SOLDIERS' COMFORTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2745, 14 April 1916, Page 6

SOLDIERS' COMFORTS

IN ENGLAND AND ELSEWHERE

£3000 A MONTH WANTED

THE DISTRICT-S ALLOCATION

At the meeting of the Wellington "War Relief Assooation yesterday afternoon an important communication was received from Messrs. L. 0. H. Tripp and Hope Gibbons (the AVellington district representatives on the Advisory Board sot up by tho New Zealand Conference, Patriotic Societies, held in Palmerston North), eetting out what money would be required for comforts for sick and wounded New Zealand soldiers in England and elsewhere (outside of New Zealand). The letter was as follows:— "As you are aware, at a conferenco held in. Wellington of the delegates of the different patriotic societies in New Zealand, the Minister of Defence attended, and pointed out that the War Contingent' Association in England required ,£3OOO ; a month for tho comfort of our sick, wounded, and convalescent soldiers outside the ordinary necessaries that are being supplied by the Government. The High Commissioner reported that .£ISOO a month would be required to be spent on our soldiers in England, and £IoW a month on out soldiers at places outside England. After discussion, the following resolution was carried. " That it be a recommendation to the Patriotic Committee throughout the Dominion that the amount required for provision of extra comforts for New Zealand soldiers in England and ■ Egypt, namely ,£3OOO monthly, be subscribed regularly by the patriotic societies, on the quota system, on the same basis as tho Belgian Fund.' "The Advisory Board went carefully into lie matter, and decided to recommend' the different patriotic societies in New Zealand administering funds to forward through the. Minister of Internal Affairs the monthly. The Advisory Board determined that the amount to be found each month by tho Wellington Provincial District calculated on the above basis, would be ,£6OO. The moneys will bo forwarded by_ the Government through the High Commissioner to the War Contingent Association, and that body will dotemvine how the moneys are to be spent. "It is now necessary to decide what proportion of, the .£6OO each patriotic society administering funds in tho Wellington District 'shall pay. In.order that there shall be no delay in forwarding the moneys,, we beg to" suggest that the different societies administering- funds in this district shall agree to contribute monthly the following sums:— ve Wanganui 100 Palmerston North -50 Feilding 25 Taihape .' ~.'. 25 Marton .':,.. 25 Bulls and Foxton 25 Pabiatua : 25' '. Wairaxapa 175 Wellington 175 Making a monthly total 'of ,£625 .. "We tnouglit it better in allocating the sums to leave a margin of JXb in caso some society may. linii it inconvenient to pay the sum allocated each month. We suggest tliat in order tliat ttiere may. bo no delay, tliat your society should accept our allotment lor this inuutu, and herealter if tnere are any reasons lor altering tke proportions, these proportions can be altered at a later' date.

"TJie Advisory juoarti suggest that the moneys should ue payable to the UnderSecretary lor internal A&aiea tram April 1. it was pointed out that no uoubt tlioro will be important ■ movements during the next woes or two;. untl probably -tnere will be many casualties, so that the War Contingent Association in .London should know us soon ad possible what moneys they will bo able to control. The fact, that we have had to attempt to deculejui a rougUtand-reatly way wnat each society . should pay shows tiie necessity ot having the dmerent societies who are administering moneys in this district tederated as soon as possible.

"A suggestion lias been made that is well worth consideration, that if" ; it is impossible to nave one society I'or the ivliole of the Wellington province with brunches in each' town, it would be advisable to reduce tke number of societies in tlio district. We understand tiiat a similar course has been adopted iu Canterbury. The suggestion matte is that the Wairarapa and Bush districts should combine and have one society; that Wanganui and the different societies operating in the Mananatu district should combine, and that any societies not included in the Manawani Society should combine with the Wellington War Belief Association. There would then be three societies operating in the Wellington district. Theso societies could each* nominate one member to be on the Advisory Board tor the Wellington district. The Wellington district Advisory Board can meet, and that board can decide what proportion each society should contribute towards any payments which, have to be made of a similar nature to the payment which is going to 'be made to the War Contingent Association of England." "Tho Wellington War Belief Association have dratted a set of rules, and under their rules branches can be formed, and tho branches have the right to nominate representatives on the executive. Supposing, for example, it was decided that anj' societies now operating at Otaki and Levin should combine with tho Wellington War Belief Association, all they would have to do would bo to apply to become a branch of that association. It could bo arranged that the branches could attend to tho relief of all cases arising in their district vdthin certain limits, and that these branches would have the right to draw on the Wellington Association for moneys expended. The branches in turn would have a representative on the executive, who could either be someone in the district who could attend tho meetings, or could bo a Wellington man specially instructed to look after the branch; which he represented. As your representative we think it right to mention the above suggestions, which seem to us well worth consideration, because it is obvious that the 60oner the different societies in this district can become properly organised the better." The letter was received, and following upon a brief discussion it was decided to approve the Advisory Board's allocation for the present, it being pointed out that all the societies at present in existence in the district may not have been taken into consideration. In the meantime the allocation of .£175 for Wellington city (the War Belief Association) for • the month of April be paid to tho Minister of Internal Affairs. The chairman pointed out that by next month the Wellington representatives on the board might hnvo a more precise knowledge of the existence of other societies in view of a possible readjustment of the allocation for each society. .