THE G.F.S. AND THE IMMIGRANT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 78, 2 April 1913, Page 6

THE G.F.S. AND THE IMMIGRANT.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l want to make it clear that I have not spoken on 'behalf of the Y.W.CIA. in reference to the Ministerial proposal to subsidise the Girls' Friendly Society as an immigrants' Ihome for all girl immigrants. The president and secretary of the Y.WXXA. are quite well able to represent that institution without any assistance from mc. I spoke as representing the Baptist Church in the Auckland province. We cannot accept the Girls' Friendly Society hostel as in any sense a suitable or desirable accommodation for Baptist girla ■who are immigrants to this Dominion. The G.F.S. is distinctly an Anglican institution.

There is a serious discrepancy between the statement of the Hon. the Minister for Immigration (the Hon. 'H. D. Bell) and the statements of Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Crossley. The Minister says in his Ministerial statement on the matter: "On December, 1912, I wrote to Mrs. Crossley ... a letter (as (president of G-3<".5.) shortly afterwards ... I stated that I had decided to use the homes of the G.F.S. in each iport as the official places for the reception of girl immigrants, and to grant financial assistance from the public funds to that society for that purpose."

Mrs. Butler says: "The first we knew of the proposal of the Government to use our lodges -was the publication of the Hon. H. D. Bellas communication," and contended that "the G.F.S. had made no covert •arrangements with the Government."

airs. Crossley is reported to have said: "That as far as her society was concerned the Minister had arrived at his decision on his own initiative, and she did not feel disposed to criticise it." What is the truth of the matter? Did the Hon. the Minister approach Mrs. Crossley as president of the G.F.S. by letter on Itecem-ber 9th, 1912, as he states, or did he not? Were the G.F.S. authorities quite in ignorance of the inten&ons erf the Minister! If so, the Hon. the Minister for Immigration hae singled out the G.F.S. for preferential treatment and a State subsidy. Of course, one can easily understand that Mrs. Crossley "does not feel disposed to criticise" 6uch an advantageous (if unfair) arrangement, but that the other denominations will accept such a decision or arrangement is unthinkable. If it is necessary to provide, receiving homes for girl immigrants, then allow any recognised organisation -working in the interests of girls to be acknowledged as such. Girls may then be sent to homes agreeable to their religious convictions. If such an arrangement is made payment ought to toe at a fixed rate per capita, and not by subsidy. Subsidies to religious or qnasi-religious institutions are an abomination. —I am, etc, HOWARD ELLIOTT. (To the Editor.) Sir, —In common with many othere, I was amazed to read that the Hon. H. D. Bell (Minister of Immigration) had decided to use 'the homes of the Girls' Friendly Society in each port as the official places for the reception of girl immigrants, and to give financial assistance to this Society in consideration of such services. In the days of Provincial Government an attempt was made to constitute the Anglican Church, a State Church for the Auckland Province, but the people as a whole refused to entertain the proposal. As a consequence, and because of a similarity of opinion Lhroughont botn Islands, there is no State Church in our Dominion, and in a national sense, all Churches are equal. The action of the Minister in thepresent case is in direct opposition to the established order of things, for it should, be generally known that the Girls' Friendly Society is a purely Anglican organisation, and the decision of the SDnister to recognise it officially, and to give it financial assistance, is a step the gravity of which he has surely not fully realised. The gravity of the decision is emphasised considerably when we realise that the Y.WXLa. (an older Society) is an organisation wholly outside the churches, although it is representative of them all—■ both Anglican and non-Angiican. Yet the Society has been ignored entirely. It is altogether idle to suppose liiat all our girl-immigrants, or even a majority of them, are Anglicans. In their interests —in the interests of the people of the Dominion as a whole —any institution of the kind under discussion receiving official status should be as. representative as possible. One cannot see public money spent in a way that gives an unwarranted importance and status to a particular church, whether Anglican, Methodist, or Congregational, without making an emphatic protest against it. Another matter that immediately suggests itself to our notice as a-result of the coupling together of these two societies in this discussion is whether two so similar societies, each depending co largely on general public support, are a necessity. I admit the terrible pressure of £he need which both these societies are endeavouring t6 meet, but it is a profound pity that there ehotdd be unnecessary multiplication of machinery and organisation in the work. In the interests of economy and effectiveness the public should take the position into consideration.—l am, etc, H. STEELE €RAIK. (To toe Editor.) Sir,—Judging from the lettere which have lately appeared in the columns of your <paper concerning the above Society, I think it probable that the public generally are under the impression that the lodge is intended only for the use of young women and girls belonging to the Anglican Church. Now, tins is not so, and may I, as one ■who ihas boarded at the lodge for the past eighteen months, say that never have I known an applicant refused ad- ■ mission on account of her religious principles. Many young women are being tnrned away, I am sorry to say, but it

is merery for lack of accommodation*.«Bd the object of the present campaign on behalf of the G.F.S. is to collect money enough to enlarge the present inade-* quate premises in Wellesley Street, so that all who wish may find a home within its walls, whether they be our .business girls employed in the city, or the long-looked-f or desirable immigrants who have just arrived on our shores. May the anticipated new home soon become a reality. I may say that, after reading the letter in last Saturday's issue of your paper, I made inquiries amongst my fellow boarders, and fonnd that out of a. total of twenty-nine, thirteen belong to or attend the Church of England, iwhilst the greater number (sixteen) are, like myself, members of various other denominations. I think these figures speak for ttiemselves, and my object in asking you to public them is that all ministers of religion and others interested may know that a safe home at the lodge i 3 provided for yonng -women and.giris irrespective of their creeds. —I am, etc., A BOARDER.