SOCIAL SERVICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18874, 29 May 1923, Page 10

SOCIAL SERVICE.

PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. DEMAND FOR WOMEN POLICE. STERILISING THE UNFIT. The annual meeting of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children took 'place :in the City Council chamber at 4o’clock yesterday afternoon. The president, Archdeacon Curzon-Siggers, presided over a good During the course of the meeting a number of notable speeches were touching on topics that are much in , the piiblic mind at the present time. * The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the annual report, which has been already' published, and balance sheet, said there was no need to refer to it further, beyond pointing out that it was the be_st balance sheet that they had had in the history bf the society. They wore very much indebted to their collector, Miss Barron. Theyought to accept the fact that their society was likely to have an endless existence, fbut ho did not consider that that was a ground for pessimism or any reflection on thjfe community. It was due to the fact, chiefljr, that people had become more sensitive, ynore desirous to relieve the sufferings of others, more willing to do things to make others comfortable, and to raise the moral tone of society. Even if they could succeed in eliminating all the vice and trouble with which they were accustomed to deal, there would still be much loft for the society to do for women and children. So it was not with*:any feeling of despair that one referred to the existence of their society. The report referred to the question of women patrols or police. They would notice in the papers that the Church Congress dm something in the way of talking on the marriage question, but none of those who spolc® had had any practical experience of a society like theirs, so they could be forgiverf for making mistakes and not being particularly useful. One solution c lured was fchat everyone should be married bv the States and come to the church afterwards if they iso desired, but that was no use. .Another- told us that our births from prenuptial intercourse were somewhere about 50 pbr cent. They would see in the morning's'paper a revision which said 23 per cent.,". That was quite bad enough. One would have thought that anyone with any knowledge of the world would have known that !|it would be impossible for any dominion to exist with such a low status of morality that half its children were born from- pre-marital intercourse; but as the gentleman who made the speech '-via a. Visitor we must let him off with the hope that he would be more careful in analysing figures in other countries he might visit. A useful suggestion for the congress to havej’ made would have been that in oil matters pertaining to marriage the utmost care Should be taken to see that (he parties were healthy and fit _ for marriage. There was no reference this year in the report to the proposed farm colony. _ They had got almost tired of putting it into their reports. In 1911 New York was the first of 'the United States to have its farm, colony, and it had done remarkably veil. Ho Was sure we could never solve the difficulties of the dominion with regard to drunkards and ne’er-do-wells until wo had some-; such colony where their self-respect might, be re-established so-that they could go forth as good and useful citizens. He was glad to-. know that the Prisons Board was attacking the question of dealing with moral degenerates. Twelve years ago he advocated from that presidential chair what the board npw proposed. Indiana and .California at that time had had in existence for two years this sterilisation of the unfit, and reports showed that the work had been a necessary and therefore a successful one. In Indiana habitual drunkards, moral degenerates, and epileptics were all subject to sterilisation. How far the Prisons Board was prepared to go one did not know,- but one was encouraged to hope that they wouldpush the matter on until something 'was. done. As usual, they had a long list of people to whom they wore indebted, atm’, above all, to their excellent -secretary ~ (Applause.) With her gr'eaf Sympathy and-, tact she was the right woman- in The- righ t place. . ‘ The Mayor (Mr H. L. Taplcy),- who seconded the motion for the adoption of the teport and balance sheet, expressed Ida agreement with everything the president iad said These various difficulties that confronted the community at the present time were questions that should be dealt with by the Government. If societies like theirs kept pegging away something would yet be done that would redound to the benefit of the whole community. When they saw all the sorrows that came from degeneracy he thought it was absolutely necessary that something of a practical nature should be done to prevent a recur-, rcnce. Ho congratulated the society on its activities throughout the- past year and on its satisfactory balance, which went to show that the public recognised its value. Dr