LIFE-SAVING NEEDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 199, 22 August 1929, Page 4

LIFE-SAVING NEEDS

INCREASED SUBSIDY URGED. REQUEST TO GOVERNMENT. A request for the Government subsidy to the Royal Life-saving Society to be increased from £lOO to £5OO a year was made to the Minister of Internal Affairs last Friday by a deputation consisting of members of Parliament.

In introducing the deputation, Mr D. G. Sullivan (Labour, Avon) said the present subsidy of £lOO was for the whole of the Dominion, and was quite inadequate to enable „he society to do the work it wanted to do in training the youth of the country to save lives. During the last Christmas holidays something like 40 lives were lost in the Dominion through people being unable to swim or because there was no reel or apparatus available to enable life-saving to be carried out. What the society was trying to do was to educate the young people so that they would know the proper methods of saving life. The grant of £lOO a year did not give them adequate facilities for their work. In spite of that, however, 2550 life-saving awards had been issued by the society. To Assist Smaller Centres. Mr S. G. Smith. (United, New Plymouth) supported the representations, and referred to the difficulties the society experienced in scattered districts. The various branches of the society throughout the Dominion had been well supported by public subscription, but £lOO was not sufficient for the work of the Dominion body. If they had up to £3OO a year the central body could assist the smaller centres. Mr Smith dwelt on the importance of the work the society is carrying out amongst the school children, and said that if they had an assured finance they could make their work much more valuable.

Other speakers who supported the representations were Mr A. Harris (Reform, Waitemata), Air H. Holland (Reform, Christchurch North), Air R. AleKeen (Labour, Wellington South), Air C. E. Macmillan (Reform, Tauranga), the Rev. Clyde Carr (Labour, Timaru), Air J. O’Brien (Labour, Westland), and Mr J. McCombs (Labour, Lyttelton).

In reply, the Alinister, the Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle, said that personally he was in sympathy with the work which the society was doing. He would have to bring the application before Cabinet, and he was sure Cabinet would be as sympathetic as possible. The Government had a good many calls on its exchequer, but he felt sure that, despite that, very careful consideration would be given to the application made by the society.