NAVY LEAGUE CORRESPONDENCE STOLEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1617, 7 December 1912, Page 5

NAVY LEAGUE CORRESPONDENCE STOLEN.

AN ELABORATE SCHEME, (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Christchurch, December 6. For many weeks past the secretaries oi the oversea branches of the Navy League have failed to get acknowledgment of their letters and remittances to London headquarters. The Duncdin papers yesterday recorded the plight of tile Otago branch. It now 'transpires that tho experience of the Canterbury branch is similar. Tho following letter has been received by tho Canterbury branch from the secretary of the Home office, accompanied by a confidential circular. The letter speaks for itself:— ' "I beg to acknowledge your, letter ofSeptember 12, containing drhft for >£25. This is the first communication we have received from your branch since July-25, and I immediately cabled to you TJraft March never received' trace Nautiloid,' nor have we received any previous intimation that a draft of £35 had been forwarded in March last; 'The trouble with your, communications is, unfortunately, part of ant-elaborate scheme of stealing tho league correspondence by some persons who have had access to it. For the period of a year nearly we could not understand how it was that no communications from' New 'Zealand branches had reached us for nine or ten months, and we are pretty certain now that not \ a single olieAit the hundreda of letters which we have addressed to these branches have ever reaohed their destination. OH making inquiry at the Bank of New Zealand we found that your draft of d£3s, transmitted in March last, was still nilcashed, and I regret to inform you that your case is but one of a great number, which includes almost all our .overseas branches. Tho police authorities; and Post Office Detective Department are doing all in their power to trace the thieves, but nil their efforts have up to the present been ineffectual. Perhaps you would kindly arrange with the Bank of New; Zealand to issue a duplicate draft, so as to enable us to recover the amount of .£35 -transmitted by you through your No. 51,238 of March 21 last. I need hardly express to yon my profound regret at what has occurred, and I am pained beyond words to realiso' the natural feeling of irritation ..which'" must have been present in the minds of all our correspondents from our apparent neglect. We are doing everything in our power to put things right, and I sincerely hope that this jumble state of affairs is once and for all brought to an end. Will you kindly explain the circumstances to your committee, and apologise to them on behalf of. the president and executive committee and myself for what they must have regarded as -unpardonable negleo •