Siedeberg, who supported the motion, said that during the year’s work they had met with cases that brought out the need of greater protection for girls between the ages of 16 and 21. Girls of that age who had been brought up innocently and respectably by good parents were practically as unaware of the dangers around them as girls under that age. They had only just passed from childhood and were quite unaware of the troubles they might encounter. Although they would not necessarily : stress the raising of the age of consent to. 21 there should be some means by which cases ’ of girls who had been tampered with by men could be brought before a magistrate " to find out whether the girl was a victim or the tempter. At present if a girl was over 16 and was tampered with nothing could be done. She was supposed to be capable of looking after herself. Then, again, there was the question of girls over 16, the daughters of separated parents. The law granted a mother protection of her daughter up to the age' of 16, but after that she no longer had legal protection for her daughter. Similarly orphan girls, unless their parents had A the foresight to appoint a guardian, were left alone in the world when they came to the age of 16 years. Daughters should have the protection of the law up, to the age of 21. Parents were perhaps not, sufficiently aware of the fact that they could appoint guardians for their children, and in these days of sudden ' deaths from motor accidents and such like parents should be made more responsible in the matter. The women patrols that we had working for two or three years here did excellent work, but when the Government began to economise it cut them out. France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, . . Holland. Belgium, Great Britain arid'lreland, and the United States all had their women police. There were now 300 cities in (ho United States which employed ...police women, and their, work, was largely preventive and protective. An important point- was the police women were practically all college-bred and they were granted the same salary and the same status as miQn police. In spite of all this advanced work- going on in the old countries out hero ij in New Zealand we had none. We had if chance through the appointment of women police of keeping a 'check on the vices! and immoral living of our young people, yet we did nothing. She would like ito make -a special appeal to the GovernnfSnt through this society to inaugurate the iystem of women police again.—-(Ap-plause.) The Hon, C. E. Statham said it seemed to him that in a Christian civilised community in the year of gyace 1923 it was an extraordinary thing that there.; should. - be. any necessity for a Society foi-lithe Protection of Women and Children, but they* had got to look the facts in the face. There was not pne present who_ did not recognise the necessity for the society and appreciate its good': work. Ho believed that half the troubles in the community originated through lacki of proper homo life and proper control. —(“Hear, hear.’’) A cause that made’trouble;:was .that people could not get any help in Vtheir homes. The conditions of domestic':service had considerably improved, and the time had come when some steps| . should be taken to bring about an , organisation to help women in .charge of households to get more domestic help. He regretted very much that the Government had 'Withdrawn the women police, and he hoped that. in the near future it would • reinstate them, because they had done spleudid Avork - - in . the community,—(“Hear, hear. ,’) Under the present law the father was the legal guardian and the mother had tactically no say. Ho himself was in favoui of giving equal rights of guardianship. j He was not prepared to commit himself td going all the way with the president, but if the. society kept pushing on, these matters, if would be doing a great deal of good.; Dr yMariori- Whyte added her. congratulations io the society on the .work of the. past year.;? It seemed almost an anomaly Chat there! should bo need for such a society, but if was in the nature of things that the need Should exist. When a woman married she gave her strength to. the bearing and ' rearing of children, and she had-a right to, expert economic support from her husband. If hi! failed she was in a hard case. It was only in extreme cases that the law could • take cognisance of his neglect, and as long as worflen and children existed therof would bo need for such women as Siste#

