TARANAKI WAR RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1917, Page 7

TARANAKI WAR RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

ANNUM) MEETING. The annual meeting of tho delegates to the Taranaki War Belief Association was held at Stratford yesterday, when there were present: Messrs C. H, Burgess (New Plymouth) in the chair, W. P. Kirkwood, J. W. McMillan (Stratford.) , C. E. Bellringer, W. J. Chaney (New Plymouth), W. E. Porcival, A. E. Surrey (Inglewood), T. McPhillips and J. S. Stevenson (Manaia), T. B. Crump and t. B. Grimstone (Eltham)*, Rev. 0. M. Stent and Geo. Walker (County of Egmont), and C. A. Larcombe (Patea). ANNUAL REPORT. The following are the main features of the annual report and statement of accounts, which was reda at length:— Application for incorporation was gazetted on April 7, 19V8. The fund throughout Taranaki has been built up for the most part by the efforts of the Patriotic Committees and organisations working with the committee in the towns and country districts. The methods employed by the committees affiliated bodies for raising and increasing the fund have been varied, ranging from concerts to Queen Carnivals. Subscriptions have also materially augmented the fund. Stratford and Midhirst Dairy Companies each donated £flOO to the iunds.

In a general Teview of the splendid "work to build up the Wounded Soldiers' iFund reference must be made to the ewrflsnt work ! by the women of Taranaki Heir efforts have been untiring and their work beyond praise. Hi* general policy of the executive Tiae wen to conserve the funds-by only jgrmtiins relief in necessitous cases. The "wißta of this policy cannot) be questioned when considering the comparator cut small number who have, up to March 13, 1917, returned to Taranaki, She number being 244. Tfie finding of suitable employment for discharged men has been a big factor, as by this means

the funds are in a great extent relieved of unnecessary expenditure/

All cases before tlie Association have received sympathetic attention! In several cases loans have been granted to enable applicant to commence some busi- 1 ness enterprise in which lie has every chance of success.

Up to .March 31, 1917, 124 cases 'have been dealt with tyy the Association and local, branches. Grants and periodical paytaents to soldiers and dependents aggregated £453 as Bd. The grants by way of loans for purposes of assisting returned men in business aggregated £ll'Oo, amounts varying from £4O to £3OO. The wants of men abroad either in hospital or on service are fairly well catered for, the Association having made grants for comforts for soldiers in hospital (abroad) amounting to £9OO. The qupstion of soldiers and the land, reported elsewhere, was referred to at

.'ength. .' Employment of Discharged Soldiers,— The Association is the recognised agent for the Discharged Soldiers' Information department in Taranaki, the delegates acting as agents in their respective disfriclc. This work has always been considered an important factor in bringing men in personal touch with delegates, iind has proved very satisfactory as a means of placing soldiers in suitable positions. Thirty-two cases have been dealt with by the Department, but these figures do not represent anywhere near the total number of men who have been •placed in employment. Funds.—The following statement regarding the Wounded Soldiers' Fund discloses the growth of the fund up to March 31, 1917, the increase being approximately £13,888. On March 24, WlO. the delegates reported fund? in hand as follows:

Hawera " . r.-., r.-.i ». 8000 North Taranaki r... 3DOO llnnaia .. .. 2000 Patea i >•; • • • • 4'(I00 Stratford . 4 » •.> «• • 4570 Eltliani .. >. v.. ... 3500 New Plymouth .. .. ..> .. 5300 Ingiewood .. i-.i • >• '204 Total v.. sv £ 30,63-1 The amount subscribed to aggregate Funds through local branches was:— " '£ New Plymouth ~. >.>.. 9481 • Stratford .. y. »• 8838 Hawera va 8717 Patea >. >• Eltham r..i u.i 4128 North Taranaki ..i i... 3810 County of Egmont .>. .. 1550 ? Ingiewood .. .. »«, »>i >■ l'»Other sources 324 'Total .. ve r. .. £44,522

