OUR POOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8960, 18 August 1892, Page 3

OUR POOR.

Sir,—The community . is indebted to Mr» Ewington for his practical letter on the subject of the relief of the poor of Auckland, and for his efforts generally to ameliorate the condition of the afflicted, in which he shows a creditable Catholic spirit. You are aware I have repeatedly contributed to your columns in the same direction, and' upon the discredit that attaches to us. in allowing the wretched and aged poor to die from want and destitution in our midst, more particularly urging provision for a night refuge for the houseless, where at least a bed and a meal can be obtained. It is distressing to see men whose only crime is age and penury convicted of a crime, namely, poverty, and sent to gaol, while private gifts and public grants for the relief of the poor and distressed are, or should be, available. I am afraid there is too much truth in Mr. Bollard's assertion, that a good deal depends .on the humour in which the Board receive applications for relief. We are all so very human, and must recollect the utterances of the defendant's solicitor in the celebrated case of Bardell v. Pickwick that be fervently hoped " the judge had eaten a good breakfast." The suggestion that the Charitable Aid Board should be elected by the public and not the Borough and County" Councils has this one disadvantage that it makes call! upon our community for our best men thai we are not able to supply. This however, might be met by the public electing the members from the Borough and County Councils. As a rule the citizens filling these positions are the best available representatives or should be, and their all-round experience should be useful, although it may happen that the most fitting to carry out the duties of charitable aid are not always elected by the local bodies having authority. There is no doubt a great deal in Mr/ Ewington'a statement that often the sole idea of such a representative commending himself to the rate-payers is to save the rates and let the poor go and hang themselves. No system can, of course, be perfect, and in the present one there is a " rift in the lute*'' somewhere. Probably, if something more in the direction of the plan in operation in the Benevolent Society were adopted, viz., a committee to visit the houses of the poor, and less left to official visits and utterances, j the difficulty might be met, without in any way casting aspersions on the relieving or enquiry officer. We all know that constant dealing with the wretched (and often the dark side of human nature) blunts one's sensibilities, and there follows a disposition to class all alike.—l am, etc-, Cosmopolitan.