C
63849
REC
Gov 43736
196
been informed that junior officers after peting tege 288 bills, which are kept as low as possible, are left with only a few dollars a month for all their other expenses with the result that many of them are getting into debt. In the case of the men I am informed that there are married men who, after
the necessary deductions have been made from their pay, are left with under one dollar a week on which to provide for the usual extras in the way of food, the cleaning of their accoutrements, and any private expenditure. What the public in the Colony feels so strongly is that the men now serving
in the army have in many cases given up good situations and
prospects to do their duty in the war, and should not be
reduced by the more accident of exchange to a state of penury which forces them to go short of food. One case I have before
me of a man in the Royal Garrison Artillery, who was a post-
master in his town in England with a shop. After deductions
had been made for his family at home, he received during the
month of October the sum of 3.74, and in one week only 73
cents. I think you will agree with me that the position has
not been exaggerated by the Unofficial Members in being
described as desperate.
4.
Though of course any direct charitable help is out of the question, and would be rightly resented, it has been possible to alleviate the position of both officers and men in certain respects. For example the trustees of the Matilda Hospital have received into the Maternity Ward the wives of several officers, while other cases have been treated in the general wards. Also as I indicated in my telegram of the 1st September the wives and families of Non-Commissioned Officers and men are with the approval of the General Officer Commanding receiving monthly allowances, amounting in some cases to $20, from the War Charities Fund. These allowances
amount to about 1800 a month and are made by means of orders
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