DEAF MUTES AND THE MARINE ACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13708, 26 March 1908, Page 8

DEAF MUTES AND THE MARINE ACT.

— <+- — APPEAL FROM AUSTRALIA. With regard to the case of a deaf mute, resident of Now South Wales, who recently eanio to New Zealand to a situation as a slaughterman at the weekly wage of £5, and was refused admittance into the Dominion, the Australasian Deaf and Dumb Association has sent the following communication to the Prime Minister of New Zealand: — ■'Our attention has been drawn to a case where a man arriving from Sydney by the s.s. Moeraki, having obtained a situation in New Zealand as a slaughterman at (lie weekly wage of £5, was refused admittance into the Dominion because he was deaf and dumb. We believe it, an opportune time ♦to draw attention to, and ask your sympathetic help in having removed, certain New Zealand marine restrictions, which unjustly and contrary to commonsense ' reason deny the adult deaf the same opportunities an "the rest of the community. " Wo refer to the Imbecile Passenger Act, 1882. According to this Act, ,- If the Collector shall certify that any passenger shall < arrive in New Zealand on board any ship, either lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind, or infirm, and likely in his opinion to become a charge, etc.," the shipping company is hold liable for a bond of £100. The fear that the passenger may be pronounced , as likely to become a charge deters the shipping companies from accepting deaf mute passengers. _ " We desire respectfully to point out; that such a law could only have been brought into existence through lack of knowledge as to the true condition and capabilities of the deaf and dumb, and experience has shown that the majority of hearing' people hold erroneous conceptions concerning the deaf, believing them to be more or less mentally defective and thus incapable of providing for themselves. Of course there are a lew imperfect mentally, but this is also the case with the hearing community. ' The deaf and dumb people naturally re- '• sent; being classed with lunatics, idiots, and undesirables, for the only difference between them and the rest of the community is I hey are without, the sense of hearing. The average educated deaf mute is mentally and physically sound. He is able to, and does, holt! his own with normal persons, being employed side by side with them in office and workshop. lie is a householder, rate and taxpayer, and altogether a desirable citizen. They feel that the loss of hearing is a burden sufficiently hard to carry without being further handicapped by that section of the community that should make easy not. more difficult, their way through life. "A memorial bearing on this matter was presented by this association at the last Premiers' Conference held in Sydney in April, 1906, and as a result the Premiers of Victoria and New South Wales came to an agreement between themselves that in future they would look upon the, deaf as entitled to the same opportunities as the community at large, and in June, 1906, on the occasion of his visit to Melbourne, a similar memorial was presented to the Right Hon. Richard Seddon. He promised to give the matter serious consideration, but sudden death prevented the fulfilment of his promise. , "That you will give this memorial your kind consideration we are sure, ami wo trust, you will also use powerful influence. to bring about the removal of the objectionable clause mimed."