BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8880, 17 May 1892, Page 3

BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—l do not think that you are quite just to the ladies of the Benevolent Society in your article of last Saturday. Many of these ladies have and still continue to devote a large amount of their time and money to the relief of a description of charity, not so readily relieved by the Charitable Aid Board, who advertise the recipients, such as poor weakly widows, with large families of children, the sick and poor aged, who do not desire to seek the aid of the Charitable Aid Board. It is rather too much the rule to believe that all who are compelled to seek aid are seeking to swindle. We have not needed to beg, why should others? I think it is a pity to throw cold water on the efforts of the charitably inclined. Heaven knows, most of us are disposed to shirk such work, and consider that No. 1 is about as much as they need concern themselves about. The fact cannot be denied that as the colony grows older our poor will increase, and the real reason is no desire to live on pauper rations; it is a want of thrift, and if your efforts were diverted in this direction it would do more good than seeking to take from the hands of those disposed the distribution of charitable help, not necessarily the Government dole, but practical charity, which means giving help when really needed, visiting the sick and poor in their own dwellings, aiding them in obtaining employment for themselves and their children, and in a thousand ways that shows that we view in our fellowman a brother, who as long as he does not act criminally has a common claim on us. The proposed system of a national insurance was pooh-poohed, but it is and will be the only prevention of increase of homes for the poor. Let each man and woman in the day ot their strength and ability lay aside a small portion of their earnings for the day when they are unable to work, and thus compel them by law to be thrifty and make provision for not becoming burthens either on ' the State or their neighbours. It would be far better if our ideas were directed in this direction rather than detracting from the voluntary services of those who seek to and do aid the poor and destitute in their homes, -I am, etc., Fair Flat.