RED CROSS DISPUTE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 932, 27 March 1930, Page 7

RED CROSS DISPUTE

i DIFFERENCE WITH ORDER OF ST. JOHN MONEY FROM ENGLAND Press Association WELLINGTON. Wednesday, j A statement on recent differences be- ! tween the Red Cross Society and the i Order of St. John was made by Mr. j M. J. A. Flesher (Christchurch) at the I annual meeting of the New Zealand : branch of the British Red Cross Society j today. The estrangement among cerI tain sections was followed by the withdrawal by Sir Charles Fergusson and ! Lady Alice Fergusson of their patron- ! age. A discussion in committee folj lowed Mr. Flesher’s statement, which, j however, was released. ; Mr. Flesher said that, as one who ; had taken part in the general administration of Red Cross affairs since the formation of the Red Cross organisation in November, 1915, and as one who had attended every general meeting of that organisation since that time, perhaps he might be permitted to make a statement. He traced at length the history of the combination of the efforts of the two organisations for war work. He said it was quite clear that those who attended as Red Cross representatives at the meeting in 1917 —after the two organisations had decided to co-operate—held to consider a constitution for the Red Cross, had no power to frame a constitution for any organisation other than the New Zealand branch of the British Red Cross Society. i The constitution finally adopted was j for that society and no other body, j Regarding the addition of the words, “and the Order of St. John” to the title of the organisation, which had led to considerable confusion and controversy, Mr. Flesher said he sat alongside the late Mr. A. E. Rhodes, who moved the addition of the words in question, and ho said to Mr. Flesher at the time: “It is just as well to keep the name of St. John linked up with the Red Cross.” “NO JOINT ORGANISATION” It had been contended that the addition of the words “and the Order of St. John” to the name of the organisation had the effect of making the organisation a joint one. It seemed to Mr. Flesher that it required a great stretch of imagination to arrive at that

! result. As a matter of fact, the St. ' John authorities themselves had taken ! strong 1 exception to the inclusion of the name of the Order of St. John in the title of the Red Cross organisation. \ stating that the Order of St. John wa» ! certainly not a branch of the British Red Cross Society, and could not be 'recognised or registered as such: that i incorporation or registration of the new legal entity in Xew Zealand was | not in accordance with the relations of ; the order with the society. Many prominent members of the Order of St. John in the Dominion i were anxious that all references to the " order in .the organisation should be re- . ; moved. e In 1919 the chairman of the joint j ! finance committee of the British Red ; Cross Society and the Order of St. John in England wrote to the Governor- " i General of Xew Zealand, stating that 1 | if his Excellency was of opinion that a grant from the committee’s fund 2 might be usefully applied for extension of hospitals, establishment of a nurs- ’ ing association, provision of a sana--3 torium. or any other scheme or schemes for alleviating distress caused a by the war, in the area of his adminis- “ tation, the chairman would be glad to forward him a draft for this purpose f up to £30,000. A resolution of the society as to pure poses to which it was intended that 0 the fund should be put having been s communicated to and accepted by his s Excellency, a trust in regard to the “ fund was thus created, and the moneys forming the fund had been definitely " earmarked for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers, sailors, and military _ nurses, continued Mr. Elesher. When ” their claims had been satisfied, the balance of the moneys (if any) might _ be used in establishing a fund for prog viding trained nurses for the allevia--13 tion of sickness and suffering wherever s necessary, as the council or executive . of the Red Cross Society should from ’* time to time determine. e PURPOSES OF FUND It seemed to the speaker that this phase of the question had not received e the consideration it should by those who claimed to be interested in this t matter. There seemed to be an impression in some quarters that these moneys could be distributed at the discretion of the trustees and used for peace-time work, said Mr. Flesher, but - that was not the view of the members f of the Red Cross Society, in whose care - the fund was vested. Judging by the e experience of those who had been eno gaged in Red Cross work for the past t 15 years, every penny of the fund t under discu’ssion would be needed to

. provide for the necessities of sick | soldiers. sailors, and nurses, for whose ; benefit these moneys were raised in the first instance. | The following resolution was carried > today, on the recommendation of the ! executive: "That the Xew Zealand j branch of the British Red Cross So- ! cietv and the Order of St. John can- ! not agree to a full acceptance of the I resolution passed by the conference j between representatives of the society j and the order presided over by Mr. A. Gray, K.C.. in;: will support the ap- ;[ pointment of a joint committee to ad- | minister the fund of £30,000 remitted by the joint finance committee of the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John in England, and subject to the terms of the trust imposed at the time the money was handed over to this society.” DUNEDIN CRITICISM “MANY INACCURACIES’’ Press Association DUXEDIN. Wednesday. When Mr. Flesher’s statement at Wellington regarding Red Cross funds was brought under the notice of Dr. A. R. Falconer, chairman of the Dunedin Centre of St. John Ambulance, he said it contained many inaccuracies, which no doubt would be pointed out in due time by proper authorities. The Order of St. John in England had given an indication that it was prepared to support the claims of the Order of St. John in Xew Zealand, even in a Court of Law. This would be most unfortunate, Dr. Falconer added, and it v. as hoped that wiser counsels would prevail before this course was rendered necessary