"LEPERS AND HOW TO HELP THEM"

Evening Star, Issue 15539, 8 July 1914, Page 8

"LEPERS AND HOW TO HELP THEM"

In St. Paul’s Schoolroom last evening the Rev. Frank Oldrievc, hon. general secretary for the -South Island branch of the Mission .to Lepers, delivered a very interesting lecture, accompanied by numerous lantern views, on the subject of ‘Lepers and How to Help Them.' The Rev. Archdeacon Gould presided. There was a good attendance, despite the wretched weather conditions. The lecturer at the outset stated that lepers were to be found widely spread in India and the East, and the number alone in India was estimated by the National Leprosy Fund —of which His late_Majesty King Edward VII. was president—at 250,000. Leprosy was the. most terrible disease the world has ever known, and the quotation in the Scriptures regarding it was a very true description. .At the present day some of the lepers of India will be found begging in iho streets, and thus the objects of the mission are to provide shelter and food for these unfortunate people. He referred to the good work done, by Superintendent Wellesley' C. Bailey, and then enumerated the various asylums, homos, and other stations which were being conducted under the supervision of tile mission. Iu describing the terrible beliefs of the Hindus towards lepers, he instanced a case where a hospital for deformed cattle was erected before a building for the care of lepers. In. India they are often turned out of their homos to die, and in some cases lepers are employed at various occupations which aro attendant upon the daily needs of tho people. In China, also, lepers were totally ignored, and as recant as January, 1912, it was stated, on the authority of a missionary, that a mandarin had ordered a number of lepers to bo shot. Tho first thing the mission must give is that hope that we have—the hope that is in Jesus Christ. He dwelt at length on tho different asylums conducted by ibe mission, and described the nature of the work, the kind of food, and also the medical relief which is meted out to the lepers. An important factor, stated the lecturer, was the means of giving education to them, and he mentioned that the success which has attended this department has been very' gratifying. Some of the lepers have been trained so well that they arc now assisting m tho teaching at the asylums. Tho Christian work among tho lepers has also been very successful, and out of the 11,000 inmates of the various asylums conducted by tho mission 40 per cent, have become Christians. A very important phase of the question was next touched upon by tho lecturer. Ho stated that leprosy was contagious but not hereditary. There were over 600 children being cared for by the mission, and who were born of leprous parents, anil were entirely untainted with tho disease. The mission make© a, strong point of getting the children separated from their parents at a very early ago, and thus the child is saved from the disease, and it has been proved that the. latter’s children—the third generation—have also been saved. Regarding the disease amongst Europeans, he stated that one of the asylums contained five Europeans, and mentioned the name of Miss Mary Reed, who, afflicted with the disease, has ’bravely worked amongst lepers for the past 20 vears. He concluded the address by making an appeal for the support, and also the prayei©, of all Christiana for those unfortunate people whose liver, are ones of continuous suffering. At the conclusion of the address tho lecturer and the Rev. Canon Bush-King (who manipulated the lantern) were accorded a heartv vote of thanks. A. "rolledion was taken up before the meeting dispersed to assist the funds of the mission.