THE RAETIHI BUSH FIRES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 174, 12 April 1918, Page 9

THE RAETIHI BUSH FIRES

NATIONAL EFFICIENCY BOARD'S

RELIEF SCHEME

£25,000 WANTED TO CARRY ON

' At the request of the Government, Blessrs. Ferguson and Moss,' of the National Efficiency Board, paid a visit .to Bactihi and to part of tho scene of !the recent bush fires in that district, imd have reported to the Minister of Lands upon the position as it appeared So.them. With the approval of the H6n. Mr. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, ithey make public tho following short summary of 'their views :—

Every, credit is due to those who promptly formed a local committee for the relief of immediate distress, and to Ithe representatives' ,of the Salvation (Army and of the Young Men's ChristJan Association, who at once visited ißaetihi and practical assistance 'of a most valuable kind, thereby strengthening the activities of the resi'dents, and relieving them when they wero exhausted. The public have conjtributed largely in supplies of clothes, goods, and stores, and wijh these, supplemented by certain Y\yvs partly given by the Government i/id partly bought out of the funds subscribed by the public, tho immediate wants of tho persons burnt out have been met in a Sufficient manner to. cover their urgent seeds. . ; The Task Ahead. There, however, remains to be iandled the replacement of.the burntcut dwellings, business premises, and factories in the townships, and the restoration of the grass lands, fencing, farm dwellings, and buildings, and the restocking of the country lands through iwhich tho lire swept. There have'also teen a large number of sawmills and the dwellings of sawmill employees burnt out, some of which if they have to be replaced may necessitate temporary pecuniary assistance being proiVided. ' • ■

The immediate and urgent need for •the regrassing of the lands is beiiig handled by tho Lands Department, and it is trusted that sufficient labour will be found to sow the burnt lands within the next few weeks, tind thereby minimise the loss in production caused by the fire. ■

The suggestion made by themembere of the_ National-Efficiency Board for the handling of the grants for permanent relief and assistance .was that a local incorporated societ} , - should be formed out of the fanners, townspeople, and others affected, having for its object the investigation of the cases requiring assistance, the granting of relief by way of gift or loan, and the management of such , loans until repayment. This suggestion was adopted at a public meeting held in Raetihi, and "The Waimarino Fire Relief Association" was formed, under rules to be approved, v Jiad ■is to be incorporated under the Incorporated Societies Act, thereby attaining a legal standing. .It , is intended that this society when constituted shall take : over all funds remaining in the hands of the local

committee, which has, up to the present, done such good work, and carry the work onupon suoh definite lines as will justify general public in subscribing the.very largo sums that are urgently needed both in the town, and country districts to assist the settlers m the work of reinstatement. \ •. Representation on Executive. The management of this trust society will be in the hands of an executive, partly nominated and partly eleot- . Ed, and including two nominees of the Government, the-three local- trustees ef the National 'Efficiency Board, % "two i local ministers of religion, two representatives of the Raetihi' Town Board sind the "Waimarino County Council, ; three persons elected at a public meet- ; ing, and two others to be co-opted by ; the other members.

I By the constitution of such a society i it is anticipated that the publio of New ! Zealand will have confidence that any i funds that may be contributed- will be j devoted only to deserving cases, and } will be.expended so as to produce the fbest possible results. The executive | 'being largely drawn from the local j residents-will have such an inner know- } ledge of the requirements of the cases '•to be assisted as could not be obtained under _ any ■ system of Governmentalsupervision, and consequently ib is hoped that the funds will be distributed in a manner which will give the best results without inequality or waste. The persons affected by the disaster, now that they have obtained temporary rejief in the form of food, clothes, and phelter, only desire such monetary loans as will enable them to start by ifcheir own exertions to replaced ae far as is possible, their losses through the fire; it is therefore , anticipated that .the greater portion of the assistance

to be granted by the association will be in tho form of loans bearing interest and repayable in instalments during a term of years. Such loans would be granted at a lower rate of interest, and on less determinate security, than could be expected from any financial institution. Most of the settlers are heavily mortgaged and involved financially, so that they are unable individually to borrow excopt on ruinous terms, if at all. The association would bo enabled -

to render assistance by loans on less, or more remote, security than could be obtained in any other manner, and the sufferers would thereby receive practical aid from a committee of management largely drawn from themselves and their neighbours, and in a.sympathetic manner. Money Wanted, To enable this to be carried out there is required from tho sympathising public gifts o£- money sufficient to start the scheme on such an extensive scale as will justify the association fn borrowing and the Government, or others, in lending for a term of yoars the balance of the sums required' for the work of reinstatement. As it is desired that Urn scheme shall effect its object within five years, the rules of the association provide for its winding up at the expiration of that period, and that any sums remaining after the repayment of moneys borrowed from the Government or elsewhere shall be payable to tlie Public Trustee, to be held by him as the nucleus of a fund to be 'expended to grant assistance within New Zealand in similar cases of trouble through fire. The subscribing public will therefore have the satisfaction of knowing that they are not only assisting to put their fellowcitizens in the Waimarino upon their feet, but that their gifts may assist in years to come others similarly distressed.

The public are accordingly urged to subscribe both promptly and liberally; not less than £25,000 is urgently required from the public to enable the association to fulfil its functions in assisting tho residents who have suffered losses by the fire to help themselves. With such a nucleus the association will get to work promptly, with the certninty of being ablo to finance further loans.to the extent needed to provide the assistance required by the settlers' and town&pec-ple. It is essential that there should be no delay, as both in town and country it is imperative that tlie work of rebuilding should be proceeded with before the winter, and that the conditions of work may be restored as promptly as possible.