REPATRIATION WORK.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 April 1921, Page 8

REPATRIATION WORK.

IN NORTH TARANAKI. 1 ™^- ssra «. J c ; I Yesterday afterroon a pleasant little 1 function took place at the Hygienic tea- f rooms, when Mr. C. H. Weston, chair- * man of the New Plymouth Repatriation c Board, entertained members of the old J board, together with a few leading citi- t zens. Recently the board was reduced .1 in numbers from eleven to five. 1 The Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson) congratulated the board on the excellent * work done since Tl had been established. ‘ He never heard any adverse criticisms of • its decisions or operations, which proved 1 that the public were w€ll satisfied, 1 whilst he did know that the ex-soldiers < had cause to be grateful for the sym- t pathy and assistance given them during 1 the past two years by the board. $ Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., thanked the 1 board for what it had done on behalf i of the soldiers and the community, i Some had predicted the scheme would < prove anything but successful, but he 1 could say that he had heard only two : complaints from ex-soldiers of the treat- 1 ment their applications had received at 1 the hands of the local board, aaid, after in- < vestigation of their cases he was satis- 1 fied that the board’s decisions were ab- ‘ solutaly right. So satisfactory had '■> been the results of the general admin- 1 istration of the repatriation boards that 1 he would like to see the scheme con- s tinued in the interests of the general 1 community. < MEN’S APPRECIATION. ] Captain McDiarmid acknowledged . that the New Plymouth Board had done ' a great deal for ex-soldiers, who were ‘ duly grateful. He knew the members . had approached their work in the right spirit, not applying business tests to all the applications coming before them. Indeed, he had heard that the soldiers’ own representative on the board had often to put the break ou the other members, who would have gone further in order to help the applicants. He reminded them that Anzac Day would be here shortly, and he would like all to know that the returned soldiers desired it to be celebrated not as a holiday but as a solemn day, dedicated to the memory of those who had given their all for their country. * Mr. C._ H. Burgess, who, with Mrs Burgess, did such splendid work for the soldiers during the whole period of the war in his capacity as Mayor, said that the greatest compliment he could pay the men was that they were eager on arrival to start work again, sometimes, alas, too anxious. The work of re-

patriation therefore was facilitated by the spirit of the men themselves. He was sensible, however, of the good work done by the local repatriation committee. Mr. T. C. List spoke on behalf of the members who were leaving the committee. When they commenced the committee appeared to be an unpromising lot, especially as theyjiad little to work on or go by, but they were possessed of the right spirit, interpreting the wishes of Parliament and the Ministerial Repatriation Board in a generous and sympathetic manner, with the result that no committee had a better record in work done, recommendations adopted by the Ministerial Board, and smallness of the losses incurred both in regard to capital and interest payments. He attributed not a little of this success to the capable leadership of the chairman and the splendid administration of the secretary (Mr. A. S. . Allen).

fcAND BOARD’S ADVANCES. Mr. G. W. Palmer apologised for the absence of Mr. Lowe, Commissioner for Crown Lands. He spoke of the work done by the Taranaki Land Board for soldiers, the extent which could be guaged from the fact that £1,600,000 had been expended, of which £819,300 was in the last financial year. This did not include amounts spent for estates purchased for the settlement of soldiers. Taranaki, in fact, was fourth in the list in the amount spent on repatriation by the various land boards in the Dominion. The soldiers who were settled on dairying land in Taranaki were without exception all right, but it had to be admitted that the lot of those who had taken up grazing land was not so fortunate. They could not have struck a worse year. Yet it was his firm conviction that matters would right themselves soon. The men only had to “stick it” this winter and they would come out right, and they could depend upon the help of the Land Board. He acknowledged the help his board had received from the repatrFation committee. especially from the chairman and secretary. SOME STRIKING FIGURES. Mr. A. S. Allen, who has acted as repatriation secretary since the inception uf the scheme, supplied some striking figures concerning the work done by the committee. Over 300 loans had been granted, the amount involved being over £36,500, Of this £16,000 was in respect of businesses, £ll,OOO furniture, £87'50 stock and implements, and £750 tools, and miscellaneous. He particularly emphasised the lowness of the sustenance for unemployed, which was only £23 7s 6<l, transportation accounting* for £7 10s 6d. Over 33 per cent of the loans advanced had already been repaid, which was well up to the Dominion average, whilst 33 Joans had been completely repaid. The amount spent in training ex-soldiers was £4OOO. Seventy men had finished their training, of which 56 had turned out satisfactorily, 14 unsatisfactory, whilst 10 were now in course of training in workshops. The training of the men was no easy matter, as it often involved training a man for commercial pursuits who previously had done nothing else but farming. The correspondence courses uncompleted were 16. The average cost of. training each man was £4O. As showing how diligent and regular members of the committee had been, he mentioned that the meetings Held numbered 43, and the attendance was 93 per cent. He concluded by asking for the co-operation of all employers of labor during the coming winter in regal’d to notifying the department of any openings for men, and by thanking the members, past and present, for the courtesy and consideration always extended to him, and which considerably facilitated his work. EXTENDING THE SCHEME. The chairman (Mr. Weston) said he had had no intention of himself saying anything that day, but he felt he must aclinowledge the tributes that had been paid him and his colleagues by previous speakers for the work done since

been a happy family, and he felt they could show results for their deliberations that would prove of benefit to the men and of advantage to the country. The officers used to say in France that tney could train the men, provide them Fith first-class implements of warfare, and do everything possible to fit them for a fight, but unless the men iiad the character and the backbone they could not ensure victory. Success depended upon the personal equation. This ho felt was the case with repatriation. The New Zealand scheme had been a success because of the men themselves. They had the ability, the character and the courage, and they had good, just as all of those who had been connected with them on the field of war had expected. He was particularly struck by the suggestion made by Mr. 8. G. Smith —and wjych had been before made by members of the board —that the principles of repatriation work should later on be extended to the general community. He certainly would like to sec the money repaid by the soldiers used for such a good purpose. He was sure it would result in building up a better and greater Dominion. Opportunities often came too late in life for many to make the best and fullest use of them. If only they could be helped when they were in the prime of their youth, with life before them, how different it would be! After all, character offered a greater measure of security than titles or anything else, and the work done in repatriation had abundantly demonstrated the fact that New Zealand need never be afraid to bank on the character of its sons. Ke hoped that later on, when finances permitted,, attention would be given to building up the nation in this desirable way. He concluded by wishing Captain Kartell, who is about to leave on a trip to England, ‘bon voyage’ and a safe return. Captain Hartnell, who is the soldiers’ representative on the board, and whose place will be temporarily filled by Mr. Geo. Roper, acknowledged the compliment, and the gathering dispersed.