THE BELGIAN APPEAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2395, 26 February 1915, Page 6

THE BELGIAN APPEAL

£r';;v:-v• r •• ' {•:. NO- OEPICIAL CONFIRMATION j. GOVERNMENTS ATTITDDE [ OPINIONS IN OTHER CENTRES k'■ ■■ <•■■■./ Sv-';' I. Up»till last alight the Primer Minister .. "(the Riglit Hon. W. F; Massey) had s . not boon notified of El reply to the cablegram sent by His Excellency the Govikenior to • the Imperial authorities, regrading tho appeal for assistaricemade [,-'.'.xo- Australia and Now Zealand. Some r (bearing.on tho delay may be contained -in;-the Press cablegram published cou- • iaining a statemont mad© by. Sir Edr urard Grey in writing to the chairman i; ofithe Belgian Relief -Commission. In I- thds ho recited 'that Britain and her ' 'dominions had granted' money for food- . stuffs for distribution to the Bolgians, 1 though this was inadvisable from mibtary considerations, for Germany could C i'dirert the foodstuffs to the use of her ■ .army. ■In the meantime. tho Govern- ; anant is prepared to receive contribu- : tions as in the past, pending some'definite information. as . to whether addis 'ltional-.assistance can bo guaranteed to ••(ireachi the right source, . • V ■ •■ ■ ; . A TRUE SPORTING GIFT • .'•v.' ■ • 'AN UNEXPECTED £90. f-TOr. Prew•. fßsoclotlon-* I Wanganui, February 25. fehisit.' ; the/'last' May -meeting :.of the v/Wanganui Jockey . Club Mr. James t'Byll,-jun., won.the Purua Hack Handi[•jeap with Master. Lupin. :, Some time K lafterwards ,; the owner of . tho second i?.'j3iorse, • Squaro Deal; 1 entered a protest £inStnegrounds ' fiat Master Lupin, WhaVing won a lady's bracelet valued at j l '££4s, was ineligible to start as a hack, i 'The protest was disallowed owing to the Oapse of time. -Mr. .Bull, on realising [•5-sthat he: had wrongly ■ obtained . the &istak^';..(£9o),-'toldihis friends that he K ywould hand the,'money to. a charitable f-.>object-when he:made his'next good win. siSMaeter Lupin- to-day won the Wanganui p.Cup, ■ and, Mr.; Bull handed £90 to the f.itJbckey Club'. to bo devoted to tho Bel[■■SgiaTi, .Relief Fund. His action -was Ooudly, applauded. ! ■ . WAREHOUSE FUNDS

'. (ROSS 'AND' GLENDINING OPEN 'A LIST.

F.r; >■', :The staif. of Messrs. Ross and Glenli tdining, Ltd., met , yesterday morning to Kfcdiscuss the appeal made on 'behalf of i(.the Belgians. • Alr. D. Jones, local manhagmg director, who occupied the chair, fVstated that it was "unnecessary to- en-, j,-]large .iipoiL the nTgency of the call made f-jto New Zealand, and felt confident that t phe 'staff- .would'willingly respond. I {fkiiew; that many calls lad been made ifkipon- themj- and 'he. .wished at to be kjrunderstod that no-pressure would be t on.. anyone to contribute as ■ Jail names of subscribers and amounts k rwould be strictly private and known pfonly v.to ' the .'treasurer. appointed by the: < meeting.- • After discussion, on the moIstion'of Mr. A. Blacblock, it was unani["irobusly agreed to open a fundto Jjocon|;!tiibiited. to:monthly until' such, lime' ae ['•■further relief' was unnecessary.;. Mr. I /Jones; thanked the staff for the gener- . pus- response. • :• ■■■■[! Isg*,-- :::- TAX TO BRING SmRKERS } INTO LINE

