CHARITABLE AID.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 202, 20 May 1908, Page 9

CHARITABLE AID.

. At. tho.- beginning- of;, the .-' year, when drought and bush' tires were, in evidence, • it was anticipated that'tho bill for charitable aid would be : considerably above the normal standard, andj/bearing this in inind, : : tho Benevolent Institution of Wellington decided .not to reduce the amount, of tho an-nual;\gi-ant' - to' .be': applied for.-:.. Now,' however', it_ ! .; appears.- that' 'the demands made on tho will- not -be so,, heavy; as •was thought;, 'According to a return presoiited .to the secretary at'yesterday's- meeting of the trustees, the month of April,. 1908, 1 has been the lightest as regards out- , door, relief that- has been '-'experienced for three-years. ,-- The return shows that during the' month there. were-, granted .3571 rations ■'of -'a/value-, of £52 ss. .-1d.,, and'-rent allowances :amounting ; to . £45 105.,. as compared , with 4343 rations valued at £75 45.. 2d., and rent amounting, to £55 Bs. 5d., for April of 1907. . The .'numberv of persons to whom relief was-'granted was 04, made up of 43 woinenj 7: hien, and 14 married couples. .-'Another record; prepared for the Government and laid .ou the table yesterday, classified, the cases to'which relief ivas granted. For'-the ,year ending .March 31, 1908, 4112 'applications for. relief were dealt'with. Of these 208 'wero granted ' relief in various institutions, and 234 received outdoor Continuous outdoor relief was granted to 37, intermittent outdoor relief ,to 109, while tho remaining 38, cases .wore cither sent to work in some other parti of, the . country or aided ' 'teinporarilyr The causes which -'operated.-.to bring the- applicants to seek relief were ohown ~in another table,. Of tho 234. cases considered,; 45 wcro. the, result of ; lack :of employment, .53 of sickness, 17 of intemperance, 28. of the. desertion, - imprisonment., \ or'insanity of-the breadwinner, and 20 of old ago. Relief was granted in 41 cases of women having no ' male-supporter, and 28 '■ other cases, were tabulated as the result of shiftlcßsness or ; physical defects or as un ; determined-