HELPING HAND MISSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 254, 27 October 1898, Page 5

HELPING HAND MISSION.

( A.SUCCESSFUL ANNIVERSARY. , The thirteenth anniversarj- of the ; Helping Hand Mission was brought to . a conclusion on Oct. 24 in the Choral . j Hall with a tea and public- meeting. . Tea was served from 5 to 7, no less ; I than 731 sitt.ng down to the good . | things provided by the caterer, Mr ,j W. Parkinson, of Victoria street. The [ tea was served under the superinten- . dence of Mrs Cullen and Sister Ken- ( Beth. When the time arrived- for . commencing the public meeting all parts of the large hail' were crowded, , the gallery being occupied by a choir . of about 400 children from the Mission . Sunday Schools in Union street and Freeman's Bay. „_. strong orchestra with Miss Millie Peak as'leader was l also present, the whole being under , the efficient leadership of Mr j. G. • Culpan. At the back of the gallery L was displayed the Helping Hand M > > sion banner, while suspended from the ; ceilings Avere Scriptural quotations, ; the main one reading, 'A LiA_n.v Christ . for a Dying World? On the platform I Avere seated Rev. W. A. Sinclair . (Superintendent of the Mission), Rev. , J. H. Simmonds, Rev. J. G. Chapman, ) Messrs Caughey, R. French, Sister i Kenneth, and others. Mr C.E. Button 1 presided. . . ' Mr Pacey read the financial state-" l ment of the Mission for the year, shoAving that the expenditure was £506 9/4, and the receipts £477 lfi/10. The deficiency of £2S 12/6 had been subscribed by friends, ana. they started the neAv year Avith a clean sheet. Items of expenditure included £ 10 a year to Erueti ti Ahurangi, the Maori Missionary in the King Country, and £10 to Chinese teachers. These sums, hoAvever, Aver, raised by the children in the. Sunday School and by the Christian Endeavour Society. During the year they have expended in benevolent work the following amounts'.—Groceries, bread, etc., £34 10/6; board and lodging for homeless, £16 16/11; clothing, boots, etc., chiefly for women and children, £1S A'o; firing, £7 16/.); medicine and treatment for the sick, £11 16/5; fares to ' country and sundry items, £6 12/10; assistance to widows, £2; Sunshine Committee, £1 17/6. The following is an extract from the report of the Executive Committee: — It has been our constant effort to relieve distress, assist the unfortunate, comfort the sorroAving, uplift the fallen, and bring men md women to a knowledge of the SaA.our Christ. How far we have succeeded in this it is riot for us to say. We have seen men who Avere .outcasts from society and the slaves of drink reclaimed, and they are noAv clothed and in their right mind. We have seen large numbers turned from lives of sin to lives of purity. Much has been done in. the way of assisting the many cases of need that are ever coming under our notice, but this great question of lioav best to deal Avith poverty becomes e\*ery year more perplexing-. Of this AA-e are convinced, from close observation, that much of the so-called charitable aid tends only to pauperise ancl demoralise, and to rob the recipients of self-respect and that sturdy independence so essential to the true Avellbeing of any people. It has been our encleav-our to help people to help themselves; to secure work for them rather than to give assistance Avhich is only temporary. In no instance is help given until careful inquiries are made and it is found that the case is a deserving oiie. If all charitable aid could be given on similar lines it would be greatly to the benefit of the State.