RICH AND POOR

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 285, 26 August 1921, Page 6

RICH AND POOR

FUNDS OF PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES WILLINGTON’S UNFORTUNATE POSITION With the war now a matter of history, and its liabilities showing no signs of decreasing, the War .Relief Association of Wellington is becoming seriously exorcised over its responsibilities for the welfare of disabled soldiers. There are 484 disabled soldiers within its district, and the association had at the end of March, 1920, total funds to the value of <£66,000. Thia works out at an average of per head. Other societies, some of which have only a score or so of disabled mbh on their, lists—particularly the smaller Wellington provincial societies—have funds out of all proportion to their prospective liabilities. This discrepancy is at present the subject of correspondence between the secretary (Mr. A. 0. Leach) of the War Relief Association of Wellington and the Minister of Internal Affairs. In a recent letter to the Minister, Mr. Leach embodied the following table showing the relative position of the various larger associations, based on returns up to March 31, 1920:— Per

On the per capita average of £277 disclosed in the above return, the Wellington Association's total resources should be .£134,000. Since the date of the returns the Wellington Association’s funds have decreased by <£17,000, and the supplementary disablement lists have further disproportionately increased the association’s number of disabled men.

Auckland Men. .... 886 Funds. £ 253,000 Capita. £ 285 Hawke’s Bay ... 145 120,000 828 Wairarapa ... 61 54,000 885 Wellington ... 484 » 66.0(1) 136 Marlborough .. ... 46 25,000 543 Canterbury Otago .... 307 ... 359 66.000 62,000 182 173 Southland ... 216 67,000 264 Totals .. 2,504 £693,000