THE CHARITABLE AID SCANDAL.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9835, 18 September 1897, Page 6

THE CHARITABLE AID SCANDAL.

There is no doubt that the Coroner acted in the public interest in holdin« an inquest on the unfortunate man Frederick Charles White, notwith. standing the fact that a certificate of death had been given in the case. The point whioh wanted to be cleared up was not the actual cause of death, concerning which there was no question, but how it was that a man, feeble and worn out and, as the event showed, within six days of his death, had to be locked up by the police and dealt with as a vagrant before he could find a place where to lay his head. This point, wo insisted in our issue of Thursday last, required investigation, more especially in view of the fact that many thousands of pounds a year are spent in Chriatchuroh in charitable relief. The result of the enquiry before the Coroner showed that there is a serious defect in the Charitable Aid Board's administration. When the. deceased was first taken to Mr. Norris, the Seoretary to the Board, the Armagh street Depot and the Askburfcon Home were both full. The latter, it is obvious, would have been a trifle inconvenient to reach in any case. It also appears that, although theoretically Mr. Norris has power to deal with urgent cases, he had no power to deal with this case without authority either from his Committee or the Chairman. Thus the poor man had to be handed over to the police. Mr. Norris also stated, in reply to the Foreman of the Juvy, that; there was no provision made by the Charitable Aid Board for urgent oases after office hours. Now, this evidence, to our miud, dis« closes a most serious defect in the system, which ought to be remedied at once. It shows that, although we sometimes congratulate ourselves—we are afraid on very dubious grounds— that we have no workhouses in New Zealand, the really destitute person is worse off here than he would be in England, where workhouses exist. For the lusty impostor, who has plenty of persistence and assurance in asking for, and, if neoessary, demanding, outdoor relief the New Zealand system of Charitable Aid is everything that oould be desired. By its friendly assistance the sturdy pauper is enabled to live in a better style than many of his poor but thrifty neighbours, who are too independent to sponge on the rates, and when he condescends, to work the sturdy pauper aforesaid is, of course, in a position to accept lees wages than his thrifty neighbour, and in that way to make him the viotitu of uufair competition. In the case of a man like White, absolutely destitute and unable to work, ready to accept any shelter that can be offered to him, our charitable aid; system is a harder stepmother than the English workhouse. Had ho been in England, Whets need never have slept out, need not have been handed over to the police. He would always have been sure of admission to the workhouse whenever he chose to apply for ifc. If he were well he would have had to perform some work in return; but being as he was weak and ill he would have been sent to the infirmary, and carefully nursed and doctored. It is evident from these considerations that the Charitable Aid Bciard. has been working on a wrong basis. They ought now to understand that it is not their chief business to distribute outdoor relief to a number of pushing people, a very largo percentage of whom are undoubtedly loafers. Their first duty is to see that men and women—aven if they are outcasts —do npfc die in the streets from cold and hunger, with the alternative of being locked up in gaol because there is no other way. of escaping such a fate. The authority of the Secretary to % Board ought to be enlarged so that he has at least as much real power to deal with urgent oases as an English relieving officer or workhouse master. If the Armagh street refuge is full, some other provision ought to be made to receive urgent cases like that of the poor man White. If a man or woman is ready to accept the shelter of the Armagh street Depot or the Samaritan Home, it may be taken for granted >s a rale that they are genuine cases of distrese. If it is found they have relatives who ought to support them, let those relatives be proceeded against If it is found that they are not really in need of charitable aid, no very great harm will have been done in giving them shelter for a night or two while enquiries are being made. At whatever cost a scandal like that which was investigated by the Coroner yesterday must not be allowed to occur again.