THE BELGIAN APPEAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2396, 27 February 1915, Page 8

THE BELGIAN APPEAL

NO OFFICIAL STATEMENT, ' AUSTRALIA IN SIMILAR -"•POSITION ' TW'Anstnirim Government is apparently in -the same position as. the New Zealand Government regarding the ap-peal-cabled to -Australia bv the Belgian Commission. - vNo reply has been receivod vet to the application of the New Government' to the. .Imperial authorities for' particulars as to • the appeal,' ,and means of guaranteeing, the 'delivery, to, the right quarters of. asy extra assistance granted. The Prinie Minister (tho Right Hon. W. P. Massey) stated to -a Dojuhion reporter .vesiteiray that he'had cabled to the, Prime [Minister -of the . Commonwealth (the Right Hon. Aidrew.Fisher), asking him if ho had recoived any information further thin which has been received here. >Ho :.had received the : following iroply chiring tho day from Mr. Fisher: — ->*'Have not yet received any_official statement directly 'from the British. Government respiting cabled Belgian appeal, and, in view of ;Sir Edward Grey's statement, .the Government does not proposo to take-any action'until information roaches us.from the Home Government. !My own opinionis that donations for-the; relief of the distressed -Belgians should ibe placed to the credit of funds already opened and: dealt with as though the lappeal were hut a stimulus to greater efforts." -

From the tone of the above ; message, land the lack of information, it seems ihat'there is more than a possibility that the Germans in occupation might reap B harvest if any large/ sum of money ' or food were to be sent to that country. Mr.: Massey stated yesterday that he was quite prepared to do_ his 'duty.'.as a citizen, and .as Leader: of ,the Government,, whenV something definite Was known. He was prepared to make a recommendation to Cabinet when he had sufficient information to go on. He explained that there was no doubt that the Imperial- authorities .were , making inquiries into the matter; 1 and that, no doubt, bad occasioned the delay in answering tho cablegram sent by His Excellency. the Governor. He was quite confident that both the Government and .tho public of Now Zealand would do their duty when tho facts.-were disclosed.

i 'At. His Majesty's Theatre last night i prizes iof £1 and 15s. were given in ! connection with the rope-climbing conr ■ test of ;the Dental Riskitts: The prizei" Hurcombo £1, and Mr. : Ritson 10s.) immediately donated the K money_to4he.Belgium Fund.', On hear--1 .. ing this the audience sent a.'shower of j. coins on .the stage, and'the sum was f brought up to £2 Bs. 7d.-,,, During the f Magpies' performance a quite unespect- ;; ed ■ further,'donation from t the., audience, [ ; amounting'- to £2 65. ? 9d. was thrown on i the stage.' To-night - -tho Magpies will : make, a;further* appeal, and will-.auction r .ft'Tery, fine doll- in. aid of: tho fund. . 1 The generosity of Master Parton, of t - Wellington, ■ will, help .to provide food S for the Belgians.! - This kittle fellow, j ■ .-with, true generosity -has', surrendered i. all claims to his birthday.cake, and has I . consented to have it sold to provide food- !"■ for' more needy little ■ boys in other parts of the world.-. .Accordingly, tho } . big ■ cake will 'be \ auctioned, this /evening ' at the conclusion of .the;, performance of" I Jjittle Australians.". - 'A moonlight'harbour excursion, under thei auspicesT.of the Central Mission ; Si'ver Band, will'.be held nest Wednesi day night;-in aid of the Belgium Relief i ■ Fund. This will be a fine opportunity ' : for the! public to, assist the fund,, bei sides spending a pleasant cruise on .■ 'tho. harbour.' -.The.Ferry: Company have. done everything in their power to make ■ . the event.a.great success. . IN OTHER CENTRES i GIFT OF. . VALUABLE MAORI PAINTINGS. : Association.' . ' ' Auckland, February 26. Xhe Auckland Belgian Relief Committ tee lias decided to ask the Government u to donate a monthly sum of £20,000 in i' .aid of Belgian : distress, Imd to subsi- ; dise £ for £ all private donations -'to • funds for Belgian relief. While no ac- ' tual 1 * canvass' will be made for further v subscriptions, to/the fund, it! is desired F that the public . should. realise that it is still open, and that all contributions, i especially in the form'of regular month- ; ly ..donations,; will bo gratefully acceptr- 'fed.- '.S'".

