MONEY FOR SOLDIERS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1977, 15 May 1919, Page 1

MONEY FOR SOLDIERS.

DEFENCE REMITTANCE SCHEME.

Wellington, This Day.

As most relatives of soldiers know, there is generally a cabled request for a remittance when the soldier gets his final leave in England prior to embarkation. A very large sum of money is being sent to England in amounts usually ranging from £lO to £2O, and when the cables recently became congested great dissatisfaction arose among the New Zealanders in England owing to the delay in securing answers to their requests. Consequently the High Commissioner in London, with the concurrence of the Hon. the Minister of Defence, made an arrangement with the Pacific Cable Board to accept at Government rates a daily cable from the Staff Paymaster, N.Z.E.F., in London, to the Officer in Charge of War Expenses, Wellington, containing requests by New Zealand soldiers to their relatives in the Dominion to

send them, money. By “packing’’ the cable in this way great economy is obtained in cable charges, and it is possible for the soldier to get his request cabled for at a minimum of delay and cost.

Since the scheme started at the end of February, nearly 1,500 requests for remittances have been dealt with. The War Expenses Department in Wellington, on receipt of a “packed” cable, advises the person to whom the request is addressed by a telegram signed “War Expenses/' staling the channel of remittance. If the addressee is in or near Wellington, a letter is sent. In every case advice is despatched

Jj'oiu Wellington the same day ■■s the receipt of the cable, though this may involve working the stall' overlime. Relatives who send their money through a haul; pay the usual cable charges, etc., the Hat rate of ten shillings per remittance being imposed when the money is sent through tire War Expenses Branch, Wellington.

Relatives when sending money should understand that it is essential for them to quote the full name and number of the soldier in their telegrams and letters in order to ensure that the money reaches the right person. The rapid growth of this system adds another important* “side-line” to the many duties of the Defence Department undertaken- for the convenience of the soldier and his relatives.