EARTHQUAKE FUND

Hokitika Guardian, 15 August 1929, Page 2

EARTHQUAKE FUND

v ßy Telegraph—Per Press Association.) CENTRAL COMMITTEE’S DECISIONS. WELLINGTON, August 14. The Central Earthquake Relief Committee met to-day. Sir Joseph Ward presided. Apologies were received from the Mayors of Dunedin and Auckland. The Secretary reported visiting all of the .earthquake centres, consulting with local committees, and arranging with them to pay into the Central Fund all monies held by them, and to open imprest accounts for local needs. A Relief Committee had been established at Murchison. Some clainuf had come in from Christchurch. The Secretary reported that apparently in all districts the work of partial restoration had been completed. Reports received from the local committees showed that at Murchison splendid progress has been made with the repair work to make the homes habitable, and giving a fireplace. The township portion was being dealt with first, owing to the poor access to the valleys until the roads are cleared. Westport Committee (reported. applications for amounts under £ls, which it was not necessary to make on the prescribed application form in necessitous eases. Greymouth Committee report stated it does not anticipate its claims on the fund will be in excess of £4090, and is also suggested procedure that would finalise the relief measures. The Central Committee resolved to deal with applications for relief from Blenheim and other Marlborough Churches, charitable institutions as they came to hand. The total amount of the subscriptions to date is £105,986 15s 9d. There is £77,000 invested with the Public Trust. Disbursements unde, totalling £7508 17s 6d were endorsed. ' A claim was submitted for two thousand for a Murchison hydro-elec-tric scheme there was not entertained. The question of restoring properties wiped out, farms damaged, and the relief of mortgagees was held over until a later meeting. It was reported to the Committee that from 12 to 18 ’ farms had been irretrievably wiped out. It was resolved that the 'list of August ' shall be the final day for making claims on the fund. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. WESTLAND APPEAL FOR REPAIR FUNDS. . •/ ~ • 1 ;» ; • WELLINGTON, August 14. ' At the meeting of the Wellington Presbytery this week, .a letter from the Clerk of the Presbytery of Westland was read, in which a roport was ! given of the damage done to the .Presbyterian Churches of .Westland by the recent earthquake. The damage done to file Presbyterian Church properties within .the bounds of the Westland Presbytery was estimated at not less than • £SOO. It was stated that the Local and Central Earthquake Relief Committees did not regard Churches as having a claim upon their funds. The members who composed the various congregations affected had already suffered a severe loss in their business and in their homes, and the necessary repairs to the Church, properties was felt as a somewhat heavy burden upon the giving powers of the people concerned. An appeal was therefore made to the Wellington Presbytery for some assistance in the matter.

. It was ("unanimously agreed to' refer the appeal to the General Assembly’s Advisory Board, which meets nc-xt week, with a strong recommendation that immediate steps he taken for an appeal to be made to the Presbyterian Churches throughout the Dominion, .to which appeal the Wellington Presbytery will exhort its congregations to make a generous response.