All funds received have been invested Promptly. Advances on loan account to U-turned soldiers are not included under this heading, as ,the income from this source is not an Important factor. Debentures New ■Plymouth Borough . Council, maturing April, 1022, rate of interest 5% per cent., £3OOO. War Loan Certificates, maturing August i22 t 1921 to April 2 1022, 4V. per cent., £IO,OOO. Fixed doposlt, Bank New Zealand, Stratford, 41 per cent., -mattering August 17, 1918, £3OOO. Post Office Savings Bank at call, 3 per cent, on running account, £5057 2s 4d. Appreciation.—The executive dosires to record appreciation of the services rendered by Mr. J. B, Wilson, who took a. very active interest in the formation cf the Association and 'who was the first chairman, also Mr. J. W, McMillan, who occupied the position of lion, secretary from the inception of the Association until the appointment of the present secretary v . In moving its adoption, the chairman stated that the report had gone very thoroughly into the various matters. The | executive had not dealt with every ap-1 ilication in a niggardly manner, but: had, dealt with all on their merits, but a little better, so that; no one could say lie had not received justice at the liands nf the association. Referring to the clause in the report dealing with the wants of soldiers abroad either in hospital or at the base, he said that the association had sent forward £930 out of 'tft contribution of £155 per month, but had now stopped forwarding the monev, a they understood that it was not tfei'pg spent. Why, he did not know. He would, however, like the new executive to take into consideration whether part of the fund should be sent forward, aB there'must be some way in which it could be expended If the money was necessary bofore, it should be more .iccagsarv now. Personally ■ could riot -onpeive' why the niflftey h not Igjen expended. * The Employment of Discharged Soldiers Department would continue to grow as the men returned. No doubt where possible employers would

find places for their employees when they returned. He, hoped, tiiis was bo, | otherwise a number of men would be out of work. There were numbers of men who wore used to certain work, but who from wounds or sickness would be unable to take up that work, and employment would have to be found for them. He hoped that the people and- the patriotic associations would see places found for all The funds and investments of the association wore set out plainly. It would seem that they liad £43,000 in hand. As the men continued to come back the demands would be greater, but no doubt when their funds were lowered, and it •vas found necessary to call on the publie, there would be a good response. Mr. W. P. Kirkwood, in seconding, said that when the association was in pro■•ess of formation, there had been a good deal of criticism. That was not the t'me for criticism. Now that they had been working for a year they must be prepared to meet any fair criticism. At the outset routine matters, including, neI'sssary registration, caused delay that could not be avoided, but after being twelve months in operation he thought the association had done good work. Itwas not generally realised that the •643,000 was money raised for the Wounded Soldiers' fund alone. Considerable surtis had also been raised in Taranaki for various other funds, and the ■total raised for patriotia purposes was therefore very much more. If the total raised in Taranaki was compared with that raised in other parts, he thought it would be found that there was very little to complain about, for though Taranaki as a whole was a.-rich province it*did not possess tno individually rich men, as did Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay, etc. The policy of the Association had been to conserve its funds, and he thought this policy should continue. At present only a mere drlbblo of'Taranaki men—seme 200—had returned When the main body 'returned, the whole £43,000, and more, would be /required. Regarding the payment of £155 per month he pointed out that the association had hung up the matter until : t was ascertained whether the money was expended. He understood that the money had not been sent home by the Government for a while, but was now being forwarded. Good work was being done by the War Contingent Association, which, he understood, was in funds. He r.greed that the Taranaki Association s-hould contribute, but should be careful that the money was being spent in the right direction. He believed thatpractically every returned man requiring assistance had been placed in employment, and this was to a great exten); due to the representations made by the association, which was fortunate in having a secretary who was not only an accountant, but al9o a returned soldier who understood the requirements of returned soldiers. Mr, Mills (Hawera) pointed out that criticism was helpful irf enabling the association to work on the best lines, "ases had been cited where the association had done nothing to help men in need. This tended to show that the organisation of the association was not complete enough to enable it to find out every necessitous case. Before long it might be possible to improve the organisation, so that the executive might have t better chance of knowing the circumstances of every returned soldier, who would then not' have to depend on his case being brought before the association by his own or his friends' application. This would depend on the association being able to obtain at every centre men who would act as hon. secretaries doing the work for the work's :ake. If the public in general would make it their business to bring before the committee any necessitous eases they would be doing good work for the returned men, There had also been criticism regarding the rate of interest charged on advances. Possibly to bc;/in with the executive may have been ovijr cautious, because it could hardly rtalise how much would be required, and l lie £43,000 might not last long. The policy of the association now was to Consider the circumstances and physical condition of the applicant, and charge the rate of interest accordingly. In some cases, after a spell at home, the applicants were practically fit men, and in their cases the advance was merely in the nature of an investment, without being too particular as to the margin of the security. In eases! where the circumstances and physical condition were sUch that the applicant was not thoroughly competent, interest was made at Mr. T. McPhillips (Manaia) said that every case had been treated in an impartial manner, Mr. T. B. Crump (Eltham) said that it was a difficult question to decide what proportion of the* fund should be spent ' present, and what should be conserved.

