CHARITABLE AID.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1194, 18 January 1895, Page 36

CHARITABLE AID.

The first business at the meeting of the Trustees of the Benevolent Institution on Tuesday was to elect a chairman for the current year. Mr S. Lancaster proposed the re-election of the Rev H. Van Staveren. Ho it would be impossible to find a better chairman. Ho was sure there was no one in the city who bettor understood the duties. The motion was seconded by Mr Willeston and unanimously agreed to. Mr Van Staveren in assumiug the chair thanked the Trustees for their continued confidence in him. He could assure them ho would sit there, as he had done hitherto, to dispense charity in as impartial a manner as he could. At the same time he trusted that the legislation which had so long been promised would be introduced to Parliament next session so as to assist in the effective treatment of cases such as the Trustees had to deal with. First and foremost he would suggest to the Government or the municipality that more power should be given to the Trustees to punish those whom he had in his mind’s eye. There were a few families the heads of which instead of being bread-winners were merely beer-soalcers, and yet at present the Trustees were unable to get rid of them. He hoped our legislators in their wisdom—or the Government who were going to introduce a measure of the kind he had indicated would insert some clause by which places would be set aside a small colony in fact —to which these men could be compelled to go with their families, and work for them, andinot be able to get beer. It was useless to place these men in gaols, because in that case not only was the Benevolent Society obliged to keep the women and children, but the Government had to maintain the men in prison at a cost, he understood, of from J!33 to <£3s each per annum. So that if they were not a burden on one body they were upon another. He hoped they would do their best to induce the Government to bring in some such measure, so that means might be found of ridding the community of those who were merely loafers and undeserving of charity. Until such a place as he referred to was established the Trustees must do what was necessary and keep the women and children. He know there was a great outcry in the city against keeping this cla»3 of persons, but what else were they to do ? As chairman, he could only say that whilst women and children were starving he must, if they came before him, see that they were fed. •' - .

The weekly meeting of the Trustees of the Benevolent Institution ' was held on Tuesday afternoon. Present —Rev. H. Van Staveren (chairman) and Messrs Willeston, Collins, Lancaster, Baylis, Bradey, McKenzie. A donation of a sovereign from Mrs W. B. Rhodes was received with thanks. The Chairman thought the time had arrived to put a stop to the practice of finding passages to Sydney or other outside places for destitute persons. The consequence of finding these passages was that people were constantly applying for them. Mr Baylis concurred and moved that no more free passages be provided to places beyond the Colony. Mr Lancaster thought each case should be dealt with on its merits. Cases sometimes arose in which it was far better to send people back to the place whence they came than to allow them to remain a permanent burden upon local charity. Mr McKenzie took a similar view of the matter. Mr Bradey took it that the resolution would not absolutely debar them from sending people out of the Colony, but merely that such cases should have very special consideration. Mr Baylis coincided, and in order to give effect to this view amended his motion so as to read that only under very special circumstances should persons be furnished with passages to places outside of the Colony. In this form it was adopted. The clerk of the Horowhenua County Council applied for the admission of an old man to the Home. Consideration of the matter was deferred till Thursday week. A number of applicants for charitable rolief appeared before the Trustees and had their wants attended to. There are now 77 inmates of the Homo, viz., 59 males and 18 females.