H.—22

Officers and crews of Allied vessels were on several occasions received and extended hospitality. Functions were also held to celebrate the liberation of Paris, the liberation of Brussels, and the entry of the Allied Forces into the Netherlands. Arrangements for the funeral of Mrs. Janet Fraser, wife of the Prime Minister, were also made by this Section. The activities of this Section have been maintained at a high level on account of the number of functions held and the visits of notable people connected with the war effort. XIV. RAFFLES AND ART UNIONS Two hundred and forty-seven licenses under the authority of section 42 of the Gaming Act, 1908, were issued, and of these 142 were for works of art, 92 for small amounts of alluvial gold, and 13 for alluvial gold to the value of £5,000 each. The following table sets out the aggregate result of the £5,000 gold art unions : £ s. d. Gross sales .. .. .. .. .. .. 273 ,802 15 0 Commission on sales .. .. .. .. .. 41,070 8 3 Expenses .. .. .. .. .. .. 33,715 211 Prizes .. .. .. .. .. .. 65,000 0 0 Net proceeds .. .. .. .. .. 134,017 3 10 m Lottery duty .. .. .. .. .. 27,380 5 6 Net profit .. .. .. .. .. .. 106,636 18 4 Of the net profit, £37,642 was distributed to the various Mayoral and other recognized central funds for the relief of distress, £21,190 to charitable and philanthropic organizations, £19,024 3s. to patriotic funds, and £10,718 17s. 6d. to children's health camps, a total of £88,575 os. 6d. XV. PASSPORTS AND EXIT PERMITS New passports totalling 1,322 were issued, and 224 renewals were granted in cases where the traveller was already in possession of a passport. Owing to the very limited shipping facilities available, the issue of exit permits under the provisions of the Oversea Passengers Emergency Regulations 1939 was restricted to persons travelling on essential business or for highly compassionate reasons. XVI. CHANGE OF NAME Applications were dealt with as follows (last year's figures in parentheses) : approved, 109 (68); declined, 6 (1). XVII. NATURALIZATION A number of applications for naturalization from persons who had served or were serving in the Armed Forces were under consideration, and fifteen certificates were issued. One person renounced British nationality by making a declaration of alienage. Seventeen British-born wives of aliens made declarations to retain in New Zealand the rights of a British subject. In addition, three wives of naturalized aliens exercised their option of making declarations of desire to acquire British nationality. XVIII. RACING For the current racing year ending on 31st July, 1945, the allocation of totalizator licenses was restricted to 127 days for racing and hunt clubs and 45 days for trotting clubs for ordinary meetings. Ten additional totalizator licenses, 5 for racing clubs and 5 for trotting clubs were released, the profits for such meetings to be devoted to patriotic funds. Particulars of totalizator investments and taxation are published in the Monthly Abstract of Statistics. XIX. WAR FUNDS, 1914-18 The latest statements received from patriotic organizations registered under the War Funds Act, 1915, are summarized in the following table, in which is included for comparison the appropriate figures as recorded at 31st March, 1940 :—

This shows a net decrease of funds of £156,946 18s. 3d., or an average annual expenditure of £31,389 7s. Bd. over the five-year period.

10

1945. 1940. Class of Society. No. Balance of Funds. No. Balance of Funds. £ S. d. £ s. d. Incorporated societies .. .. .. .. 25 273,566 2 9 26 400,296 5 6 Red Cross organizations .. .. .. 7 43,959 15 11 7 85,837 3 10 Blind Soldier and Veterans'Homes Funds .. 2 70,403 1 1 2 60,465 13 10 Unincorporated societies .. .. .. 11 6,943 13 0 11 5,746 9 9 Returned soldiers' clubs .. .. .. .. 6 22,205 18 7 6 23,811 3 6 National War Funds Council .. .. .. 1 86,392 2 10 1 84,260 16 0 Totals .. .. .. .52 503,470 14 2 53 660,417 12 5