OTAGO BENEVOLENT-ISSTITUTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9324, 15 January 1892, Page 3

OTAGO BENEVOLENT-ISSTITU-TION.

The annual meeting of subscribers and life governors of the Otago Benevolent Institution, for the purpose of electing two trustees, was held in tho City Council''Chambers yesterday afternoon. Mr A. Solomon presided, and there were about 25 persons present.

The following letter, from the Rev. Dr Stuart to the chairman, was read :—

ii n r r. „. " Dunedin, January 14. My Deal- Sir,—l regret very much that 1 have an engagement on Pino Hill, contracted some time ago, which I must keep, but which will prevent we attending the annual meeting of the Benevolent Institution. I would likcT to be present, if it •wore only to bear testimony to the care with which outdoor rolief is adminiatered in ™°. aist.net with which I am acquainted. The ditnculties of knowing everything about the circumstances of applicants for relief are legion and for one I am not surprised that mistakes aid inude. I am persuaded that the policy which tends to drive our old folk into the institution is unwise, and if persisted in will land us in this undesirable state-when the majority will look forward to the poor house as their destined home in old age. Were lon your board I would allow a small sum-say, 4s or ss-to the impoverished needing aid, if they prefer their own fireside to the substantial comforts of the Benevolent Institution. Ihe fact is that our 5s pensioners set occasional assistance from acquaintances and neighbours in the form of a parcel of meal or groceries, or a load of coal, or a change of uannel. I would not stand up for any policy that would shrink up the charitable dis. position which is God given, or foster the idea that their home m old age must be a bed in a room with five other beds, or at a fireside Avhere a dozen or more clamour for the warm corner. In this new country it is most desirable to cherish the old notion that there is no place like home, whether in old age or in the last days. There are, no doubt greedy souls, but I do not hesitate to say that 510 per cent, of our poor would far prefer their own cottage and fireside in old ago to a palace under the regulations which are necessary, when numbers are congregated iu bedrooms, common sittiug room, and common table. Pardon me if I exhort you to do your utmost to foster the spirit of self, respect m our poor brethren. Regretting I cannot attend the mcetin"-" Mr H. S. Fish, M.H.R., moved-"That the letter be received." He would like to say this • that no one m this community was more delighted to hear anything said by the Rev. Dr btiiart than he, but he took leave to express the opinion that the doctor was a most unreliable person to speak on a matter of this kind, because he spoke from his heart and not from his head. He (Mr Fish) wished to take the present opportunity of emphasising a great many of the remarks made on the previous day at the meeting of the Charitable Aid Board, and to say distinctly that the amount of money spent in outdoor relief was altogether out of proportion to the necessities of those applying for relief, and altogether out of proportion to the means of the citizens. He thought the time had arrived when some united effort should be made to insist on the trustees of the Benevolent Institution curtailing the amount of their expenditurefor outdoor relief. He did not desire in any shape or form to blame the trustees individually or collectively. They had verypossibly drifted mto a course out of which they found great difficulty in emerging ; but that course was a bad one, he was perfectly certain, and the outdoor relief was extravagant and not governed by the dictates of common sense—it was not governed by the principles that should govern the expenditure of other people's monoy. Dr Stuart did not wish to shrink up the charitable instincts of the people; but the system we were working under now hart entirely shrunk up those instincts. Under the old system we had a much better working of charitable aid than we had got now The present system was pauperising our population and leading a certain section of this community to look to public moneys for the means of subsistence, instead of depending upon their own exertions 1 here was no doubt that the system under which we were working must be altered. It was a disgrace to us as a community that we paid such an enormous amount of money in charitable aid : because he did not himself believe it was really necessary. The trustees of the Benevolent Institution should, in hi3 opinion, economise considerably, and restrict the amount they gave for outdoor relief. If an alteration did not take place in this matter in the future he would be one to agitate the people in this city to get some alteration made either in the system by which relief was dispensed or a change made in the personnel of the board.

