EMPLOYEMENT FOR SOLDIERS' WIVES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 147, 3 May 1864, Page 4

EMPLOYEMENT FOR SOLDIERS' WIVES.

The wives of our soldier*, us ;i class, are among the most .-loVcring of the entire- community. A writer in a new periodica!, devoted to the interests, of the British ;miiv, has drawn attention to the wretched condition ol those women, it is po.-sibie, ;.s he -ays, that the wives of those soldiers who have marrii d with the consent of their <•« mm.-.nding others, anil who are oil what is termed the strength of the rouinieiit. are properly looked after: though, to judge by a reeent instance, it does not appear that the wife of even u non-roliiini.-sioned ollieer is accustomed to any great decree of privacy. Hut this is certain, tliat 'the n.f/.irniseil wives of soldiers, as well as non-commissioned otlioors, are entitled to lod-hiL-s and rations, and the ordinary necessaries of life. Hut there is still a large number to wlinii! this provision does not apply. A soldier is not forbidden to niarrv. ]t is often argued that. In- sliould he unless the eonsent of his coinlimndiuy ollieer he- ohtain.-d : hut at presa nt lie is free to do us le-phases, only if permission he withheld, he must maintain his wife or allow her to maintain her-ell, without any assistance fn.-in Government, which recognises only a certain proportion of women to men in each rcgim.-nt. The consequence i.-, that wherever troops an- staiiom-,!. th-.-ro ale hundreds of helpless women, the lawful wives in many cases of the soldiers, with littie or no means of livelihood, and (Iriv-n in eoiisi qiience to tlic- woi>t courses in order to priemea si-uiity suhsistenee. In the hack slums, in fact, of anv "arrison town in Knirlan.!, it mav be safelv calculated that one-half of the class of " unfortunates"" are no doul.t the wives or widows of sohiiers, driven hv destitution to their de-raded mode of lite. It mav he .-aid that a soldier should not marry unless lie ohtains his colem-hs consent, lint the precept, hesides being a harsh cue, would, if carried out, he far from r.modving the evil. Jt is doubtful, indeed, whether it would not increase the evil. A woman marri. d to a soldier who cannot support her, is more likely to ho respectable and obtain work than if she funned another kind of connection with him ; and the alternative must lie accepted as a greater or less Hero-sit*. The lllle.-ti.ill, therefore." becomes, one which liiust not he ignoied. "What is wanted is, that employment he lotiril lor these women ; and it seems only reasonable to suppose that it could be found by the (lovernnient if the principle of providing it was on.-e admiti. d. In India, where the difficultv is not f. It to the same extent, as mo-t ~f tlie soldiers who have net wives appear content with, native substitutes, it has still been loui.d desirable to provide employment for (lie "barrack women,'" and towards this end. it se. ms. - t.ii'.ah- wmkshops"' baveahea.lv heel, established in several lcj.-im.-nts. In her Majesty's (it'th Kegiineui at Madias, an institution of this kind is maintained with "teat success; and HrigadiiT-< h nernl luant, commanding the Hyderabad subsidiarv force, has tried the experiment on a more extend.'.l scale. So successful has be found their < j" latino, according to a Madras journal, not only in a nil hut a pecuniary manner, ihat be has addii s-i d the authorities on the subject ; and in applying lor steles lo cany on the existing establisiini'ciiishohassiiggesti il that the measure lie introduced into all Kuro].can coins. It is added that the ln.-al authorities "nave refused to comply with the brigadier's rei|iiesi, which mav not. therefore, roach head fjuariers through an olliciai channel. It is to he hopeed. however, that by other means the suggestion may be made known, as, it could not tail to, at anv rate, materially mitigate the evil to which we have adverted. There is no reason why clothing for the army, and many other kinds of work now farmed out to coni carters, should not he executed by this agency. Were tic- system to he adopted il would lie f.uuid that a greater number of women could be admi'ted upon " tin-strength of the regiment," and that there would still remain employmi nt for those who are kept without tin' pale. A workshop might also be • •rectcd for every depot battalion, and in this manner occupation found tor thousands of wretched women f-.v whom the < invert.rnonl are morally, if not legally, responsible. The pcricrmance of the'labour in .dean and properly ventilated places would also be a guarantee against di-.-asc, 100 fteqiieutly brought upon soldiers' clothing from the miserable dens where it is lici|iientlv made ; while a proper supervision would not only serine ord-r among the work.-rs, buta more i tiicieii: kind of work. The change, in fact, would he a heiieft to all concerned—to the soldier, the ,-niiiii r's wife, the (.iovcrnnu :ii, and the public, — M<,r„i„ ; , llrrnH.