FINAL FIGURES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 July 1943, Page 2

FINAL FIGURES

OF THIRD LIBERTY LOAN ANNOUNCED BY PREMIER. SUM OF £39,276,740 RAISED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Final returns for the Third Liberty Loan were given by the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, in an address last night. He said the total amount subscribed was £39,276,740 —a figure which passed the objective of £35,000,000 by no less a sum than £4,276,740. Still more significant of the people’s backing of the loan was the total number of subscribers, namely 431,839. The highest record in any previous New Zealand war loan was 30,000 subscribers, and to exceed that figure by so many hundreds 'of thousands was an achievement which would win admiration for this small country from the whole of the United Nations. The Liberty Flag of Honour, the Freyberg Flag, was won by the Nelson district. “I wish to convey to the people of this Dominion the Government’s warm congratulations and thanks for their splendid response to the latest, and by no means least, call on their patriotism, by heavily over-subscribing the Third Liberty Loan,” said the Prime Minister. “This is another heartening sign that our resolve to put all resources into the task of winning the fight for freedom has not flagged. On the contrary, the fourth year of war finds us more than ever determined to maintain the struggle to a victorious end. "The Third Liberty Loan was truly a people's loan. New Zealanders were set the financial task of contributing to a new loan of a total which would equal £lOO for every home in the country. They did more than that, and achieved a record for the British Empire in the number of individual subscribers to any loan during the present war.” Mr Fraser said that of the 431,839 subscribers the number who took up inscribed stock was 63,501, for the amount of £29,826,600. Bonds were bought by 193,338 people, for £2,134,277. and 15,000 national savings subscribers lent £7,315,863. This magnificent response demonstrated in an unmistakable way New Zealand’s determination to do its utmost toward winning the war. This money was needed to support our men on all the fronts where they were fighting so valiantly. Mr Fraser thanked all who had worked for the loan. He said that to the splendid efforts of all these publicspirited people and organisations the thanks of the Government and the thanks of all the country were due. The women in the services had helped in innumerable ways. It was women almost entirely to whom the credit was due for the sale of bonds.

SEVEN LIBERTY FLAGS. Seven districts which passed their loan objectives were receiving special recognition by becoming entitled to a Liberty Flag, a very handsome trophy which was to be forwarded to the respective district committees under registered post within the next - few days. The following districts qualified for the Liberty Flag in this order: — Nelson District Liberty Flag of Honour Wellington District Liberty Flag No. 2 Blenheim District Liberty Flag No. 3 Invercargill Liberty Flag No. 4 Dunedin District Liberty Flag No. 5 Auckland District Liberty Flag No. 6 Gisborne Liberty Flag No. 7 MASTERTON'S ACHIEVEMENT. Some highly creditable results were achieved, the Premier observed, by local committees whose totals had to be included, and submerged, in the district total. Many of these districts, by obtaining their local quota at an early stage, provided a valuable stimulus to the district as a whole to go ahead and reach the district quota. For instance, Masterton, which was included in the Wellington postal area, raised 39 per cent over its allotted quota, and had the satisfaction of substantially helping the district to win second place in the national competition for the Liberty Flag. The Nelson district exceeded its quota by 22 per cent and the Wellington district by 18 per cent.