■who could ffO in and unravel the tangles, hearten depressed women, and fight their battles for them. She was particularly glad that Dr Sicdeberg had mentioned the girls of 16 to 21. The marriage tangles that formed such a large part of their society’s work had their origin in the difficulties of these earlier years. So often the marriages that were unhappy were those in which the parties married in haste to repent at leisure. It was the ignorant girl and the irresponsible boy who made it and rued it. As far as she could see both boys and girls were ignorant. Boys had such queer notions of tilings, and the girls’ had very hazy notions indeed. They found girls saying quite freely of a companion: “It does not matter what a man’s morals are so long as his manners are all right.” ’I hey were out for a good time, and thoy_ did not see the big issues of life. They did not know that nothing else mattered if a man, wap good. They did not know that their life and health and the future of their children depended on whether the man was righteous, and so they went blissfully to utter domestic ruin. Even among people who ought to know better they Mound utter irresponsibility. So that in addition to teaching young people the facts of life they had to show them that adult liio meant responsibility ■ and to get them to realise the dignity and value of womanhood. Young lives had such power and wore so capable of being directed in the right way if only we would direct them. Women police we must have. They touched a crucial situation; but we had got to start earlier and teach the girls before they started to walk up .and down the streets. Most of them were respectable, but some were not, and some of'the respectable ones were always joining the ranks of the others. Women patrols were necessary to pull them up, but we must start earlier than that and fill their mind with a vision of the future, of a different New ‘Zealand,, of a different world. We must take their young enthusiasms and put them in the right direction. .When tho heart was full of fine ideals there was no. room for bad ones. Fill their minds with devotion to good, and then ;there might bo some possibility of the need for the work of the society ceasing. The motion was pul and carried unanimously Mr Duncan Wright said he had never ceased to be ashamed of, and to regret, that in this fair land there should be the need of such an institution, and that suffering women and helpless children should by law need to be protected from the gross neglect, selfishness, and wickedness of men who ought to know better and act diffeiently. Tito report of that day made it abundantly clear that the society met a clamant want in the social order; and also that something has been attempted and something done.” In moving that the president be rc-elected to office, there were at least three outstanding qualifications for such office which we must never forget. Beyond disputation the Rev. Curzo l l -.-iggers had been all these years an ideal chairman, because the Great Creator had endowed him with (1) enthusiasm and a quiet but persistent, plodding nature, (2) he did not talk too much in committee but kept pegging away at hard work, (3) he possessed in largo degree the gift of discernment in difficult cases and also the judicial faculty when faced with legal problems. He moved —“That cordial thanks be accorded to the Rev Archdeacon Curzon-Siggers for past services, and that once again he be reelected to the position of president ot our society.” . ~ Mrs Sim. in seconding the motion, paid a tribute to the president as one who “allured to brighter worlds and led . the way.” By request, she gave a. onof account of the work of kindred societies she had rc ? centlv visited at Home. She had been confirmed in her conviction that children should be placed in cottage homes rather than in institutions. She learned that the number of policewomen had been reduced at Home, but it was one of the pleasantest Bights she saw in Loudon to see these fine, handsome women in their distinctive uniforms, J hey were doiim excellent work, and she much regretted that .the Government here had thought, it necessary : to withdraw the policewomen. One, of the places she visded in London was the, headquarters in Regent ’street of the Sdciety for the Protection of Women whoso problem was largely that ot the unmarried mother. Tt.'was -not a hundred years ago when little children of toncler, years had to toil in the. mines and factories,, so that we had advanced far since 'then: . If was hot'; true to .say that yp« could hot reform people by Act of Parliament. It was often done. , ' The motion was carried unanimously. On the motion of the President, Mrs •Sim, Mr J. M. Gnllaway. and Mr Duncan Wright wore re-apnointed vice-presidents. The election of the following committee was moved by Mr W. T. Talboys :-lhe .Mayor (Mr 11. L. Tapley), the Revs. Canon Nevill, C. Dallaston. V. G. B. King. M. Diamond, Mesdames Jackson, Davey, Hiett, Hodson. Baker. Macdonald, Howat, Cameron, Murray, Foster, Miss Ruuciman, and Commandants Simpson and Baker. Mr Talboys took the opportunity of expressing his appreciation of the grand -work done by the society. He drew attention to the saving to the community which it. effected, and spoke of Sister Nora’s skill and success in composing family differences. The motion was approved. The following other ’officers were appointed Secretary. Sister Nora; collector, Miss M Barron; hon. solicitors, Messrs F. B. Adams, W. L. Moore, H. Brasclv J. R. Lemon, and J. B. Callan; hon. auditors, Barr, Kerens, and Co.