Benevolent Institution.

Otago Witness, Issue 1793, 3 April 1886, Page 14

Benevolent Institution.

Tho .ii)n»'«l juM» J tm^ o'l subscribers to this InsliWtifn Wi.s held in the Chamber of Coinirtoico on Tuesday afternoon. Mr A. Rennie presided, ami amongst those- present were tho Hey. Dr Stuart, Dr JToew-enj J»Cs->rs VV". Hutchison, H Ji. Maiiln, tt. Gourloy. Mackay, Kirkpatr'iek, U. S. I'ioh, inn., W. D. Stewart, J. Carroll, Solomon, L. Court, Naphtali, Ilaz'efct, T. Low, Ainger, T. W. Komptluinie, T. Dodson, !3. G. Smith, Hart, Robert Wilson, Rev. W. Ronaldson, M. Pagan, Shaw, A. Seoullar, and W. Wat= SOIK

The (.hr.viHMAX, m moving tile adoption, of the report (alre.'ily published), s.uM b would bo Mien that there had h^n a stwi ly increase in the expewHuuVjbul '-li.lo had been going on year by \ear since ho ha- 1 ioinod the. institution in lS'jP. Aj. lii.it. Tim ' the luiinbjr oi inmates was about six men nn'l tnreoor tour wo-tii-n, while at the present moment t iero w.:i« -\t h.sst SO men alone in thu a-yKirn. i'lio oubuwr ex.io.ulituru ha I alio bee.i'ineiva-sag, and wheie&s at, tha time it was. !i\«" £L fl to .£LS a w.'ok, it, now amounted to .ilioat XUUaweek. Ho might be aUu.vv-d to t-.iy tli.it >i:.o of tho nntin cav-H-, of this growth v. .is ialoUHioranct . Ho U'-.-jviml hu was quite, comvfc in -a.\iug tlwi at lea^ a half of the miseiy ami distress in Dunedin and it-> R'.'.rroimcliHjj.s'wis caused by indulgence in strong diink. A number ot men after a certain lime of in Uilgonco iv this i-.ibit lot I <ho. Colony, .^id their wive.-, ami children wevo throw.! upon the public. Although there v.-ivs .m Act p.i^oil last y.-ac to lometly thi-. and provide tint such oflVudurs could be brought l>aek, yei. no funds were voted tor the pai-pose, an- 1 tho expout-e ot bringing ft -n;>.'i b-ek \ ould be about £20.

The DiiCiU'.r.ua : L-'>o.

The Ciuikm \n said, thai hmj bow i t would bo no u,-,c brimiing tho hu bands back, a:, tho wives themselves a liuithd they weiv !ie.M,er without, thorn. Turning lo an it'.ier Mib).-el, tho pihiciplu on whic'i th.it In •titiicinn had been ein-ioil on for a num'.'-r ot yi i>-i «'"> tiut of voluntary e.mlributim.-, subMiiue.l '>y tho Govorununt to tho uxtout of pi ..ti.l tor poiu»l. Th's had t'"; 1 souio ymr.- continued to answer tiiu pur^-e, b ■{, w'.Un .li k the deiirmisln.l i>icie.ibe<; • ir.oiv iv;.:i 'ly than tho &v" a ripti'HiM, 'i. ul tii- ('.>:,> ...lie" weiu obliged to hiiv,> recour-uto extri ml'maM moans., which look th' slupc of car i'\ai-> Tk ro were four of the-.e held, in which M-J. L.^il i * took ale.ntinx part; a.n.l a.s a fii'lh >'\- i e ii.-iit > eoni'iiitteo-in-aid w.'s formed, in wiii. li Mr Vincent i'ylcu to.in ihe load. By tho. o e.ttr.i.>ruiiia:y u\»nv- ah mt £10,000 had ln;en r«i.»o«l in less than li) years But Uu-,e carnivals Ug.in to Iv the cnu.-o of s:nni! grumbling, ii'st. much ns other p-'.rts of tho C.)!ony did not ejntrib.ito tiuarh so much, and la,-, t year the Hospital and Caai.t ihln Ai.l Act h:n 1 boeu passe, to equalise tho c matters throughout tho Colony. Tin-. Act arranged the matter on .afferent line.-;, but it must be noticed that it did not do away with other means. These might, remain in existence if tho people chose to use them. But uo doubt, this compulsory p.trt of the business would <o a great e.\loiit do away with tho voluntary-contribution system. Already some churches had withdrawn the subsoiipt ens they were prepared to give to the Institution, aud he. feared this would become more common .

