, and through it the whole country would be able to show their appreciation of the services of the Royal Navy, the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and the men _of the Merchant Service. .In conclusion, His Royal Highness said that the work of the fund had "been; watched with very, great interest by His Majesty the U m - ■ ■who, aware of the benefit that tne tunn would he to the sailor and with a desire to mark his sense of the importance of that fund and the benefits it would confer upon those to whom we were so much indebted, had requested him to announce that the King desired to contribute £SOOO towards the admirable work that was being done. This announcement was received with great enthusiasm.' . Captain A. W. Clarke (deputy-chair-man) said he was pleased to announce that the fund had now reached £210.000. The expenses in connectin'!}/with the raising of this amount word only one-half per cent., so that for every £IOO subscribed by the public £99 10s. would go direct to the sailors. Ho thought that this constituted a record in the annals of charity organisation. ■Sir Raymond Beck, the chairman of the finance committee, then presented a financial report, which was unanimously adopted. _ „ , Sir Richard Williams-Bulkelev, inpresenting the report of the, collecting ■ committee.- stated that- the Daily ••Tetegraph appeal had continued to render a large measure of material assistance to the King’s Fund, and the collecting committee, had expressed their thanks in this connection in a letter to Lord Burnham and the staff of the Daily Telegraph. Th© collecting committee also wished to take this oppor■fcunitv of acknowledging their gratitude to Llovds Exchange and the Commercial Sale Room, Mincing Lane, the Baltic and the Corn Exchange, all of which had contributed very generously to the King’s Fund. Tho eo-operation of the clergy was progressing .favourably. The.lead of the Archbishop of-Canter-bury, in giving such a. large measure of support to the movement, would no doubt result in a special Sunday being set apart for collections on behalf of the fund. The report was unanimously adopted. Sir Thomas Devitt proposed: "That the General Council, in expressing their loyal and humble duty to His Majesty the King, wish also to convey their most grateful thanks for the munificent sift of £SOOO -which it has pleased His Majesty to make to the fund which hears his name. _ The council appreciate that in doing so His Majesty once again emphasises his interest in his sailor population and his desire that the nation may liberally and _splendidly respond to the'appeal which is now being made.” In moving the resolution. Sir Thomas said that this gift of £SOOO was one more instance of His Majesty’s great interest in such work'as that which was being undertaken by th© council. He personally was of opinion that it would be of great advantage to tho sailor and his dependents by preventing overlapping, bad administration and wasteful expenditure on propaganda of the money subscribed by th© benevolent public. He was sure that the work of the fund would bo welcomed by all properly conducted and well-organised marine benevolent institutions who looked after the welfare of the seamen. Lord Somerleyton, in seconding the resolution, said that he of his own knowledge knew that the King always looked carefully into the _ economical methods employed by charitable societies to which he gave his support, and His Majesty would therefore bo very pleased to know that up to date th© cost of collection of King George’s Fund amounted to only one-half per cent. _ The resolution was carried unanimously. Captain Sir H. Acton-Blake proposed a vote of thanks to H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught for presiding at the meeting. and remarked that His Royal Highness, as Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, was carrying on its traditions with regard to its dose association with all those who go down ,to the sen in ships and the various charities which look after the welfare of the seaman and his dependents. As As Deputy-Master of the Trinity House, he (the speaker) had been permitted to say that His Royal Highness had increased his subscription to £oQO. The fund was greatly indebted to His Royal Highness for the valuable assistance he had rendered since its inauguration and fpr his great personal service. ' Mr. Havelock Wilson, in seconding the vote, said that he was expressing to His Royal Highness the thanks of tho whole sailor population, who, he knew, appreciated the action of the general public with regard to the fund_. The vote passed with enthusiasm. His Roval Highness, in thanking the Council for their kind expression of thanks, stated that as Master of the Trinity House he hoped for many years to keep up his connection as chairman of the King George’s Fund for Sailors, and added that his services would alwavs be at the disposal of the council.. Contributions may be sent to H R„H. The Duke of Connaught, Trinity House, London, England,