PRESENT DAY PHILANTHROPY

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10629, 7 June 1897, Page 4

PRESENT DAY PHILANTHROPY

(BY " MOHOAU.")

The Apostle Paul la hie writings would give us to understand that ttie three crowning virtues to which It 1b possible for humanity to attain are lalth, hope, and charity. At the flame time he lays speolal utteßß on the fact that " the greateat of these Is Charity." Thlß quality Is well marked In colonial as a glande at the nnmerons and varied displays of philanthropic effort will show. So mnoh Is this the oase that the readiness with whioh colonials fly to the Resistance of their distressed brethren has beoorni proverbial. That there has been mnob i oope for the exercise nf this virtae is Very true, and It la eqaally true that the fie'd Is constantly widening. Never, In far I', at any time in colonial biatory has there been snoh a steady drain npon popular sympathy as at present, and never baa the variety of oalls been ao great. A- one time by an accident of natnre (If the expression be admissible) a whole dLitrlob will be plunged in an instant into the direst distress ) on another oecaf'on a township In a strogg ing district) will be nlrcost completely swept away by fire. Then again one Is confronted by a It. t for the assistance of souae poor fellow wh j has been rendered by some accident or other unable to work and provida for bia own wants and the wants of those near and dear to him. In another direction tbe pnblio are aaked to assist a man to replace property of which be has been depiivod by one or other of those elements which, restrained within due limits, are inoa admirable Servants, but which, unrestricted ia their sway, prove such t(v dblo masters. And so at every tntn almnst a williog pablio la Piilstl upon to contribute to some Want or another ! Well thai it Is no, doss someone retnftrk? Wo!l 5 yes and no.

Tbe advantages of snoh a system are numerous and inuat be patent to all, bnt that this ovßtem Is open to abuse a d la accompanied by (under certain condition!)) a great number of disadvantage a is equally plaint i'or inntaQCe, it 1b very comfortii;^ for a person suddenly overtaken by misfortune to know that a sympathetic pnbllo will BSBiati him oat of his difficulty. And in CQ3GB of distress spread orer a wldo area and peculiar to a particular dlstrlot or neighborhood, not only Is it praiseworthy to render nsßlstance, bit in a sense it Is only jbha duty of man to man. The IncrsiMid or private onbtciiptioas 1b trnly enormous, and at the same time is becoming somewhat elarmiog. This development is very suggestive of one or two fantfl. Thrift appears to bo goln^ out of fashion, and pablio generosity, Indirectly It mußt be admitted, Is becoming responsible for the establishment of a Soolalsm of tho worst type— one which oanses people to expect everything to ba done for them t wlthont any effort whatever on their part. The direct rrend ot this kind of thing la to sap all rlght-feellng of manly independence and sslE-relianoe. With this lncreane another danger looms ahead, It is said that no matter bow good a horse one has it oan be overworked, and this saying applies to this oase nnder notice. So numerous have subscriptions become and so indiscriminate in their natnre that it Is common to hear those who have formerly been noted for their op6n heartedoesß complaining that they might as well always have their hand in their pooketß, \i they are to meet every call made upon them. Thl» polnti very plainly to one faot, that the field is being overwoiked, end that the great fountain head in vhioh all theie well meant philanthropic efforts take their rlee— popular charity— ls belne dried np. The dangers arising from this are obvious, It will result badly for the private efforts themselves, nnd will, which Is even moro to be regretted, huve a most evil effect on those worthy efforts for the assistance of whole districts whose need has been occasioned by oiroamstanoea either wholly or almost entirely beyond the control of people rending therein. These private Instances it will, perhaps, be argned are also oaseß of very great need. That I will not attempt to deny, but without desire or intention to rcilaot on any partionlar oases I think I am right In Baying that the inoreaee in their number is la a largo measure dae to the growing Improvidence of a large section of the oommnnlty, and the bappy-go-iucky manner in which a great number in tbe colonies go through life. It lo well known that a great number of young men subsist in a terribly hand-to-mouth style, their motto evidently being " Let us enjoy the pre« sent ; tho future will surely be provided for." This present enjoyment is In all ways moßt questionable, and it must be noticed that no man has a right to expect future provision who will not exert him* ise)f to secure that provision. This 1b a principle of Holy Writ, and one which, theoretically at any rate, Is accepted by the majority of folk. This regrettable feature of a number of oolonlain— altboagh 16 mnst be underxtood that this must by no menna be taken as a reflection on colonials generally— is aggravated by the fact that many becoming completely captivated by the charms of a young lady of their acquaintance do not hesitate to plunge into the responsibilities of married life lo thn same happy-go-lucky way. How thla woik=i ont o<d be readily eeen by your readers, nnd while admitting that the need Is great yjonr retdera most agree that the prinolple of dolcg things is radically wrong. A romedy for thle in the Internals of all parties concerned Is most urgently required. How shall it be effected? In tbe first place by every man setting himself to work to piece himself In a comfortable position, so that in the event of being overtaken by misfortune, either in the shape of ill-luck or bard times, he and those dependent on him will be bsyond the need of charity, It may be said that this Is a big order, ai some people through the fanlt of their forefathers have to battle with each advene conditions from their start in life that their task is praolloally a hopeleiß one, as by their position they ore robbed of many of the advantages whioh are such an invaluable aid to men in this upward progress. One of the primary advantages olted Is eduoatlon, and for this there is some gronnd. It 1b true that we have a free educational system, bnt it must be regretfully agreed to that we have a Dumber of parents who, through ignonmce end other eanaee, will not allow their chlldron to avail themselves of the boon. In en oh cases as this the Government should step In aud Insist on them being educated, aa knowledge is power. They wouid then bo armed wi'h a niosi effective weapon with which to fight their battles in life and make a way for themselves

A start being by these means assured, they conld call to their assistance such worthy auxiliaries as friendly society membership and life, fire, and accident insnrance. By means of one or other of these things they wonld be placed beyond the necps'lty of fulling back npon popular sympathy. Aid it oinnot snrely be urged that one or mere of these brßiiches is beyODd the resoh of nuy man, It may, however, be nrged, that some by reason of ill-health are deprived of the opportunity of availing themselves of this privilege of friendly society membership or life ommranoß. Cases of thru anrt oome under t'ne heading of Dead occasioned by circumstances over wlioh a man has no enntro!, rind these in common with others of tbe Bnrae olass with which tbe pnbllo )• familiar, it is a pnbllo dnty to ai>slst. Bat where a man has no snoh obstacle as this it lo his boanden dnty to make provision for himself, not only in his own Interest-, bat in the interest of bis family, of those who oannot avail themselves of theso piivllfees, of tbe pnbllo, and also in the interests of the cases which iorm a Btrong olrtlm on the pabllo support. The ultimate effeot of snoh action as thin would be to canee more solid comfort toabonnd, greater and more universal happiness woald be seoared, and people woald be in a better position to give where it was most preselugly reqeired. A result of luoreased ability wonld be grenler inclination to give with more ltbevailty, • wbloh h snrely, all things considered, as j objeot noitbx of attalDsaeoti J

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