PATRIOTIC FUNDS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 265, 3 August 1921, Page 8

PATRIOTIC FUNDS

WAIRARAPA ASSOCIATION LARGE SUM OF MONEY CONTRIBUTED Tho report and statement of accounts to ba submitted at the annual meeting of the JVnirarapa Patriotic Association to-night show that a total of £195,124 4s. lid. has been received in the association’s accounts for all the purposes for which the association was formed. Of this sum tho expenditure accounts for £142,369 IGs. lid., leaving a balance ; at March 31 of £5?,754 Bs. The following items appear under the expenditure | heading:—Relief to soldiers and depen- I dants, £12,080 7s. 4d.: equipment of I troops and hospitals, £19,814 7s. Bd.; comforts for soldiers in N.Z. and abroad, £9293 13s. Gd.; British Red Cross Society, £6983 16s. IGd.; Belgian Relief Fund, £4214 13s. 10d.; Allied relief funds, £6087 16s. 5d.; Navy Relief .Fund, £l5Ol Ils. 2d.'; transfers to otlidr funds, and societies, £76,668 Is. 7d.; administrative expenses, £5725 Bs. 7d. It is pointed out that in addition to the above sum, which has been accounted for in tho records of the association, the following known amounts have also been subscribed in the Wairarapn for patriotic purposes. Though these donations have not been under the administration of the association, they are shown in the report as an indication of the patriotic effort of the district:— Wairarapa. War Fund—Donations in cash, £11,590; donations in gifts of horses, chaff, etc., £10,000; Ahikouka Trust ’Farnv donated, by Mr. A. P. Whatman for soldier settlement, £17,000; collections by ladieaf committees £19.500 Belgian Refugee Food Fund, £7200; other kmsrn collections for war work, £12,000; total, £77,200. This sum added to the funds actually paid through the association, amounts to £272,324 raised for war purposes, which is equivalent to £6 per head of a population of 45,000. The balance of the funds at March 31 tire invested the following assets:— Castlepoint County debentures, £300; mortgages expiring 1921 to 1923, £33.250 19s. Cd.; advances to soldiers outstanding, £37,322 4s. lOd.; cash in bank at branches, £473 6s. 8d; total, £71.346 Ils. The liabilities of tho association as at March 31 totalled £70,873 4s. 4d. Thus the association is still possessed of funds to the extent of £52.754 7s lid., after providing for the liquidation of the overdraft, Loans to Soldiers. The Claims Board (states the report) Ims adhered to a progressive policy in regard to loanii? out its funds to returned soldiers.- This has proved the best method of conserving the funds, and is preferred to investing the moneys with public institutions, as by this system the funds, whilst remaining intact., have become a source of great financial assistance to returned men in setting them up on the land, and in businesses, and in assisting many of them to become possessed of a dwelling. The board has administered this policy on the widest grounds, as its chief aim has been to assist every soldier possible, and to make the funds reach as many men as was practicable. The board’s loan policy has enabled and encouraged many returned men to Irecome self-reliant and! self-supporting, whilst the money which has been tho means of enabling this good work to be accomplished has been returned to the funds, aud is available for letting out to subsequent applicants. Practically every form of security has been taken from soldiers, varying in value and nature from first, second, and third mortgages down to simple agreements to repay. Two hundred and ninety returned men have been assisted under the loan policy, involving an outlay of £57,239 16s. 9d., of which £19,917 11s. lid. has been repaid as at March 31, 1921. Temporary Relief. Payments, in connection with temporary financial relief to soldiers and dependants have used up a sum of £12,080 7s. 4d. since the inception of tho fund. This figure represents cash grants, and is not recoverable. The claims received under this heading- total 1923. In each case grants have been made commensurate with the financial position and proved physical disability of the applicant. From experience gained the Claims Board has concluded that it is impossible to make a uniform scale of relief owing to the varied and complex nature of the numerous applications, and each case, therefore, has been decided on its merits, necessitating close inquiry into Ithe circumstances of each applicant, care being exercised in establishing in the first instance the domicile of the applicant as a qualified claimant under the fund. Land for Soldiers. The report also states that the association has taken a keen interest in the settlement of discharged soldiers on the land. This important work of repatriation has been regarded as a national one, and the association has acted in coordination with the Crown Lands Department and the Wairarapa Returned Soldiers’ Association in obtaining suitable land for settlement in this district. Among the properties acquired by the Government in the Wairarapa are the following, on which 104 returned men now reside: —Westmere Estate (seven settlers), Te Whiti Estate (seven settlers), Brancepeth Estate (nine settlers), Mataikona Estate (21 settlers), Battersea Estate (20 settlers), Makuri Estate (eight settlers), Ahiaruhe Estate (20 settlers), Te Ure Ore Estate (eight settlers), Otahome Estate (four settlers). In addition, the association has used its efforts in securing private farms for soldiers under section 2 of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act. t Funds on the Wane. The following statement appears at tho end of the report:—“From experience the board has learned that funds will be required for years ahead, as eases are continually coming under notice of men breaking down under injuries or sickness received or contracted on active service, and whilst again repeating tho responsibility of the State to make provision for such cases, this society, in common with other societies in tho Dominion, must not overlook its responsibilities to do its best for tho disabled mon, and the advisability of shepherding the funds is only too apparent. . . . Tho day has arrived when future applications for loans must be sifted out to cases of physical impairment or economic hardship, as the funds are on the wane, and the incapacitated man must receive preferential treatment."