f; \ The Lindaeur collection of Maori : paintings,, yalued.at.over £20,330,.": has ! been given by Mr. H. E. Partridge to | the Belgian Fund. , ,■ . i ' .OPINION OF BUSINESS MEN. j <By Teleerapi.—Press AesociatioQ.) ChriStohuroh, February 26.' [At the quarterly meeting of .the Can-. | terbury Chamber of Commerce to-da.y, it was decided to urge the Prime Minister to obtain tho opinion of the memr, ! bers of Parliament on tho question of {' providing assistance for the Belgians! ; the matter to be; dealt with as one of • urgency,-and that £25,000 be remitted monthly, until the end of the; war. It was also decided' to urge, the Government to make a surcharge of 2J per j cent, on all available sources of revenue to provide the money required. SUPER-TAX, SUGGESTED BY GORE ; DEFENCE COMMITTEE. :lßy lieleeropn.—l*ress AsaoclatloaJ \ Gore, February 26. ;. 'At a. meeting of tho. Gore , ; Defence Committee last evening to consider means for raising funds for the Belgian 1 New Fund, a motion was lunanimously carried as follows:—"That ; this meeting. expresses itself in favour ,;, of the Government levying a special i super-tax "on land and incomes, and that | a. deputation be appointed to wait on the Borough Council to urge the desirableness of. asking the Prime .Mm- .• ister to raise the necessary by taxation, and that the Prime Minister ask the people to continue the voluntary i pystem. •' ' AN AUTHENTIC APPEAL.

ACTION BY NEW SOUTH WALES. BrTelcßTaoi—Pxeos Association—OopjrrieM (Ree. February 26, 8.20 p.m.) i Sydney, February 26. The; Now South Wales Premier (Mr. iW. A. .Holman) states - that he is satisfied with the authenticity and "efficacy of the Belgian Fund. Air. Coghlan (Agent-General in London) had cabled an assurance of the genuineness of the body which was issuing the appeal, and the money had been scrupulously applied. without deduction. The Imperial Government has\ testified to the admirable organisation established by, the Commission. The appeal email-' stes from the American, Spanish, and Italian Embassies. Mr. Holman suggests that New South iWaies should undertake the responsibility of contributing £30,000 monthly, tho/, Government subsidising contributions at the rat© of 10s. to every £1 collected, continuously until the necessity for the fund vanishes with the restoration of Belgium's independence. The ' 'Herald," in a leading article, urges that •support 'should be, given with thei .utmost speed and the, utmost generosity. - , ■ Melbourne, February. 26 Mr.-'Fisher (the Federal Prime Minister)- has stated that Cabinet js seri-. ously • considering the: question of ielief: l.with.. ..Belgium Js as great as over. A TASMANIAN CONTRIBUTION. Ey , rclcL r rttplL- "rec3 ' Association—OouyriEllt. j -::'■■■:! tohdoni-Febniaiy 25. Sir John M'Call, Agent-General, is

[dividing Tasmania's contribution -of £500 between Belgian relief and the Bol- | gian refugees in England. ; belcian relief. i (To the Editor.) I- Sir,—lb" has been- definitely ascer- ! tained- that at. the present' time thero are no fewer than 11,000 Germans over the age of '21 in Now Zealand. (We do not know the number under that age. Wo all know it is not England, but Germany, thait has'caused all the suffering in Belgium. Why should not all Germans in Now Zealand be made to contribute towards the relief of the suffering- caused by the German nation, of which they are still citizens (whether naturalised or not). Their true nationality would have soon been evident had the German cruisers raided New Zealand. r Wo New Zealanders have done nothing to bring on this war, but 11,000 Germans have been living- very comfortably on us for years. /Many are mnv enjoying: very large incomes, and m very different circumstances now from what they would have been in their.-own dear "Vaterland," which doubtless the.v are still assisting in many ways.r-I am, etc., BRITISHER. THE '•'DOMINION" LIST.

