PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14047, 19 May 1911, Page 9

PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

THE WOKK OF THE SOCIETY. Tho Society for tlic Protection of Women and Children has now been in existence a little over three years. During its short life it lias done good work in the direction of helping and protecting deserted ' and iil-trcatcd wives and destitute children, and in various other ways. In an interview with a "Press ,, representative, Mrs M. H. Lissamau, inspector and secretary to tho •society, remarked that whenever a wife is . deserted or compelled to leave her husband, there is always poverty, and the .Society is constantly receiving applications for help in the way of food, clothiug, firing, and furniture. She urges that what is wanted is an alteration of the law, which at tho present time allows a husband to sell the house and furniture over his wife's head and turn her out without anything. The Society has had a largo number of eases of this kind to deal with, and not a ..eek passes without a fresh case being reported. When a husband and wife quarrel, the husband can pack his belongings into a portmanteau and go away, but his wife cannot do that, ns happens in most cases, she is loft with several children to provide for. Then, naturally, tho mother and her little ones drift to the Charitable Aid Board, i who give her what is technically known as a "dole," enough to keep body and soul together, which, however much they may desiro to do, is all they can venture on if they are to show consideration for the ratepayers' pockets. Mrs Lissaman holds that the Government should prohibit ft man from leaving tho country without making adequate provision for the support of his | wife and family. She says sho has had quite a number of cases where the J woman knew her husband was going to sell tho house over her head, bin; .was powerless to prevent it. Sho urges that in such a case a womaiV ought to bo able to go to the polico and lay the facts before them with a view to having the husband prevented from carrying out his intention. Tho woman who has no children can, of course, shift for herself if tho worst comes to the worst, provided she hns : health, but the unfortunate mother left with small children is in a different j position. Mrs Lissaman says she thinks desertions are on the increase, nnd sho holds that the facilities existing for husbands to desert their wives aro to blame, A case she quoted'—but not as a typical one—is that of a woman whoso husband brought another woman to> the house and installed the interloper in the place of his wife, who was degraded to the position of the intruder's servant. Mrs Lissaman says tho poor woman declared she had been made so tired and miserable through what she had to put up with from her j worthless husband that she was glad to agree to submit even to this last insult. Of all-tho cases the Society deals ] with those that cause the workers for j the iSdcifity the keenest sorrow arc the ! neglected and orphan children and in-! fants. Mrs Lissaman soys that many j of the infants that are hoarded out are exploited by being half-starred, this form of exploitation being tho only one ' available, since their yontliFnlness' pre- j chides the possibility of making; any-' thing by getting them to work. A typiesil case is that of a bab> h>v which, a little while ago, a homo wna j wanted. The husband of the woman I it was placed with was able to earn very little, antl that wns why the woman took the child. She * knew nothing about rearing children, nnd tho conditions prevailing were such that nfter a fortnight the child was removed. A State home for such friendless infants would be a solution of tho difficulty.