i iWANGrANTJI COMMITTEE'S VIEW, i/: ;An energetic worker on. behalf o£ the sfWangamd' w£fr funds - is_-Mr. Hope Gib- [ bon3. who has been acting as secretary lof tno Wangamri Citizens' Patriotic ' Coinmittee. Mr. Gibbons was'in town f.yesterday, and in speaking to a.Doainfwith reference. to the : now appeal from Belgium, he said that inWanganui the idea at the .outset was i; that it -would be a reasonable thing for t Jho Dominion to aim at raising one i- {K>und per head by voluntary subscriptions for patriotic purposes. Tie share f/of' : Wanganui- and its suburbs .on 1 this t ; fiasis would therefore, • Mr. Gibbons addJed,workout at about £17,000. The , ! ;nvbfk had been, taken, up energetically; '.jand to date about £12,000 in cash had p;been raised, and another £3000 or so j fin goods; . . ;-' : - f:r< : :vThe' experience l in Wangarmi, as elsewhere, .was;, that certain people gave |/iFfery fieely, and ethers, who. could quite '/fas easily afford to; do so; gave nothing, f'ffhe Wanganui Committee, in discussi ;ing; the matter, on February 17, before! j-rtho\iiew appeal, gave unanimous, approval to the following letter dispatched i sa> few. days previously-by Mr. Gibbons i jito Mr. R. W. Shallcrass, the secretary si'of the Fund for the Ilelief of the Poor ; |of ■ Great ■ Britain, Ireland, and Bel|jgram L '.. . !'I -enclose- statement of cash (£ll,[£890) donations received, arid sent forstward by our committee. Various; gifts |:Sn- kind, motor-cars, horses, stock, etc., amounting in value to some thousands, [ .Ihave also gone forward; We are having V iiext meeting .with. a view' to finding [ispine means to arouse more interest. It i' is held'- by :many_ cf our committee, that irJthose in. a position to. help substantially, have not done so, and. are hot doing has been suggested by the mem!|jbers that a good heavy war incomo tax be lovied; ; i We noted that ChristI Jchurch ■ memberß held same opinion. ''-I;do not think'.those who !jare' playing .the game would' object lo l:;!tho extra amount, if .some means could: [fte found to force those who can afford Ijto: pay''without any personal .inconveniMarice, but; 'are holding back, waiting, and no doubt siQioping .that it "will-not. be levied.. They ; faro practically loafing. I understand jithis class of people are to be found in pßvery-district." ' ■ ";Mr. Gibbons, in the course of converjsfcttion, remarked that there, was a great Meal o£ talk in New' Zealand about what 1 ;the country had done' since the war be-. i:gan, but we had 1 not done like •HvhatVwe: should do.- Prom a business ' point of view, so far as our export trade "was concerned, the war was the.- best I tiling we had ever struck, and'our; ef-t-fort?, in contrast with the' increased <;we > had-, - making, were very ivEnialK •. j iiCARDINAL MERCIER'S APPEAL SIiIRTOTTfi (TOTLOOK IN BELGIUM.

; SERIOUS'OUTLOOK IN BELGIUM, i Cardinal Mercior;" Archbishop of Mai 'lines,' 'has (according to the last English files to hand) sent to the Commis*sion ■ for: Relief in Belgium, 3 London- '■ iWall 'Buildings, the following urgent appeal' " , "Words fail ,me>to express my deep i'appreciation of the bountiful generosity to Belgium. ; ■ , , f)-/. "And after all that has been done imd is being done to help us in our ! trouble,; it might appear tie seemly on !■' my -part- to ask. for .more. ... . i' --"But'our distress is so real, the mis,:'*ery caused, by the war so great,: that '•'l.cannot hut look at the future .with f <! delegate, whose broad mind ' and noble heart we hava learned ■ to I' know, lias teen able to see for himself, p-.factories are at a standstill and ex-, i-port'is-stopped; whole villages, whole - toiviis even, have been laid low,'.others £'plundered; standing crops have been }spoiled-and ruined;, land is lying waste; are scant and rapidly dwindSUing to nothing. In some -parts of the ( country,"indeed, whole districts - have r been deprived of even bread and salt '- for days. - . ' .•• : '..''.'•■'".'•'lTie 'wKqIo pbpnlation. so dense .here, • is now. .entirely dependent on outside (' aid ,for. its very daily bread. Indeed, L:iweie it.not -fortho timelx

ours would bo starving now. To all this I ought to add that the-general and ; necessary exodus of the population lias pioduced added .hardships and misery.; any savings the people may have liad have melted away. "The outlook for tho coming year is far from hopeful; the shortage in horses and cattle, in. labour, v, ill leave largo tracts of land unfilled and the output of agriculture will bo reduced to a very low ebb indeed, notwithstanding . the valiant efforts which our men and women are making to try and get at work. Their efforts are, puny compared to tho task before them, "Left unaided wo are bound to suffer endless, hardship. The thought that till this may not be known alone prompts mo to make an,urgent appeal to the people to keep their hearts open to us, my only fear being that it might be interpreted as an insufficient recognition ot what has already been done oil such a munificent scale.

