DISBANDED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2440, 20 April 1915, Page 6

DISBANDED

POOR OP GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, & BELGIUM FUND COMMITTEE'S FINE RECORD NEW DISTRICT BODY SET UP

An important general meeting of the committee controlling the Poor of Great Britaiu, Ireland, and Belgium Fund, which lias been operative over the Wellington, Taraiiaki, Hawke's Bay, and Marlborough Provincial Districts sinco August last, was held in the New Zealand Employers' Association's rooms yesterday morning. There were present: Messrs. C. P. Skerrett (chairman), G. Shirtcliffe, J. Jack, T. Ballinger, J. P. Luke, W. Pryor, C. G. Wilson, lan Duncan (treasurer), and R. W. Shallcrass (secretary). Each member was handed the followUl2 statement of the fund; — <. . £ s. d. Subscriptions received to date 45,533 17 1 Remittances per His Excellency the Governor— Belgium ... 22,278 .0 0 Britain ... 13,722 0 0 — : 36,000 0 0 9,533 17 1 Amount expended— Blanket Fund 307 5 6 Freight, insurance, and general expenses 671 11 2 1,178 16 8 Balance in hand 8,355 0 5 Add freight, ' railage, and insurance recoverable 798 6 7 . £9,153 7 0

The chairman said that the meeting had been called together in order to present a statement as to how the fund stoodj and in consequence, of a development in regard to the raising of fluids for the poor of Belgium,- Great Britain, and Ireland. First of all he Would like to bring before the meeting one or two facts. The committee had been instrumental in raising over £45,000, of,-which amount £36,000 had been cabled Home through His Excellency the Governor, leaving a balance of £9153 7s. _ It was also noticeable that the administrative expenses had only amounted to £58 13s. 10d., a percentage of .014 d. That fhe amount was so small they were greatly indebted to those concerned. He wonld call on the general secretary for his report.

The Secretary's Report. Air. R. W. Shallcrass read the following report:— "It will be remembered that the committee came into existence as the outccime ,of a movement originated in Christchurch for the relief of the poor of Groat Britaain and Ireland. At the outset of the movement the requirements for the relief of Belgium were beginning to make themselves apparent, and at the initial meeting it was decided to include relief for Belgium as one of the objects of the . fund. Naturally in tho early stages the main thought was j for our own countrymen, and in consequence a considerable sum has been collected for the relief of the ■ poor of Great Britain and Ireland. . Latterly it has, however, become apparent that tho distress in the United Kingdom on account of the war has not been as severe as was anticipated; in fact the advices from; the Imperial authorities indicate that there is no necessity for raising funds for the relief of those in distress at Home. 'Die fund has therefore become in its later stages practically a Belgian Relief Fund, and almost all the moneys collected within the last three months have been allocated for Belgian relief only. It will also be remembered that some difficulty was experienced in the early stages to set up some central authority in connection with the fund. It was not until His Excellency the Governor was asked 'to become 1 patron that the fund became consolidated. This, step, however, somewhat altered the status of tho Wellington Committee from wbat_ it was _ originally intended to be. This committee has during its existence been practically a receiving and administrating body for the fund in

the provincial districts of Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough', and Wellington. As a result of a* conference recently held, at which His Excellency the Governor presided, a Dominion scheme for the relief of Belgium has been set out by the Minister of Defence

in a circular which will be before the meeting. The scheme provides for regular monthly contributions of £15,000. Of this amount the Government will make a direct grant of £5000, and subsidise voluntary donations up to £5000 per month_ at the rate of £1 per £1. The Dominion haß been divided into provincial districts, and each provincial district has been asked to provide its quota upon a population basis. A' circular letter has been sent out to the various committees which have been working in association with the fund, inquiring as to the manner in which they propose to sand their contributions forward under the altered conditions. - A Now Committee. _ "His' Worship the Mayor of Wellington has also sent a circular to all the_ Mayors, county chairmen; and chairmen_ of Road Boards and other local bodies throughout the Wellington Provincial District, suggesting that tho central receiving committee for the province should consist of His Worship the Mayor of Wellington, tho Belgian Consulj the Hon. C. J. Johnston, M.L.C., and the chairman of this committee, Mr. C. P. Skerrett,'K.C. It is probable flat Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, and Marlborough will, under the new scheme, wish_ to deal direct with the Internal AfFairs Department, which is administering the Dominion Fund. Some of the larger committees in the Wellington Provincial District will probably decide upon the same course. The functions of this committeo will, therefore, in a great l measure cease to exist, and it is suggested that in consequonce tho hmd should close, and the committee disband. It is therefore' suggested that His Worship the_ Mayor's suggestion of a Central Committee composed as mentioned should bo approved of, and in order,to secure continuity of management that Mr. Lan Duncan should continue to be treasurer to the fund, and Mr. R. W. Shnllcrass tho secretary. It will be necessary to pass resolutions to this effect if the meeting approves.' "The functions of the new committee will be to act as trustees for the money already in hand, to receive further donations as they come forward, and to provide whatever money is required every month to complete the Wellington provincial quota; but before passing any resolution the particulars of the fund are placed before the meeting for its information.

