SAILORS HOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11692, 29 June 1901, Page 3

SAILORS HOME

Tiie 16th annual meeting of the Auckland Sailors' Home subscribers was held yesterday afternoon, at the Sailors' Home, Albertstreet. The Most Rev. the Primate prosided, and there were also present, the Revs. W. E. Gillam. E. C. Budd, and W. E. Lush, Messrs. C. Hanson, Way, W. Braketirig, Poster, J. Knecn, Lockey, Nerheny, Caiman, Entrican, H. Peak, aud Captains Adamsou and Clayton. The 16th annual report was read by the secretary (the Hon. 'Colonel Kaultain) as follows: —

As it lias been proposed that a meeting : should be called to promote more public interest in the institution, it may be as well ■ to recapitulate the circumstances connected , with its origin and present position, it was . inaugurateu in January, 18£53, by the Most: Kev. the Primate, as "the Auckland Sailors' • ltest and Home," to promote the social com- \ fort and the moral and spiritual welfare . of seafaring men resident in or visiting Auck- ! land, without respect to their nationality or . religious belief, and it was maintained in < the first instance by subscriptions from the general public, but on the receipt of the large sum of money bequeathed by the late Edward Costley, the Managing Committee were enabled to extend its operations and ; usefulness, and it was registered as a limited I liability company, under the Companies Act, . 1882, and on April 6,1887, the foundation-stone of the present building was formally laid by the Most l<ev. the President. , It can accommodate 35 boarders, but the daily averago number of inmates since it was opened nas been between 18 and 19. In' the first few years the numbers varied between : 20 and 25, but latterly they have diminished, and this year there have been but 13.8, the lowest on record. One cause of this has been the greater demand for sailors, owing to the war in South Africa, as more vessels are afloat, and men do not remain long unemployed. . The weekly charge for board and lodging is 15s, or £39 per annum, but the actual cost of house expenses this year has been £46, or 17s 8d per week. Tlio expenditure for gas, coal, water, etc., is the same lor 14 as it would bo for double that number of men. The deficiency, £90, has to be provided from the income derived from the endowment, against which is also charged the manager's salary, £100, the rent payable to the Harbour Board for the Mission Hall site, £25, and the insurances, rates, repairs, etc., amounting to £127 Ms l'X „ „ ... ...

in tiie Sydney Sailors' Homo it is calculated , liat unless tlio number of inmates reaches : Jo the charge of 15s a week will not pay ex--3611569. ' This question of charges for hoard will | lave to be considered by the new council, > 'or tlia prices of bread and meat and many j jther necessaries, as well as servants' wages, • ).vo increasing. ; The balance-sheet shows that the liabilities ; jxceed the assets by £3 15s 9d, but the arrears J :lue fur board, which now amount to tho ; large sum of £111, and which have not been j included in the credits, will do more than re- , lievo this sum, so that the capital is still in- ; tact, and the home is iu a sound financial ; position. This question of arrears for board, j which have been annually increasing, must ; bo fixed, and it has also been remitted f9r | the sr-ecial consideration of the new council, i Dining the year 19 men shipwrecked from t the ships Hindostan, Lord of -the Isles, and Helena, have been afforded aid and shelter [ at the home. Their expenses, less £2 15s, • were paid either by themselves or by the ! agents of the vessels, and the balance is in- • cluded as part of the arrears for board. Four ■ men were admitted en discharge from hospi- . tal, and kept until lit to go to work again. [ Dr. Lewis has ever been ready to attend to ! these cases, whenever medical assistance has : been required, and the warm thanks of all' 5 , are due to him for the many services he j lias rendered since the first establishment of i the home. ! Mr. and Mrs. Little continue to merit en- ; tiro satisfaction, and aro very popular j amongst the men; but in the latter end of < March the former was seized with a serious ; illness, and on the advice of his medical at- : tendant was granted a month's leave of ab- i sence to proceed South for change of air I and rest. Dim 12 years of faithful service, j this has been the first occasion of his ah- ! sence from duty, and whilst, away the work of the home was satisfactorily carried on by : his son and married daughter, who have an ; intimate knowledge of the different depart- • ments of the institution. Mr. Little has returned with his health apparently quite reestablished, and has furnished the council with noteu of what ho observed amongst, the sailors' rests and homes in the southern ; parts of the colony. j

The report of tho work carried on in tho Mission Hall was most satisfactory, but it was stated that the mission was in great need of more helpers. Social gatherings, entertainments and evangelistic services had been held each week and had been well attended. _ - On Captain Clayton's motion, sconded by Mr. Nerheny, tho reports were adopted unanimously. The balance-sheet showed that the total expenditure for the year ending March 31 last on house accounts was £727 - 17s, and the receipts £537 6s, leaving a debit of £190 lis, to bo added to the working account, the total expenditure on the latter head being-£383 5s Id, and the credit balance £8 15s 9rl. The total assets were estimated at £12.304 9s 3d. Tho election of officers resulted as follows:—President, the Most Rev. the Primate ; vice-president, Captain M. T. Clayton ; council, the Revs. W. E. Gillam, C. K. Budd. Captain Adamson, and Messrs. Kneen, Nerheny, Peak and Colman: auditors, Messrs. C. A. Jonas and H. Gilfillan. On Captain Clayton's motion a vote of thanks was accorded to Captain Adamson, the retiring vice-president, for his past services. The Chairman also eulogised Captain Adamson's work in connection with tho home in the past. On Mr. Bralcenrig's motion, a vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Lewis, the Rev. W. E. Lush, and all the volunteer workers who have laboured long amongst the sailors in mission work.