"I therefore end by expressing again my heartfelt' gratitude, gratitude too great to find adequate expression.— Yours truly and cordially in Christ, , "MERCIER. " ■ "Archbishop of Malinos." VIEWS IN OTHER CENTRES - . . , - \. COLLECTIONS IN THE/WAIRARAPA (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Masterton, February 25. The sum ot £341 was collected at Martinborough stock sale to-day in aid of tho Belgian Relief Fund. • . The first annual swimming carnival in :conneotion with the Y.M.C.A: was held to-day, and was largely attended. The proceeds are to be devoted to the Belgian. Fund. Wcstportj February 25. Tho Borough Council passed a resolution in support of the Dunedin Council's proposal urging the Prime Minister to grant.£2s,ooo. monthly for Belgian relief. - It was suggested that, Mr. Massey : should - consult Parliamentarians by .telegraph. •

i ;' v . Pahiatua, February 25. [ . 'A' butter-dish. won by Miss Murray, of tho "Within the Law" Company, at tho swimming sports yesterday, was submitted to auction by the Mayor last I night on behalf *of. the Belgian Fund, l and resoldmany times. It realised £34. : New; Plymouth, February 25. The collection : taken up on the show grounds to-day by young ladies, under the direction, of the Mayoress (Mrs. J. E. Wilson) for the Belgian Relief Fund, realised £70. PUBLIC MEETINC TO BE HELD IN SYDNEY. SUGGESTION FOR A' MILLION 7- : CONTRIBUTION. By Telegraph—Preos Association—Corrriti-J (Rec. February 25. 7.55 p.m.) Sydney, February 25. : Tho State > Premier, Mr. Holman,is calling a public meeting for the purpose of discussing the Belgian appeal. Amongst the many suggestions is one- , that the Commonwealth Government should give' £1,000,000. ; (Ileo.' February 26, 1.30 a.m.) ■ T V , .. Sydney, February 25. . • No- official actioii has been taken regarding the Belgian appeal; Both New South Wales and the Commonwealth Governments are making inquiries, specially, requesting information, from London.:-' .... . ; Mr. Holman. (New South Wales Premier) has asked the; Lord Mayor of Sydney to call a special meeting, and ha*e the fund systematised on a basis involving regular monthly' contributions. THE "DOMINION" LIST.

A DONATION OF £1000. Contributions to; - the _ fund . for the | xelier. of the Belgians in distress will subsequently be forwarded to the authorities in Belgium for distribution:— . .- - - - £ 6. d. Previously acknowledged 16,943 6 T Sydney Johnston,. Arua- , wharo, Takapau 1,000 0 0 Mrs. Kebble, Hobson St. 10 0 0 Mr. W." Weir, --Wellington 10 0 0 Mr. J. C: Peacock ......... 5 0 0 Leonard' Warren, Master- • V t0n...........;...:.. 3 15 0 Sydney Street" ;...... 2 0 0 J. Ann :... l 0 0 Jliss Goldsmith 10 0 ii-S.' 10 0 W. F. Newcombe, Karori .. 1 0 0 Mrs. Bryair 0 5 0 R.KD. | 0 5 0 • Total :..... 17;978 il ,1 : . "THE BREAD OF TEARS." • - [To. the Editor.] Sir,—Under the above heading a, cablegram purporting to have come from the Belgian. Commissionj dated Sydney, February 22, appeared ui_ your journal this morning. To my mind, sir,, it is rather a strongly-worded appeal to us (New Zealanders), and our sister States (Australia), practically demands from us £75,000, or equivalent in cereals, per, month to help to save thei alleged starving: Belgians, failing which, the report further states, will be to our "eternal sliame.": Now. sir, as a patriot and one who would give my last shilling towards assisting starving humanity, I protest most emphatically against this peculiarly and cuhningly-woi-ded cablegram, which has a smattering of the clericalism'element about it. In this country .and: other. British States, the peoplo who can ill-afford give are making many sacrifices in order to help these unfortunate people. What those who have, so easily acquired wealth in these lands are doing to ameliorate suffering in this direction I shall not discuss. But, sir, even the enemy (if our official cablegrams are reliable) are doing their best under adverse circumstances' to feed the hungry. Wlmt'l am' constrained to ask is: Are the wealthy churches, particularly on the Contin-ent.'-doing their part? Are they now making an effort to "feed their lambs" by using; in the right way, the untold wealth they possess ? -If, not, then now is the time for practical work in th'e Church to begin.—l am, eta., | CONTINENTAL.. . February 23, 1915. | 1 P.S.—I was-glad to'see in-jto-night's ."Post" 'that our: Prime Minister had cabled for further information re this | strangely-worded document. .