"If tlie committee decide to disband, it will leave the field free to His Worship the Mayor to form a Wellington City Committee to promote tlie fund, and His Worship will, no doubt, be pleased to receive tlio assistance of as many of tlie present committee as can afford the time to devote to the work." No Assistance Wanted in the United Kingdom. Tlio chairman stated that Hie development mentioned as having taken place was in consequence of the authorities in England having stated that they do not require assistance for the poor of .England, Ireland, and Scotland, and have sucaested that any further volun-

tary subscriptions should bo diverted to Belgium and possibly other nations all'ccted by the war, such as Sorvia. I'urther, the Belgium Commission had suggested a contribution of £5000 per mouth i'rom Now Zealand, by which means all iunds would be amalgamated and controlled by ojio central body. The £5000 is to bo made up from voluntary subscriptions, and was to be subsidised £ for £ by the Government, to which the Government was to add another £5000, making £15,000 per month in all. The Government had allocated tho amounts to be contributed by the various districts, and that from tho Wellington provincial district amounted to £978. But the committee had in hand a sum of over £9000, which in itself would provide Wellington's contribution for nine months to come. That money might be used to make up any shortages in the monthly contributions from those districts which had contributed towards the fund. In tho meantime tho committee mu6t ho responsible for the destination of tho money. The Mayor outlined what had been done, at the conference held at Government House, and gave the quotas expected from the various districts, arranged on a population .basis, and detailed liow he nad issued a memorandum to each of the Mayors and chairmen of local bodies and committees in the provincial district of Wellington setting out what was expected of them. He complimented the committee on the food work it had done, and the spleuid way it had safeguarded the fund in its administration. He disagreed with the idea that the committee should disband, and suggested that the committee he proposed—the Mayor (whoever he may be), the Hon. Charles J.

Johnston, Belgian Consul, and Mr. C. P. Skerrett-4>e an adjunct of the existing committee. He felt that the money would continue to flow in for a long time yot, and that there should be some central authority to handle the matter. Question of Control. Mr. Skerrett: Some_ of the local bodies are sending their money direct to the Government. What control could we have of the funds? The Mayor: By keeping - in touch with Mr. Hislop. Mr. Skerrett: It doesn't seen work-able-^unless some central body receives all funds from the provincial district of Wellington. Mr. Shirtcliffe said it had been mentioned t'hat this £9000 could be devoted to a fund for the assistance of our own people. They had no authority to do so. He wanted it made clear as to whether they were to go on with this fund or start a now. fund for'the relief of our own people. Mr. Skerrett: In order to come to something definite, I should say that one central authority is absolutely necessary. Mr. J. Jack said that' the £9000 might be paid into the Government, to stand there against any shortages. ■ The objection to that, according to Mr. Shallcrass, was that it would be paid into a suspense account and would loss its earning power. Mr. Skerrett said a further and more substantial objection 'was that they did not know how long this was going'on or what changes the course of relief might undergo, and they were therefore bound to the donors to keep it.

under their control. When the Treasury received it, the Treasury would have control of it. . Mr. Shirtcliffe agreed that the .whole position might be changed, and it would need some complex procedure.to divert the money to another object. Mr. Skerrett said the first thing to be decided on was whether they should disband or not. • Mr. Pryor thought it was time to disband, as with another Central Committee established there was bound to be some clashing.. The money would continue to flow in automatically for _ soma time, and by keeping it in hand . probably there would be some left in reserve as against tho time when money would. be more difficult to raise. He would suggest that Mr. Duncan continue to act as treasurer, and Mr. Shallcrass as secretary of the new committee. In disbanding, the committee had done the work for, which it created. Another committee, when found necessary, could be set up to deal with New Zealand requirements, and so they were, only clearing the way for work that was bound to come along before long. The committee as it existed at present had nothing to do. What money that came in, such as monthly subscriptions, could be sent on to the Mayor's Committee. One did not .object to do necessary work, but there was certainly',an objection 'to' doing unnecessary work; and if the.v continued they would be simply duplicating tho work.

Resolution Adopted. . Finally-Mr./ Skerrett moved, and Mr. [ T. Ballanger seconded "That the-, executive' committee' be"' directed' to make the necessary arrangements that the Wellington Committee should dissolve, but should take steps to see that the sum in hand should be applied as far as may be necessary towards the qnota ; required by the Government scheme from the various districts .contributing to the fund, and any sum not so applied may be dealt with for the purposes of Belgian relief as may ba just and needful." . The motion was passed unanimously, and in due course the executive will devise a plan for using up the £9000 in the interest of the'distressed Belgians.