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STAFF 32. Retirements and resignations during the year have made transfers of a number of officers unavoidable, and in view of the difficult housing situation this has imposed a heavy financial burden on the Office by way of allowances to officers pending their obtaining houses in the cities and towns to which they have been transferred. Whenever possible, the transfer of married men has been avoided, but, as promotion is frequently involved, this cannot be done in all cases. The cost of transferring officers is very high at the present time and this is an additional reason for keeping the number of transfers as low as possible. The principal staff changes effected during the year were : (a) The appointment of Mr. F. M. Whyte, District Public Trustee, Palmerston North, to the position of District Public Trustee, Wellington, vice Mr. A. R. Coad, retired on superannuation. (b) The appointment of Mr. C. E. White, District Public Trustee, Invercargill, to the position of District Public Trustee, Dunedin, vice Mr. G. H. Elliffe, retired on superannuation. (c) The appointment of Mr. A. Bell, District Public Trustee, Timaru, to the position of District Public Trustee, Invercargill. (d) The appointment of Mr. P. C. Dwyer, District Public Trustee, Gisborne, to the position of District Public Trustee, Palmerston North. (e) The appointment of Mr. R. S. Moloney, Assistant District Public Trustee, Dunedin, to the position of District Public Trustee, Gisborne. (/) The appointment of Mr. J. G. McGhie, Supervising Estates Clerk, Head Office, to the position of District Public Trustee, Napier, vice Mr. F. W. Browne, resigned. (g) The appointment of Mr. W. J. Forsyth, District Public Trustee, Wanganui, to the position of District Public Trustee, Hamilton, vice Mr. F. J. E. Moore, deceased. (k) The appointment of Mr. C. A. Hendry, Supervising Estates Clerk, Head Office, to the position of District Public Trustee, Wanganui. (i) The appointment of Mr. J. P. Joyce, Trust Officer, Hamilton, to the position of District Public Trustee, Tauranga. (j) The appointment of Mr. J. Stockman, Supervising Estates Clerk, Head Office, to the position of District Public Trustee, Ashburton. (k) The appointment of Mr. J. W. Hinchey, Assistant Accountant, Wellington, to the position of District Accountant, Christchurch, vice Mr. F. Williams, retired on superannuation. (I) The appointment of Mr. D. H. Smail to the position of District Manager, Te Awamutu. (m) The appointment of Mr. G. 0. Wake to the position of District Manager, Hokitika. 33. Rehabilitation. —The scheme for the training of ex-servicemen referred to in my last report has proved most successful, and it is pleasing to record the very satisfactory progress that has been made by these officers since their return to duty. In addition to their efforts to make good the loss of experience due to service in the Forces, these officers have undertaken additional study to enable them to qualify in law or accountancy. During the past year 117 ex-servicemen of the Department passed one or more subjects in these examinations. ORGANIZATION AND REPRESENTATION 34. Representation.—During the course of the year it has been found necessary, in order to meet the demands of the public and the Office clients and to deal more efficiently with the business of the Department, to extend the Office organization as follows : the District Manager offices at Tauranga, Ashburton, and Oamaru were converted into District Public Trustee offices. These branches were formerly under the control of the District Public Trustees at Te Aroha, Christchurch, and Dunedin respectively, but now deal direct with Head Office.

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