Contributions to the fund for the relief of the Belgians in distress will: ' "subsequently " be : forwarded to. the authorities in Belgium, for distribution:— £ 6. d. Previously acknowledged... 17 3 978 11 1 Mrs. Vivian Riddiford 40 0 0 Beattie and Co., Palmerston North .-. 10 0 6 Hawke's Bay Dairy Co 10 0 6 J. G. Wilson, Marton (Feb. •' ' and March instalments)... 10 0 0 Rosomond E. Barnincost ... 50 0 c.5... 2 o ,o Romeo .:...... 1 5 '0 A Friend 1 0 0 J. H. Cruickshank 10 0 W. Remlap 1 0 0 D.T .....: .1 0 0 "78" o 10 o Mrs. A. 31. .Whiteford ....... 0 10 0 Total 18,061 17 1 1 DISTRESS RELIEF POOR OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND AND BELGIUM'FUND. ' Previously acknowledged, £37,697 Is.; William' Ferguson ' (additional), £25; Mrs. Ferguson, £25; "Peg," 55.;. M.8.L., £5; Penty and Lawrence, £5; John Dawson, ; £2. 25.; ; "One' Who Wishes They' Could Give More," £1: total; £37,760 Bs. CIFT TOBACCO FUND. . Contributions to this fund for the supply of cigarettes ' and tobacco to members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces/ while at the' front may be sent .'.either'to this office or to.His the Mayor—2s. '6d. will buy -100 cigarettes.or 40z.. tobacco;—" .!'" £ s. d. Previously, acknowledged ... 138 9 0 Oban Hotel, Dunedin (4th . instalment) ■ 0 10 0 Total' .: 168 19C 0 OBITUARY HON. :EDWARD RICHARDSON, C.M.G. The death occurred at 10.30 o'clock yesterday morning of.the Hon. Edward Richardson,' C.M.G., at one time_ a figure in the-public life of. the 'Dominion, but who has; lived a life.' .of {retirement for many years. For some time, past his health has .not been, satisfactory, and the'end'-''-came not altogether.'without .those unmistakable signs: of physicalfailure. The deceased /gentleman was '84 years of age. ':' .'i" ■ The "Hon. Mr. Richardson came cmt to Australia. in'.'the year 1852, _ and entered the service of the Victorian Government, as' engineer of the Roads and Bridges Department. ;In ,1865 he retired from the Government service and entered into business on his own account; as a contractor, in; which capacity he carried out maay ' important? works, : including the laying dowii of several railways in Victoria. . Whilst,in that-State he became a member of the; first volunteer corps andi rose from the ranks to the position of captain of the Horse Artilfery;.v'ln.'iß6r.he loft Victoria' to carry out railway works in New Zealand, ;'and in partnership with Mr. Geo.; Holmes he constructed the Lyttelton-Christ-' church' railway, including' the famous Lyttelton tunnjel—the,-, -longest, railway tunnel in-New Zealand^/In : ;1870> Mr. Richardson-, was elected a . member.,of the Provincial Council of Canterbury, and. remained a member of that body until the' Provincial- .Councils , were abolished in 1876. Prior to that he was'in 1871 returned as a 'member .of the House 'of . Representatives for Christchurch City, and in October, 1872, he was appointed Minister for Public Works, in which capacity he established a! unique' record by retaining'the■ Works portfolio during the Administrations of Waterhouse; Fox, Vogel, Pollen, and Atkinson, all of which Administrations held sway between 1872 and 1877. He, was again appointed Minister of Public Works in the Government, which held the reins, of government from 1884 to 1887. He remained a member of the House until. October, 1890, .when he resigned. Subsequently he was called to the Council, in which Chamber he occupied a seat for seven years. For some years he occupied the position of manager .and secretary of the Wellington Patent Slip Company, for 20 years he was a director of the A.M.P. Society and at the time of his death was a director of the New Zealand Shipping Co. The 'flags of the shipping companies in. Wellington were flown at .half-mast. yesterday in respect to the memory of the deceased. ' The; wife of the deceased ' gentleman died last year. The family consists of: Colonel Edward Richardson, of Christchurch; Mr. George Richardson, of the Railway Locomotive Department, Wellington; Mr. Charles E. Richardson, of the local firm of Richardson " and M'Cabe; Mr. E. F. Richardson, electrician, of Wellington;, Mr. Sidney Rich-. ardson, of the Lands Department, Hoki-, tika; Mrs. Eardley Reynolds, of' Dunedin; and Mrs. Joseph Tripe, of Wei. lington. ' . .There was no one 'who came in coretact with the Hon. Mr. Riohardson whb did not admire and respect him. During, his ■ long association with many Governments he did much valuable worik, and the proof that iis services wore sought by so many leaders was perhaps a triumph of character rather;than/of , political cleverness. He was of a practical turn of mind, and naturally of a retiring disposition. He was, in sb.ort, the type of man that was needed »t a critioal stage in the development of] the country. •: ' ■ ■' J -

Perfection: Attribute of SANDER'S EXTRACT. All' winter ailments curtid by it. SANDER'S EXTRACT cures when the common eucalyptus fails sigilally. Medical authorities recommend SANDER S EXTRACT as to bo safely Telied' on.— Adrt. < 'At the Gore Magistrate's Court, says a Press Association telegram from Invercargill, Jolui Duncan, of Gib'bston, was charged with incest oil one of his daughters and attempted incest 'on another. Acciised was committed for trial. The secret of "NAZOL"—common sense. Ton can't cure a cold by merely drugging .your stomach. ."NAZOJj" #oes directly to the root of the trouble, and extirpates:it. In bottles, ils.\6d.— Advt. V ' ■ The. Public Works Office invites tender* until - noon of •• March 8 for transformers for the Lake;. Coleridge .potter: eefbeme, Woods' Great" Peppermint CtaC ■ For Coughs and Coida nerer fajfa* Jj.Sa,'