The Association should endeavor, through a suitable channel, to apply a certain proportion of its funds for the relief of soldiers at the base and in hospitals in England, as well as to assist them on their return to Now Zealand. If there were the necessary organisation, there Avould be no reason why any case should be unrelieved, Ho emphasised the fact taht in "necessitous cases small grants were advanced without interest. The chairman, in reply, said that the New Plymouth Patriotic Society met all returned soldiers and asked them to place their circumstances before the Society. They wanted returned soldiers to. realise (.liftt the Society and the Association were their ■ friends, and thas instead of airing any personal grievances outside it would be far better to bring them before the Society. Every case would be "dealt with on its merits, The report and balance-sheet were then adopted, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,

The following wore elected by their various associations as delegates'to the executive committee:—Messrs C. E. Bellringer (New Plymouth), W. P. lvirkwood (Stratford), T. B. Crump (Eltham), F. Mills (Hawera), W. E. Percival (Inglewood), T. Mcßhillips (Manaia), C. A 1 Larcombe (Patea), R. Dunn (Farmers' 1 Union), Rev. R. B. Tinsley (Egmont). A North Taranaki delegate lia§ to bo appointed. AN APPRECIATION, Mr, C. K, Bellringpr, in moving a.vot; «f thanks to the retiring exeoutlve, paid (i tribute to the good work done on behalf of the returned soldiers, a workthat liceessarily involved considerable Baorifice of time, and he thought the Association should placp on record its ap; preciatipn of this, There had been a good deal of criticism, hut this was only tq be expected, and ho was satisfied that on the whole the puhlic were pleased with the -ork done. The m< u was seconded by Mr, A. E Surrey (li.Jewood) and carried, In thanking the members, the chair iiifti) (Mr. C. ff, JSifrgegs) yefprrod to thp enthusiasm displayed during the year by the various members. t MORE PUBLICITY REQUIRED. On the motion of Messrs ,R J. Dunn and W. J?. Kirkwood it was re^ojvsi

in order to bring the objects of .the Association more prominently before the public, to have posters printed and dis, played in all Taranaki post offices, draw ing the attention of any returned soldiers to the fijet that the Association was prepared to help them. RAISING FURTHER W2NDS. Mr. T. B. Crump dmv attention to the remit forwarded by Elthum, suggesting that an effort should be made to increase the. funds by setting aside a specific. month (July was mentioned) in which the public should be asked to make a direct effort i\ aid of the funds. The chairman said that this was a matter that the executive should deal with, as all the branches had been asked for suggestions, and some replies had not been received. J PAROCHIALISM. ' Rev. O. M. Stint referred to the need for making some personal effort to get several small patriotic committees to join the Association instead of holding thei. own funds. He pointed out that there were two societies in the Egmont county in this position, and he suggested that copies of the report should be forwarded them.

Members generally were of opinion that if these committees were more cog: nisant of the work done by the Association they would have no hesitation in joining. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. Mr, C. H. Burgess stated that it was with regret that he had to inform them that he would not continue on the executive. When he accepted the position of chairman he did not expect that he would again bo Mayor of 'New Plymouth. He would not accept any position unless he could give all the time required. • Mr. C. E. Bellringer expressed his regret at'the chairman's resignation, a regret that was generally voiced by all the members present. On the motion of Messrs T. B. Crump and R. J. Dunn, Mr. W. P. Kirkwood was elected chairman. Both speakers referred to the valuable work done by« Mr. Kirkwood.as a member of the executive and asi delegate to the Advisory Board. A vote 'of appreciation of the services rendered by Mr. Burgess was also passed. Mr. Kirkwood, in expressing appreciation of the confidence placed in. him by his election to the chairmanship, also expressed regret at the resignation of Mr. Burgess froiji the committee. Mr. Burgess, in acknowledging the compliment, referred to the Soldiers' Club a,t New Plymouth, pointing out that though it was known as the New Plymouth Soldiprs' Club they iwere always pleased to see any returned soldiers making use of it. He therefore hoped that any returned soldiers visiting New Plymouth woufcl make use of the privileges of the Club. EXECUTIVE' COMMITTEE MEETING.

A meeting of the executive committee was held in the afternoon, Mr. W. P. Kirkwood presiding. A number of applications tor financial assistance were considered and dealt with. Amounts varying from £l5O to '£soo were advanced on loan to returned soldiers who are farming or in business, The consideration of ways and means for making a special effort to raise funds was deferred until next meeting. The meeting of the executive was fixed for the third Wednesday in each month Mr. T. B. Crmnp was appointed treas urer. The chairman, secretary, and treasurer (or any two) were appointed to sign cheques.