The motion—" That the letter be received"— was agreed to. The annual report, which has already been published; was taken as read. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, said he was sorry to say that since they met there last year one of the oldest and most enthusiastic supporters of the institution had passedaway. Healludedtothe Hon. James Fulton who was one of the originators of the institution, and had taken an active interest in its proceedings up to the time of his death, which had been a loss to every institution with which he had been connected, including the Benevolent Institution He (the chairman) regretted that the outdoor relief had been greater during the past year than ib had been in the preceding year. The trustees had spent last year in outdoor relief L477 more than they had spent in any previous year smco the Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act came into force. It was, however, utterly impossible for anyone to judge of the necessities of the cases that came before the trustees who dul^not sit at the board and hear the particulars of them. It was a very simple thing to condemn the administration of the trustees, but they could not judge of the difficulties of dealing with a povertytstneken people until they saw how -miserably poor were those who came to the trustees for .relief. The experience of the trnstecs 'here was; shared in by every other institution throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand. During the last year every institution had found its^ outdoor relief increasing. Even the smallest charity organisations in connection with churches had found that the last year'was the heaviest one for them as regards the expenditure in outdoor relief. A great deal had been said in condemnation of the Charitable Aid Act under which we work, but he would like to draw their attention to this fact: About two years ago the Governor of the colony of Victoria appointed • a Royal Commission to inquire into the management of charitable institutions, and to report to the Government as to the best system of managing them, and as to the best means of raising money lor their maintenance. This commission was composed of 15 or 20 of the best men in the colony of Victoria, fney had satior the past two years, had examined some hundreds of witnesses, and lately had sent in a report; and those present would be surprised to hear that they recommended the liovernment to initiate legislation very much in the direction of the New Zealand Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act. It was a common thing to/hear fault found with the administration of charitable aid by persons who were only partly informed. As an instance of this ho might mention that on the previous day someone said it was a shameful scandal that persons in receipt of charitable aid should be able to purchase a valuable property. He inquired into the parjiculars of the case in question that morning, and found that the facts were these: The persons to whom reference had been made received aid five and a-half years ago, but when their children grew up, and had sufficient to support the old people, aid was stopped, and none had been received since. If those people had bought a property lately, he failed to see how that reflected in any way on the trustees of five or six years ago. Outdoor relief was, generally speaking given to widows with large families, to women whose husbands .were in gaol or the lunatic asylum, and a number of persons who were incapable, through extreme old age or disease, of working for themselves. Occasionally a day's work was given to a man, at the rate of 4s a day who was only capable of doing light work, but that was very Grudgingly and very seldom given, lhe Hon. w. Downie Stewart seconded the motion for the adoption of the report. In doing so he said there was little doubt that the amount of money expended in outdoor relief last year was greatly in excess of what was anticipated. The question to be determined seemed to be, was that money properly expended?' He did not see that those present could determine that question. He was satisfied that the work carried on by the trustees was very difficult work and required ver\ great vigilance indeed, and he doubted very much whether anything but the most careful scrutiny could bring about anything like a reduction, if that were practicable. He noticed in lookiug at the report that the number of men who had received aid was not very large. Those to whom aid had been given were mostly women and children. Ho proceeded to say that the action of certain people m looking to the State for everything paralysed individual effort; and if this spirit were encouraged—and there was a tendency in the present act to encourage it—the industrious and provident would have to provide for what he might term the idle and the improvident, and people would not lay by any provision for a rainy day or old age. The difficulty, on the other hand, was to deal with individual cases, as he recognised from actual experience on the board. TlTe system, however, was yet on its trial, but they would have to set their faces against fostering pauperism, if that could be done at all He thought not sufficient was done at present to establish provident institutions. Insurance was carried on to a large extent, but he held that some encouragement should be given to working men to provide, by some combination, against misfortune. °

Mr * iSH thought that some expression of opinion ought to be given by the meeting if they thought with him and a large section of the outside public, and he would therefore move that there be added to the motion for the adoption of the report— but that in the opinion of this meeting the amount expended in outdoor relief is excessive, and should, if possible, be considerably reduced." The addition he moved was one which ought properly to be carried, because if it did nothing more it ought to do this : it ought to induce the trustees, or the Legislature, or the Ministry of the day to see in what direction the act might be amended so as to prevent such an excessive amount of money coining out of the pockets of the ratepayers. There could be no doubt that if matters went on as at present it meant that a special rate would have to be levied for charitable aid. If it were imperative that there should be a special rate, then he held that a greater contribution should be made for charitable aid out of the consolidated revenue of the country He thought that the trustees as a body, or a majority of them, were not sufficiently alive to the necessity of restricting the expenditure. Mr James Hazlett seconded the addition proposed by Mr lish, and quite agreed with everv word Mr I ish had said on the matter. The Chairman said perhaps he would be permitted to say that Mr Fish had expressed an I opinion in which the trustees shared They also held that the outdoor relief was very considerable, and should be reduced; but the calls made upon them had been so great that they had not been able to reduce it. The motion, with the addition moved by Mr I'isn, was then put and carried unanimously. Messrs G Haynes, W. Isaac (the retiring members), and Colin Allan were then proposed for the two vacancies on the trust; and after a ballot had been taken, The Chairman declared the result of the voting to be as follows.:—Haynes, 41; Isaac, 27; Allan,

The Chairman declared Messrs Haynes and Isaac duly elected. This concluded the business.

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