A SUBSIDY URGED. [To the Editor.] Sir,—l notico in your paper to-day telegrams from- various relief committees urging the : Government to put on a war tax owing to the latest appeal in regatd to the-Belgians. ' In my opinion this is quite wrong. The moment the Government put-on a war tax that, moment -voluntary effort practically ceases. I think, Sir, the object could be attained hotter in the' following manner: — (1) The Government to intimate that they prefer any future donations to the Empire Defence Fund to go to the Belgian Relief Fund. - (2) That the public be asked through the committees in each district to concentrate their efforts towards the Belgian Relief Fund. We know there are a number of good 'funds established. But some could remain in abeyance for a while. . i. - (3) That the Central Committees (you have a splendid one in Wellington) ask the smaller committees in their district to use all their efforts on behalf of the! Belgian Relief Fund. (4) This to mind is the, main point: That the Government'subsidise all moneys'sent in to the central fund in each "district in aid of the Belgian Relief Fluid, JVe all. know the effort*

made by. school committees, road and hospital boards, etc. In the collection of funds, on account of tho subsidy attached thereto, the same in my opinion will apply to this fund. There arc a large number of ways in which energetic coinmittcos can and aro collecting funds, and no person is hurt over it. This will cease if a war tax is put on. The time will come' possibly when a war tax will have to be put on, but not yet. _ Let us concentrate our efforts, on this great work .of, helping that noblo nation • who havo done so much for us, and I believe the greatest incentive to this will bo tho subsidy.— I am, etc., H. M'MANAWAY. Hunterville. OUR DEBT TO BELGIUM. [To the Editor.] | Sir, —As long as . the war lasts or Belgium needs food or money every manj woman, and child living under the British flag is under a solemn obligation to supply her needs, and it is here in New Zealand where we are suffering bo little from the war that the. people'should be able Ito give in great abundance.- Let the Civil Service and Government give thom a lead bv each State employee giving a sum of money in proportion to his earnings,' on a scale as shown, here, and the Government subsidising, say, 30s. on every 20s. subscribed. The donations can be deducted from the month's earnings, and a very large sum of money, be ready to cable away in two weeks' time.' I am sure there, is not one person would object to give, and the genoral public will quickly follow suit. . ' ■'. Scale: ' Salary. Donation. £125 to £200 ...: ss. - £200 to .;£3OO 10s. £300 to '£400 20s. £400 to '£500 40s. . £500 to £600 ...'.. 60s. .... £600 to. £800 100s. £800 to £1000 : £10 : £1000 to £1500 £25 £1500 to £2000 .....v.. £50 , £2000 to £2500 .......; .£75 £2500 and over £100 —L am etc. . . 1 'WORKER. The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) states that the Belgian- Government having communicated to their consul in Wellington( the.Hon. C. J. Johnston) their thankful endorsement 'of the' special appeal of the Commissioners for tho relief of the Belgians, he will be glad to receive donations for that purpose. The Mayor has .donated the' sum of £10. J . " . " The Victoria League have arranged to give half the proceeds of.their entertainment next week to the Belgian Food Fund.