HUNTLY DISASTER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 247, 27 March 1915, Page 5

HUNTLY DISASTER.

q BELIEF INVESTIGATED. .j By .Teloj:rn.pii.—Presi Association Christchurch, Lafit Night..' '■ Tlic Mayor, 'Mr W. Holland, who lvocntly isited Huntly 011 behalf .of the liresl I-Imit.lv .Relief Committee; laid before a 1 meeting of the committee to-day the.M* ■,ult of tins investigation made on of the committee. The secretary of jjfij Huntly Mining Disaster Relief CoipßW submitted a statement to him show« iii« about £8,500 available Jor besto% ing relief. The committee at was at present jiiiyinjf £32 10s wee¥Jj[> .reduced payments being made to tno& receiving benefits luniler the Widottfjj Pensions Act. He was also shown ol tor.to the Public Trustee, committee expressed willingness, the fund should be administered by j3» Public Trustee under certain eonditioßK The Public Trustee had replied afytihgi his willingness to take over the admWljW tration of the fund on the conditions named/ ' "

Referring to his personal invest! tions, Mr. Holland «aid he had in closely enquired into property owflfett' the beneficiaries, and found one possessed of two houses which' stye-i let, the total capital value being ££ Another had two houses, of a total va of £940, one being lot. . A third,' 3 two houses, value £470. She one, as did a widow in the previous ,o« but at the time of his visit nhe wap ceiving nothing from the \|b| widows possessed faruis, one In Hjjijh West and one in North Auckland, wjli curried SO cows. In the lait-lnAtli) oa=e the farm was moi tgnged <fpr Jff The value of the equity was unknown Mr. Holland, and he was unable to 1 if the other properties mentioned w mortgaged. Another widow Had a fa at Taupiri. The houic in whioh one vs ow lived was insured for £383. 'ia widows had. accepted compensation fy the company, one receiving £SOO 'i the other £BSO. There remained 2TI had issued writs against the comjA each claiming £ISOO. He founcl .f 15s per week- find Ss weefclv foi; e child had been paid already from >\ relief fund, in addition to £6O frpmv Miner?' Fund;''£so for funeral and £2O from tlie Medical UnionlJ was never denied by nnyyne in Huij that expensive tombstones had been-,i vided by widows, and the avdl"Aie;£ I'.iid been helwien .C2.'i and £39. lit e.ifct very mu"h more. rfjs Mr. Holland .stated that lie chairman of the con-mittee at'jHifa that- he would advise the. Chrig£&s committee to. keep money in its •jn dcpnmt till the compensation were settled. . , • t< After a short dißcuSsioi;, s it waii solved that the funds in the hands jfBJ Christcluireh committee remain on ' posit until, the committer, is satiiqj that the conditions under which the P lie Trm-tee hud accented had been incorporated.ifl a deednftii then the money to be paid Public Trustee. It Was the funds in the hands of the pjw! church committec'tptal £1056. ■ -'"ftl