ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY

Evening Star, Issue 18690, 19 July 1924, Page 9

ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY

DUNEDIN APPEALED TO. A call upon Dunedin and other centres comes from Christchurch —a call that is imperative and authorised. It is from tho Royal Humane Society of Hew Zealand, tho headquarters of which are at Christchurch. The society was formed in Christchurch in 1898. Queen Victoria sanctioned the affixing of “Royal” to the title. The objects of tho society are:— (1) To bestow rewards upon all who promptly risk their own lives to save their fellow-creatures.

(2) To provide assistance, as far as it is in tho power of tho society, in nil cases of apparent death occuniiig in any part of New Zealand and dependencies. (5) To restore the apparently drowned or dead, and to distinguish by rewards all who, through skill and perseverance, are, under Providence, successful.

(4) To collect and circulate information regarding the most approved methods and the best appliances to be used for such purposes.

For tho purpose of carrying out tho first of these objects five classes of awards have been founded—viz., the gold medal, Dio silver medal, tho bronze modal, certificate of merit on vellum or parchment, letter of commendation; also the Stead Gold Medal, awarded only for very conspicuous acts of bravery. The only income is from subscriptions and donations. For many years such an income has been provided by tho people of Christchurch, but as applications for awards come from one cud of tho dominion to the other the directors consider it fair —and so it is—to ask all districts to subscribe. Every giver of ten guineas and upwards in a single donation is made a life member, and the same privilege is bestowed upon every person who collects £2O in any one year; also upon every clergyman who preaches in aid of tho funds and thereby raises a collection of £2O or more. The ordinary membership feo is 10s per annum for men and 5s for women. On an average thirty cases of rescue or attempted rescue from death are dealt with annually by the Court of Directors, and tho annual expenditure for medals, and office expenditure, etc,, is approximately £l5O per annum, Mr A. Juries, a life member, is tho Otago representative of the society, and those persons who see the duty of subscribers can find him at the Supreme Court. The validity of this appeal could be argued in many ways. One view of the matter may suffice for tho present. It is this: that tho Royal Humane Society is, or should be, the care of every class. All are concerned. A banker is as liable to physical danger as a laborer; a nursemaid is as likely as a Dame of the Empire to display heroism in rescue work. For tho purposes of the society all are equal.

There should be no need to stress the appeal. What is really wanted is that everybody who professes a love for humanity should subscribe something regularly—not in a spasm of repentance, but as a fixed contribution in proof of the right to belong to the great brotherhood of mankind.