THE INDIAN FAMINE BELIEF FUND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5045, 5 April 1878, Page 2

THE INDIAN FAMINE BELIEF FUND.

A meeting of subscribers to the fund was held last evening in the Council Chamber, to determine as to . dealing with the balance remaining in the hands of the treasurer. The meet-' ing was called for 8 o'clock, but as the attendance was very small, those present —who only numbered eight— waited u^til 8.30 p.m., when Mr J. N. Wilaoijfdd voted to the chair, JFThe Chairman said that the meeting, was supposed to be a public one, but evidently the public took no interest in the matter. He did not know that there was any reason to find fault with that, as it was clear, he thought, that the publi*-' were satisfied with the manner the committee had discharged their duties in respect to the fund, and they looked upon it that the balance remaining would be suitably appropriated. He considered that those present, though few, would hot be taking too much upon themselves if they decided upon the mode of v appropriating the balance. The gross amount received was £1488, which would compare very favorably with what was raised in other settlements. The balance now in hand was £60 19s lOd. There were two sums which had been received by the treasurer after, the fund had closed, and had any application been made for them he ' should hive thought it quite right that they*shii)uld have been returned. As, howevery'iio application for their return was. made, it appeared a reasonable deduction to draw that the subscribers would be satisfied with the money being applied as the meeting might deem advisable. The minutes of the committee meeting held oh the 27th ult. were then read and confirmed. ■ Lieut. -Colonel Lambert moved, "That the balance of the Indian Famine Fund now in the hands of the treasurer be divided, with the approval of thiß meeting, as follows : — Two-thirds to the Napier gaol, and one-third to the present hospital, for the purpose of being applied in granting small sums to persons discharged from gaol, or to convalescent patients when discharged from the hospital." He trusted that the meeting would approve the proposal, as the object was really a charitable one. The position of prisoners discftfirged from gaol was frequently very wretched. Every one fell away from them, and it often happened that they were unable to obtain the means of existence. Their position was certainly due to their having been, criminals, but he feared' there were many not similarly circumstanced who were equally criminal, but who escaped punishment through a quibble, or by the stupidity of a jury. In some cases, too, the imprisonment was not on account of any very grave offence. There was a case in point only the other day. A man who had stowed himself away on board a steamer was imprisoned. When that man came out he had no means of getting any- ; thing to eat. The. obvious consequence in such cases was that the men so circumstanced were led to steal. He really thought that something should be done for the relief of such -people, and if a society were formed for the purpose he would be very glad to join it. Mr Tiffen seconded the motion. He had known cases of discharged prisoners who were committed to gaol the next day after their release, • simply because they had no place to put their heads into. Until something was done by the Government for the relief of such persons — which he believed would be proposed next session — he considered the meeting could not do better than devote some of the balance in hand for that purpose. The Chairman said that he cordially supported the proposal. At the meeting of the committee, a resolution had~been passed recommending that the balance in. hand should be paid over to Benevolent Society. But that wiTteerely a recommendation ; it was passed hurriedly, and should give way to the present resolution. The ladies would find little difficulty in raising money for their Society when they required it; but it would take a great deal of enthusiasm to collect any money for these unhappy people. There was no sympathy for them, and though they might be very disagreeable people, still they were, after all, our fellow-creatures. The Government, he believed, intended next session to make some proposal to Parliament on the subject, but at present there were no means of assisting persons discharged from gaol or hospital, except by charitable donations. Mr Fielder asked if the money could not be voted to the Ladies' Benevolent Society, with a suggestion that it should be appropriated as indicated in Colonel Lambert's resolution. The Chairman did not think it was very likely that ladies woald like to see after discharged prisoners. The resolution was then carried without dissent. Lieut. -Colonel Lambert moved, " That the following gentlemen be requested to superintend the grants of small sums to such persons as they may deem deserving, on their discharge from the gaol or the hospital :— Gaol committee — J. Anderson, - Esq., H. S. Tiffen, Esq., and the Governor of the gaol. Hospital — J. Anderson, Esq., J. A. Smith, Esq., and the Master of the hospital." The motion was seconded by Mr Moore, and carried. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings.