"SLUMS AND SIN."

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 192, 14 August 1911, Page 6

"SLUMS AND SIN."

Brigadier Cordon addressed a large gathering in the Salvation Array Barracks. Albert-street, yesterday afternoon on the subject of ''Slums of New Zealand Cities."' Mr. Wesley Spragg was in the chair. Miss Cordon dealt exhaustively with tlio e|iiestion of young womanhood. During the course of her remarks she said that ninny young girls in Auckland were living lives of sin nnd shame. There were respectably dressed girls, who had no proper means of employment, walking the streets, and living lives of immorality. In these days young women seemed to think that they.would be demeaning themselves by taking up domestic service, and rather than take this method of fitting themselves to take charge of their own homes they went into occupations which enabled them to go on to the streets at night: this was often the beginning of a .loose life. They met the type of man who had no respect for womanhood, and very soon they drifted into habits of sin. This often meant that boys and girls married, with no knowledge of womanhood or motherhood. To remove the slum areas would be a good thing, but that would not remove the sin. Even in the so-called society circles rrirls who had little to do. drank, cnnibl"(? and led lives of immorality. Then there was the case in which men got linld of very young girls. An instance had come under her notice in which a man had dressed a girl of fifteen like a -woman'Of twenty-one in order to escape the interference of the law. . I n . speaking of the remedy, the Brigadier said that the workers were in a peculiar position, for the girls as a rule lived with their parents so that it was impossible to get control of them. What - W as wanted was ft band of men and women who would go down amongst the unfortunates and help them. In the rescue homes gratifying results were being achieved. There the officers worked wftli the inmates, had their meals witn them, and in every way tried to show them what practical Christianity was.