"STOP GIVING!"

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1181, 17 July 1911, Page 8

"STOP GIVING!"

HEPPLE FUND MEETING. MR. J. W. READE TELLS A STORY. 'Die big Town Hall was not half-filled last evening, when Mr. •!. W. Ucik'.c, honorary secretary to the Hopple Fund, practically gave an acrriini of his stewardship ami incidentally outlined a scheme which he hopes will be taken up for the purpose of aiding helpless widows and children in Wellington. From 7.30 to $.30 p.m. Mr. licado entertained the audience, with selections on the MogiKiphone—a huge phonograph—which were listened to attentively.

Mr. He-.ttlo called on the audience lo nominate somebody to represent the AVeilington citizens on the Hepplo Fund Committee. There being no response, Mr. Reade. himself nominated Mr. .T. Ci. W. Ait ken. and put his nomination in the form of a motion, which was carried with acclamation.'

"I think it only fair to you to tell you how easy it is for a. man to get into trouble."' said Mr. Reade. "Somo years ago Mr. Hopple came, to the Hntt, and set up in a little shop near the station. Everyone found him a straight and honest man in all his dealings, and one man set himself out to 'have' him, and he had him beautifully. He represented'that he had a number of sections of land which he. was, about to sell, which, ■ ho said, would bring from ,£7O to .£BO each easily. Some time after this he called en Hopple, and said that he had sold ono of tne sections, and showed him the chorine he had got for it. He next asked Hopple ii he would be good enough to introduce him to some of the firms in Wellington which he (Hopple) dealt with, and Hopple, only too glad to do a man a good turn,'said he would go into town with him anil introduce him personally. He. did so. When they were at one ot Hie places, the man asked him to cash the cheque for him, saying that he was not very well known. Hopple presented the cheque for goods the .man had ordered, and returned him the JE-10 or .MO ohange. The' man cleared out, and it was lomut that the cheque was a forgery. The arm in question came on Hepple. 1 hey said thev did not know the man, but knew him (Hepple). and so cashed the cheque. Hepple had to pay! Facing his trouble like a man he set to work to pay oft the debt, and from that time up till the day he was drowned never got out of trouble. "Some time ago the Hepple boys bought a boat. It was the first time they spent inenev without their parents' knowledge, and, after a talk over it, Mr. Hepple. told them to make the most of it. It was decided that thev would go out fishing on Coronation Day. It was a very strange thing, but the evening before, when they were all sitting round (he tabic, one of the younger lioys, quite a litUe chap, had said: 'Can you swim, dad?' 'Oh, yes,' said Mr. Hepple, 'and the deeper it is the better!'

"Again, before they left the next morning, Mr. Hennle said, laughingly, to the boy: 'If I come back drowned, Willie, von won't cry, will your' And the little chap said: 'No, father, I won't cry!' He camo back drowned. They found the corpse on the beach yesterday. "On hearing of the trouble, and seeing the widow ill and helpless, I felt that something must be done. I consulted people heTC and there, and at last decidsd that we might be able to raise .£2lO. It was thought that the women might raise .£IOO and the men Xl5O. That was without thinking of Wellington coming in at all. Then the thing grew and grew, and we conceived the idea of raising ,£2OOO, which, invested at 5 per cent., would give Mrs. Hepple .-K a week for life without touching the capital. I suggested a circular. Then trouble came. Same said: 'Don't jrivo it all to the woman.' and others took objection to her being given sole control of the money. So I went round and saw Mrs. Hepple, who said that she would only want assistance until her children • wero able to help themselves. 'I want the children ti work—l want them to work for themselves!' Then there camo a . connfermovement—people said don't givo tho money to this or that society—give it all to the woman!"

Mr. Reade then assured tho audience that the total amount, judiciously invested, would yield an incomo to Mrs. Hepple of <£2 a week, and followed it up bv reading a list showing that the total'had reached J31770 6s. Id. Mr. Reado said that there was still money to come from the Exhibition and several lists which were still out. The sum of ,£!) was taken'at the Town Hall last evening, but if they had to pay for the lull there would bo a small deficit. "[ want to say this about Mr. C. Smith—that you ladies'ought to give him your patronage. When it was represented to him that Mrs. Hepple owed him ,£7O, he said at once: 'Strike it off!' Now, that did not mean the .£"0 only. There was the stock that it represented, same of which is in "the shop' to-day. With this lo work on, and other things, it may be possible to realise not S:2 but <£3 a week for Mrs. Hepple, and if that is too much sho could nut asido 10s. a week, which would, at (he expiration of fifteen years, given her a nice littlo sum of JMCO. "I want to say something yon have never heard before," said Mr. Reade. "I cry out to-night for you to stop giving. We don't want another penny. You have never heard that before, even from a clergyman! Stop giving—you have given too much already! This has been a. great work, and I say here, to-night, tint 1 have been waiting for something like this to turn up, as I want to consecrate my life to it. and I mean to, God helping me! (Applause.)

"How do we know when ono of your wives might be l-?ft helpless to faeo" the world? If there are such to whom tho idea of forming a fund to make provision for genuinely helpless women and children, I ask you to come to me. Why, I know of ono woman, iu Wellington, who has had to struggle for herself for nineteen years, and at the same time, care for an imbecile son, who has grown from childhood to manhood under her care, and who lias worked and worked until she can work no more. There has been only one man who has given her any help. Who do you think it is? It's the blind man who plnys the organ in the street. He himself has no right to be iu that: position. He is there because in his sightless helplessness he has been robbed.' Yet he liad time to spare to sit by the poor lad for a few minutes a. day whilst; the woman had a rest, and did her little bit of shopping.. That woman lias to pay XI 7s, a month for. special medicine for her boy." Mr. Roade went on to say that ho would probably call a meeting in the Town Hall for next .Sunday evening, to form a sort of branch of tho Sunshine Brigade, ton help such poor creatures. It. would not be for women only, but to assist helpless children, and if there were no helpless women and children, there were fomc in tho Old Country, where for a small sum "iOO street arabs from tho slums could be taken into the country for a day. T'll never forget seeing 50(1 children from the slums of Birmingham being taken out for the day. Plenty of them had never seen crass growing before—what a. sight it was to see their happv, wondering faces." Finally, Mr. Roade gave, away half-a-dozen copies of Waymouth's Xsw Testament (the Testament in modern language), which he said were worth .CIOOO a ropy.

Mr. J. W. Roade, lion, secretary for tho Hepple Fund, had received the following additional subscriptions up to 1 p.m. on Saturday.— llutt District High School, .CO Is.; A. T. Lee. ,tl Is.; T. H. Wilson, Jit Is.; T. A. Pclerkin. £\ Is.: -Mr. Carney, 2s. Cd.; Mr. Stew. 2s. lid.: C. Tearce, 2s. Gd.; Xgahauraaga Works. Gs.; Mr. Shearer. .El Is.; .Tolm Cudby, Xi Is.; .1. B. Smith, .£.'); Mr. Iteggio, :Is.; E. J. Summers, ,EI ; Girls' College (Wellington), .CO Ms, Up till 1.30 p.m. on Saturday the "Evening Post" fund had reached XGSO 17s. 10il. A special collection for the Hepple children made at the Hotel Windsor resulted in the sum of ,1:11 13s. being collected.