BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION TRUSTEES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12419, 31 July 1902, Page 7

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION TRUSTEES.

The usual weeklyj meeting of the Benevolent 'Trustees was held yesterday afternoon, when thero wctc present Messrs P. Trcscdtr (in tli? chair), It. M. Clark, 11. Wilson, W. Talboys, and W. Burnett.

Accounts Amounting to £53 169 2d were passed for payment. Tho North Wairarapa, Benevolent Society ■wrote as follows:—"To prevent the great tax now falling on the community through men deserting their families, and ihu? causing them to be chargeable to Charitable Aid Boards, the trustees 01 the Norlli Wairarapa Benevolent- Society forward you a copy of a. resolution passed at ..i::r last meeting, held on the 10th July, 1902, and ask you to bo. good enough to give your Sfsietaucc in getting a bill passed through Parliament at tlio present session. The following is a. copy of the resolution:-' That A. W. Hos*. Esq., M.H.U., bo requested to prepare and bring before the present Parliament iv bill to enable stipendiary magistrates to liav.c power to grant a lien or charging order on the wages of men who have deserted their wives or families and left- them chargeable to Charitable Aid .Societies, say, to the extent of one-half, or so much as the stipendiary magistrate, considers sufficient for iho maintenance of the wife or family, according to their number.'"—Mr Talboys said ihat the resident magistrate now had tho power ■to mako an order for a' man to pay so much a week. The difficulty was not io get the order, but to get hold of the men.—Mr Clark said that (here wag every reason to believe that men were, earning good wages, and tho trustees were supporting their wives and families. If this hill would give them any extra power it ■would be well to have it passed.-The Chairman said that the resident magistrate had the power to compel a man to pay half his earnings to sunport his wife and family, providing that he was in Government employment, but thiß did not apnly if he was employed elfe-■where.-Mr Clark said that ihe aim of tho proposed bill was evidently to intercept the inoney beforo it reached the emoVoyee Mr Burnett said that lie thought tliev should support the bill. It was a ciying sllamo and «• disgrace' to the conitlry that men should desert their wives and families in this fashion.' It was becoming quite a iradc.-It wan eveniually resolved that the secretary should comroumcate with the Hon. Mr Gourley, and ash aim to confer with the local members with a I View to assist Mr Hogg. 011 getting the bill passed into Ijjw,

.'■lie Secretary of the Coronation Committee wrote stating that the £3 for which 11,e trustees Bud mr.de appliestion to defrav the' cost, of the dinner given to the inm'leß of flic institution had' never- been voted,-The Chaflman said tha* although the £5 wght not have been Voted, it had certainly b?.«n mentioned in the papers. The ■ bast .thins now to do was to leave tho matter alone.-Mr Clark snid flint 3t Ihey allowed the matter to rest it would look e 3 if they had ihqVo a mistake. The £5 ■had been voted and the dinner had been given—Tli 5 matter then dropned. Twenty-four relief cases were dealt with; tuter which the meeting adjourned.