The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. MONDAY,NOVEMBER 8,1915. CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR SOLDIERS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 8 November 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. MONDAY,NOVEMBER 8,1915. CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR SOLDIERS

In the iinal number oi Hansard; lor tlie year i'Jlu appears an excellent idea concerning methods ol gilt-making to soldier*. on active service. Levin, 111 common witii oilier places, u> desirous 01 cheering up tiie .soldiers on active service by sending tneni appropriate Uuistmas presents. A fund for tins purpose has been started in Wellington, and subscriptions to this end a.ie being invited. liie local endeavour luu been given a good start by Mr :\. Jxirkcaldie, who hue left liis clieijie for £iU with tne editor of 'i'he Chronicle, to oe forwarded through the proper authorities with such other local donations as may be made. A further amount ol ten shillings u> in hand, and no doubt other amounts will be received during the next lew days. TJiese we propose to hand/ over to the Levin branch of the Patriotic "Society, for transmission to the Wellington body that has undertaken to transmit the moneys to the areas oi : active service whorem .New Zealand soldiers are engaged. For benefit of th<jse" who preler to make their own gilts personally —and there are many in Levm and diswlio have their own lads ati the front, —we reprint from Hansard the'idea already referred to. It is set out in loan ol a question, put ..to the Minister 01 Defence by the member for the Hutt. Mr Wilford asked the Minister or Defence if he would give facilities to parents of jNew-Zealanders at the front to inaugurate what was called a "Billygift Fund." Such a Tund in Australia had reached "enormous proportions. I£aeli relative sent to the front, without naming the soldier who was to receive the gift, a "billy, anl in tlie billy was placed something for wear, something for cleaning, something for play,, something to eat, something to slnoko, "and something to read. In the last Australasian there appeared a picture o> ten thousand of these billTee, wiii ?Ti were to be forwarded to the Australian troops for Christmas-boxes." It seemed to him an excellent idea, because after the billies were empty they would be useful to those who had received tJiem. The Hon. Mr. Allen (Minister of Defence) said he would be only too glad to send them forward in the transports. As there are unavoidable delays in the sending and delivery of parcels to men on active service, it is advinable that all Christmas gifts be dispatched before the 15tli November, and that all moneys intended for the Wellington committee be in the committee's hands by that date.