CHARITABLE AID.
•Sir,—lir, your issue- of-to-day .is_.a ..sublea.d.er'on the'.above subject, in which it'appears that outdoor-.rolief : is alarmingly ■oh the increase. And you-go on to say: "It w.ould naturally bo. supposed that' this cast of charitable, aid .-in. New: Zealand would have been fiteadily diminishing as one prosperous year'succeeded, another," and you. attribute this state'of'affairs to "laxness of administration and " too ready"' inclinations of" dis'-* pensing bodies to. distribute", relief .whore it Hs not deserved.". Now,; sir, hns it never occurred ,tii' youthn't the rack-renting landlords have something to do -with' this' widespread poverty "and'destitution? . Let me illustrate hi'cts. ,■•■•Men'-'with '■ wives-, and families' of six: or'seven to support have to. pay house rent-as high; as' fifteen, twenty, .and .two-nty-fipe' shillings ,' a' week, and they "earn, say, ninoshilluigsa. day. After paying this-pxor-bitant'-rentj 'and tW.butchnr,baleer, grocer, drapeT, and. a hundred other lit-tln things, w.ould any -man or.wbmaU ;of conf.cience believe, W assert,'that .they would bf able to put- anything away -for ■ the proverbial -" rainy day." I say 'they-certainly cannot. . ; Theji,;sirf it; is a common-occurrence that some' " member, of" hif houseHold: falls ill,- perhaps . it .is • the father; ho cannot afford' to pay a'■ doctor, off to'.the hospital he murt' go." He becomes a brirdehltheri, and in the meantime, Kow are the wife; and • family to live ? The landlords have taken that which ought to go to support these ' rinfortiinate' people, who are generally lqpkofl'■ upon as. improvident,\while our humane .Government calmly looks on 'at this state of affairs, and, : alas! the Press seem' troubled to discover a true cause. No, sir, if there (Were l a thousand , prosperous years to come in-!succefision,-so long as these rackrenting landlords have a free hand in fixing their exorbitant, rents, so long ..will- poverty and destitution continue'to exist. Let'.the, Government step .in and 'fix a fair maximum rent, .'same; as between' employer and pmployee,. and'l would implore-youfto.use your .pbwerfnl influence with the people ■ between no«".;and the next election; to-shut down for all time-hotels, and I venture.to say charitable aid will be almost a thing of the past. Thanking .you in -anticipation, 'yours,, etc.,' *;' :December 23,1907.- V P. D. : .
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19071227.2.10.1
Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 79, 27 December 1907, Page 3
Word Count
351CHARITABLE AID. Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 79, 27 December 1907, Page 3
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.