ATTENTION REQUIRED.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 380, 21 November 1889, Page 2

ATTENTION REQUIRED.

Those who take upon themselves the performance of the duty of dispensing charitable aid have a task which requires the exercise of an intelligence and knowledge of the good and bad traits of human nature that may not be necessary to the proper performance of other public functions. There must be the closest scrutiny of the applications made, so as to prevent imposture—which unfortunately is not unknown—and at the same time to see that deserving cases are not harshly dealt with. When there is carelessness shown in the dispensation of public funds for charitable aid purposes, the tendency is to encourage a most undesirable state of things in the community. Our local Charitable Aid Board has, all circumstances being considered, fully succeeded in carrying out its duties in a way that commends itself to the ratepayers, but the duties have at times neither been pleasant nor easy ; and upon the Secretary (Mr McKay) there naturally rests a great deal of responsibility in these matters. A case that has occupied the Board’s attention for some time is one to which the attention of the (jublic should certainly be directed. There is a family at Patutahi to whom, after making them an allowance for some time, the Board decided, from information received, to discontinue assistance. It appears that the mother of the children was a Mrs Bray, living in Hawke’s Bay district. The husband died, and a subscription list was opened, a large sum being collected for the widow and children. The woman, however, married again, and is now Mrs Miller. The money was then put in trust for the children. Subsequently Miller left the wife, and the family was for a time a burden on the general community. It is not a pleasant thing to have to say anything about a woman left in such circumstances, but it will be sufficient to say that things were not as they should be, and since the Board declined to grant sustenance, the charity of neigh, bors has had to be availed of to keep the children from starving. The question now arises how can it be possible for these children to be allowed almost to starve, and to go in rags, or to be a burden upon this community, while there is a sum of money held in trust on their account ? A Rev. Mr Syncox, of Hawke's Bay, is understood to be the trustee, and he has shown much solicitude on account of the children, making enquiries as to whether any of them could be put to a trade, and so on, but the last letter from Mr McKay (Secretary of the Board) he had not the courtesy to reply to. It is not only a strange thing that the rev. gentleman should make no reply, but the Board is put in the position that to make use of its funds while the money is known to be available would probably be contrary to the law. The Board of course has no information upon the subject, beyond vague statements made in the Rev. Mr Syncox’s letters, which .give no idea as to the actual amount. If that gentleman has any genuine interest in the welfare of the children now is the time when he should attend to them, and see that they are properly cared for. In the first place it is not right to make the family t a burden upon this community, and for the sake of the children it is the duty of those who have funds in hand for their benefit to attend to the matter at once. In the hope that we shall* soon hear of some action being taken, we will refrain from making more pointed comment, as should be sorry to do Mr Syncox an injustice, because he may not fully understand how urgent it is that he should take action in the matter.