H.—22.

War Funds. The number of active war funds remains the same as last year —viz., fifty-seven —and the latest returns from societies show the total balances as follow :— £ s. d. Twenty-eight incorporated societies .. .. .. .. 576,844 7 7 Seven Red Cross Organizations .. .. .. .. 108,622 7 9 Three Blind Soldiers and Veterans Homes Funds .. .. 76,704 5 2 Twelve incorporated societies .. .. .. .. 2,979 12 1 One Navy League Fund .. .. .. .. 4,603 12 9 One Social Fund .. .. .. .. 1,752 16 8 Five Returned Soldiers' Clubs .. .. .. .. 18,441 6 6 789,948 8 6 National War Funds Council .. .. .. .. 149,273 3 4 £939,221 11 10 It is explained that a substantial percentage of the total is represented by funds for special trusts and by loans to soldiers. Totalizator Inspection. The policy of governmental inspection of totalizators, inaugurated during 1918, has continued, and a representative has been present on every occasion on which a totalizator was used throughout the year under review. The innovation of the " Win and Place " system of investment, whereby two separate pools are registered, has been an unqualified success and has worked smoothly, although some clubs have found their accommodation taxed to provide the increased facilities required. Its adoption by practically all clubs seems assured, and doubtless more permanent arrangements will be decided upon for the future. This new system, together with the sale of ss. tickets by a number of clubs, has contributed to a material addition of the duties of inspection. For various reasons the full number of totalizator licenses allocated to racing and trotting clubs has not been availed of, but these spare licenses have been applied for by other clubs desirous of holding additional meetings, and it is anticipated that the full number of licenses for use on 320 days, which is the annual maximum prescribed by statute, will actually be utilized. Raffles. Four hundred and seven licenses were issued under the authority of section 42 of the Gaming Act, 1908. Of these, 375 were for the disposal of works of art, 26 for small quantities of alluvial gold, and 6 for alluvial gold each of the value of £4,000. The following table discloses the financial results of the six large alluvial-gold raffles. The aggregate net profit amounted to £73,624 lis. 5d., and the lottery duty of 10 per cent, of the gross sales imposed under the Stamp Duties Amendment Act, 1931, totalled £15,478 18s. 9d.

It was decided to set aside an amount of £10,000 from each of the large alluvial-gold raffles conducted during the winter months of 1933 for the relief of distress throughout the Dominion, and the first such allocation was made from Art Union No. 22 (" Great Easter "). In the distribution of this sum the registrations of unemployment were taken as an index of the measure of distress existing in each locality, and, although the £10,000 was apportioned on this basis, the allocation was stipulated to be for the relief of distress generally and not merely for that arising out of unemployment. The Mayors' or other officially recognized relief funds in 154 centres benefited from license No. 22. Apart from the amount provided for the relief of distress, eighty-two organizations, covering a variety of activities, participated in sums of not less than £100 from the proceeds of raffles Nos. 17 to 22. Fire Brigades Act. The Boroughs of Mount Eden, Mount Albert, and Mosgiel were declared to be fire districts under the Act. The two former districts were subsequently included under the Auckland Metropolitan Fire District, which now comprises the Fire Districts of Auckland City, Onehunga, Newmarket, Mount Eden, Mount Albert, and Mount Roskill, and the local-authority districts of Ellerslie, One Tree Hill, and Mount Wellington. The number of Boards operating in New Zealand is now fifty-three. Legislation was enacted amending the Fire Brigades Act in several important directions, but mainly to secure unity of fire-brigade control in the Auckland Metropolitan area. Provision was also made for the biennial elections to be held in May instead of February ; Boards are required to submit their estimates for approval in April after the close of the financial year, and the statutory annual meeting is to be held in May. The procedure for the formation of united fire districts was also simplified in several respects.

2—H. 22.

9

License No. and Name. Gross Sales. °°n Sales™ Expenses. Prizes. Net Proceeds. Lottery Duty. Net Profit. £ 8. d. £ s. d. ! £ s. d. £ £ 8. d. £ 8. d. £ s. d. 17. Another Black Cat .. 28,967 10 0 4,345 2 6 3,638 12 4 4,000 16,983 15 2 2,896 15 0 14,087 0 2 18. .. 23,484 12 6 3,522 13 10| 3,047 6 8 4,000 12,914 11 Hi 2,348 9 3 10,566 2 8i 19. My Lucky Day .. 28,522 15 0 4,278 8 3 3,106 15 5 4,000 17,137 11 4 2,852 5 6 14,285 5 10 20. Merry Xmas .. .. 23,198 0 0 3,479 14 0 2,81117 6 4,000 | 12,906 8 6 2,319 16 0 10,586 12 6 21. My Lucky Year .. 26,825 2 6 4,023 15 4J 2,986 11 0 4,000 15,814 16 li 2,682 10 3 13,132 5 10£ 22. Great Easter .. .. 23,791 7 6 3,568 14 1J 2,876 6 3 4,000 13,346 7 1J 2,379 2 9 10,967 4 4J