HOW THE POOR LIVE.

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 33

HOW THE POOR LIVE.

An aged out-door recipient, of relief from the Benevolent Institution is at present giving the Trustees considerable trouble. Some features of the case, happily exceptional, are of interest. It seems that the old fellow owns a cottage in which, in spite of being blind, deaf and one-legged, he has resided alone for seme years. The sole attention he has received during the time was from am elderly woman, who recently, gave way to drink, and had ultimately to be removed to Pofiriia Asylum. A neighbour informed the police that she could nc.t help the old man aiiy more, so it was decided to remove him to the Ohiro Home. The lady -v isitor, assisted by the police, visited him accordingly, with the intention of removing him to more comfortable quarters at- the Home. A cab was in attendance. When the old man learned the object of their errand he crawled to a corner of his room, and getting Iris back against the wall, refused to budge. The burden of his wail was “Tin,used to, this. I’ve got. my little fence, and I . won’t gq out/’. .As Mr Izard pointed out, the Trustees could not forcibly remove the man, deplorable as were the conditions under which he persisted in living. The police, on their part, declined to incur any responsibility. The. man had not broken the law, and was not amenable to police interference, unless it could he shown that his occupancy of the cottage was an offence against the Health Act. The case is evidently one for magisterial intervention, as at pre.sent the Trustees are helpless. In'the meantime the immediate wants of .the poor told fellow will receive every attention. ’ ■ ■

lately instituting an Injured Footballers’ Benefit Fund. A snb-committee appointed to deal with the matter last week brought down the following recommendations : —(1) All matters in connection with the fund shall be under the control of the General Committee, who may appoint a sub-committee for the carrying ' cut of these rules : ( 2)' each club shall subscribe two guineas per year to entitle its members to the benefits thereof; (3) each player entitled to participate in the fund shall have the services of the doctor or doctors appointed by the Union, and in addition shall be paid £1 per week whilst unable to follow his occupation, by reason of an accident received whilst playing football under the control of the C.R.U. ; but in no case shall a claimant receive payment for a longer period than ten weeks; (4) no claim shall be entertained: from any player who is not a; financial member of an affiliated club; (o) the secretaries of all clubs shall furnish to.the secretary of the Union a list of the financial members of their clubs and no player shall participate in the fund whose name iiajs not been forwarded prior to the accident ; (6) no claim shall be entertained unless the accident in respect of which the claim is made ha-s been reported to the referee in charge of the match or to one of the committee of the Union, upon the day of the match; (7) no claim shall be entertained unless accompanied by a doctor’s certificate to the effect that the applicant has, by reason of the accident specified in the claim, been incapaciatcd from following his- occupation during the period, claimed for, and (8) any contingency arising in connection with the fund which- is not provided for in the rules shall* be left to the discretion of the committee. A lengthy discussion was held on fhe matter at- the last meeting of the urur.n, and the opinion was expressed that the subscription of £2 2s per club would be insufficient . Finally it was - decided to postpone consideration until the subcommittee had received further information from Auckland regarding the number of players insured, the amounts received from various clubs, the number of claims received,-and any further information relating to the working of -be scheme. W. McKenzie, I am sorry to leant, has found it necessary to go : to A).asc3l- - from his Carterton home to be treated for his rheumatic troubles. He will be interested to read the foregoing account of the movement in Canterbury to insure players. The matter is cue which McKenzie has long been advocating; in Wellington, and towards the end of last season lie wrote to this paper a long and thoughtful letter, in which he pointed out the manifold advantages such a course would afford. The Edinburgh University 4 during the current season has been doing exceptionally well, having scored z2B points to 8 up till the end of December. The in-ter-university match with-.'Oxford was won by the Dunedinites by two tries to nil. Oxford went away with great dash, and the-ir forwards "dribbled well down. The three-quarters got the ball, and? Pearson nearly got over at the left corner. The visitors, however; were driven back, and . Edinburgh began to press. A round of passing left Welsh in a good position, and he rah over and scored, Flett failing at goal. This was the only score up to the interval, and on resuming Oxford seemed pretty sure to score once or twice, but were worn; down, and the fine pace of the Edinburgh threequarters began to tell. The. only score obtained in the second half was largely due to Duncan, the full back, who took the ball in the open, from .a long kick by St rand-Jones, and made a fine run, passing at the -right moment to Fell, who ran in. The game of football has been played in England for centuries. Originally it was a -rud# but fierce conflict that was waged for possession of the ball. Before the beginning of the century it had become a field game, with go his. Subse‘qUently the game depended for its survival upon the schools, egeh playing under different ; rules,. the outcome of exigencies of space. ! 'ln the ’fifties, football became a regular public school game, and the eventful widespread development commenced. At first pure football •was- played, i.e., the ball' was kickedr only. In: the account of football in “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” no hint is given that the ball was handled at R/ag--8 by, but one day a scholar there named Ellis, in a fortuitous moment of inspiration, picked tip- the ball and ran with it. That action changed the world of football, so to speak. The innovation pleased as many as it displeased, and a split in the camp was Inevitable. The dribblers gathered together under the flag of the Football Association, the carriers under that of the Rugby Union. The popularity of the game as a national institution may be said to, date from 1871, , when England and Scotland first met at the Rugby game, the Association match, being played in, 1872. Lacrosse, the beautiful national game of Canada, was permanently introduced in 1875. Hockey is of later development as a scientific club game, though, rin an undisciplined form, it is older than Lie •country. - .. ... -