AUCKLAND WOMEN'S HOME. TO THE EDITOR.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4402, 4 October 1871, Page 5

AUCKLAND WOMEN'S HOME. TO THE EDITOR.

;DeJJb. Sir, piki .Refuge in 1 Parnell ofwhich'Mr. Dacfley wrote ,wu the one 1 I, had- in my mind when ' pleading for the £100. I thkkHhat -• it ■ should 1 i be .started on,* Broad bails,; ' that like ThV Ladies' Benevdlent Sooiety thore should be ladles from the various religions denomina-, tiotiaoa the committee ; that also gentlemen/ both lay and .clerical^ should be, invited to assist'us. I fancy it would be better to have, the Home * good distance tromtowri. There are two blocks of buildings in the country, either of which would do srilendldlyforon'r,' purpose. I allnde to the buildings once used ' ;m Si. John's College, 'and '.the- old Mission- 1 station at . Kolrimaraina. ;' Both are'cotrimo- ' dioaa,^ bofch a long distance town, and ' jboth very far from any public-house. \ The* [Reformatory at Redhill, near Reigate, England, baa no' further defences' than' these. ' It ■is far from town and far from the public^ jhouse. * I do c riot think that very young girft ought to go to gaol at all • 'they ought to [go at once to the Reforniatory. v Tner'4 ought 'to 1 bt a'.conyeyance and agent from the ' •* Hoifce^ 'every nwrning at the Police CouVfc land' the young creatures ought tid be-' en-' trusted to the committee for two or three years, instead of two or three months. Old offenders from the Gaol might be taken 'into' quite another department of the Institution if they desired it, and promised reformation. There is quite enough room at St. John's to allow of such classification, -and tht "Home" could be made almost self-supporting if washing and sewing were taken in. After a certain time, situations, as household servants, might be found; for the, women and the girls at th* expiration of their sentences would, it is fervently hoped,, be improved and fitted for' becoming uaefuFmembers of society, instead of rapidly deteriorating as they invariably do noW. Though I have not liked soiling my fpen with the sad topic of the male depravity that stalks unchecked, and is the chief enemy the friends of the fallen have to deal with, I am grateful to "Woman" for what she has written, and I feel that we mutt dip our pens in the sad social mire if we want to reach the root of this awful ' evil. It seems to me frightful that the .unfortunate girls are pnnished Whilst those ' who make them what they ate walk troblushingly in the light of day. Such men are amongst those who dread the raising of woman to a share in making the , laws 'j and they surely dcead -with reason, for such, cruel, such shameful injustice would not long be permitted if women had any real power to protect their sex. At present they .are chained, but they are ready te go to the length of their chain, and try to undo the sad work that man has done. It is very hard work ; for, as I said in a former letter, without money we have to try and prove successful rivals to bad men with plenty. For my part, I feel far more horror at the tempters than I do at tha poor tempted, fallen creatures. I am ready to go in and out amdngst them aa a sister and * friend, but bofore I wrote one word I went and judged for myself, and obtained all the information I could, and I am quite sure we ,oan do no real good unless we can separate these girls from their partners in sitt, or force the men to share the punishments, which would be if the world were only" half as Christian as it professes to be. Sending vagrants to gaol, as is now the law, is really doing very much more harm than good. The women have congenial company, sufficient food, not too much work, and many of them would rather be there than. not. I believe they just go the round—gaol, a drunken frolic, lock-up, and gaol again. They are permanent depraved pensioners on Government, and then they get ill from dissipation, and drift into the hospital, and, at last, cud in the ltefuge. These people never dream of keepin? themselves : they are a regular social ulcer, a permanent charge on tho State. And how did it all begin ? A depraved mother or a bad man led them from the paths of virtue, or they fell victims to the love of strong driuk. Those who have been to the Gaol and seen the young creatures there cannot but feel sorry. Those who see clever needlowomen and capable domestic servants able to make a respectable living, who yet outside the gaol door are known only ns rogues and vagabonds, oan feel nothing but horror and the deepest pity. And one aal sight there is that should at once be done away with — little children of two or throe years old locked up with their mothers* It may be .■ necessary that babies should be there, bat surely children past babyhood should have some other place to go to. Women who drag their children in one ceaseless round through scenes of drunkenness, the lock-up, and the Gaol should have them taken from their 1 immediate caro, and placed in the Homo for Destitute Children. This ought to be done at once, for the sake of the poor children who are growing up surrounded by criminal influences, to become, in their turn, a criminal class. I hope you will forgive me for .taking up so much of your space. I have a little leisure just now, and I have acceded to the wish of several friends that I would use this leisure in seeing into this matter, so that I may, bo able to use my pen and influeuce in behalf of the fallen. — Yours, &c, Mary A. Colclough.