The Key. Dr Sruutr .seconded the adoption of the report, aud in doing so could not but feel a measure of soirow thai they were met there for th'-i last time as fche Benevolent Institution of Otago. No one knew better than the chairman the great service it had rendered, and how the settlors by thoir voluntary subscriptions, Bubf-idiSed by the Government, had provided sutlici.-nt means to carry it on. The new Act had introduced another principle into their sybfcem. It was really a poor la.v in embryo. No doubt it recognised voluntary contributions aud Government subsidies, but it clothed the boards it created with the power to levy rates ; and although he was no prophet, he did not hesitate to say that the voluntary contributions steadily decreased to nothing as the compulsory iniTua>>iid. As the chairman had said, two len-l'ng congregations had already withdrawn their collections — lie thought shabbily, he would not say dishonestly. No doubt they would use them i'or their own poor; but after having been &et aside, he thought they belonged pioperly to that Institution. The G-owi iiinent by this Act had laid upon us a tux without conferring, ho thought, any corresponding benefit ; and he had blwajs been of opinion that in this new country, whom the moans of subsistence were so abundant, we should dispense with the Old World method of supporting our poor. The residential clause in the Act would, as in England, disincline tin. 1 puor to follow the labour market, and induce them nitliir to congregate in towns and become a burden to the citizens. After a grim description of the results of this in England, the speaker asked, "Were we to have such a state of tliinps in this fair land ? He trusted not ; but the present Act would not prevent it. They must to a man continually urge upon tho Goverr-ment the necessity of devising s'jme means by which largo numbers of the people could be settled upon the country. Instead of three-fourths of the population living in t'v.vns, three-fourths should live upon the land. Those who had charge of the Institution must impress upon our rulers the necessity of devising some means to commend the land to the people. He had in his time found it advisable to preach the gospel of good fences and ready money to hiy people, and he was inclined now to preach tho gospel of converting the waste lands of this country — our inheritance — into an Eden, not for the benefit of half a dozen, but of the whole population. The speaker then referred regretfully to tho statements in the report re wife desertion.

Mr W. D. Stewakt said the Institution seemed to have done excellent work ; and although the tendency of the Act might be to dry up the sources of benevolence, it would entail on the trustees increased vigilance in the administration of the funds. There would be a tendency on the part of a certain class to lean more directly upon the Institution, especially where outdoor relief was concerned. He would like to see a better spirit among the people in this respect, aud did not think public opinion was sufficiently pronounced upon the subject. A good deal might be done by means or 'benefit societies. The greatest sympathy and consideration should, of course, be shown to those deserving of assistance, but the trustees would do well to vigilantly resist those undeserving cases of people who wished merely to sponge upon the Institution. The speaker further remarked that if other parts of the Colony — Canterbury, for example— had responded as nobly with their contributions as Otago, there would have been no necessity for this Act, yet at all events.

Mr Solomon remarked that tho outdoor relief must have been administered carefully by their institution, as it only amounted to £4912, while in Canterbury it was £11,191. The cost of the Canterbury institutions, including orphanage, home, and casual ward, was £14,790,

while that of the Dimoclin institution was only £8634.

Mr H. S. Fish referred to tho. ali:,onteb members of the Committee, saying th.atiE was unfair in the extreme ttob thS tfork shouid have deVolVed Upon three or four men. He would take that opportunity of saying that he thought tho Govern mejit had taken a stop in the right direction in passing the new Act. Itmightnot be all that could be wished, but he felt certain it would !)•• a means of localisation and decentralisation The report wis then adopted. MB'DKJAL ftfilWvT.

The following report was presented from Dr Hoi-ken :—

Dming the [i,i-~f. yea:- there have been nine deaths : ]J. 11.I 1 . Uo;?!».<r, -M," eaueer ot the stomach; J. H. <J.im, bell, til, general piralyoisj T. I>. Whitt.itker, (j!, locoinotor ntrixy ami DrUht's disease; James N>3w ton, bronchial asthma and heart-disease : Jnnies Mian, 72, cancer ot tin liver; Hugh M'Nally, 81, heart - disease ; George Chambers, 65, iiromic elilepsy ; Caroline Bemtet, 02, epilepsy ; and Thomns Sowde'n, 7a, Bright'a disease. There "has been considerably mere than the average amount of sickness, ,viid sonic of this has been severe.

I would again draw attention to the urgent necessity there exists for the institution of a hospital for ineurnble.i, or at any rate far some provision of the kind.

Vi>v veart. after the foiridnfiion of the Benevolent Institution its benefits were principally confined to necessitous and aged pior ; gradually, however, cabes were admitted irom the Hospital and upcountry districts of persons who, whilst inciirabh dist'iiseil, ttill required some medical attendance r.nd mote mirsin;; thr.u the Institution was able to .tltord. Suo)t (.uses have lately much increased on oui 1 hands. ; iv bi'iie hist nice* the persons afflicted being utterly helpless aiidentirely dependent for assistance upMit'liejV ixldHice^of theii'brcthrcn,Whnthetngelvea a c w> fik and enppled and by no menus abl • to afford (.lie r-cjui .ito holy. The appropriation of a special ward ior suffercis oi this sort, together with the provision of efficient nursing and other appliances, will do much towards the relief of a pressing necessity. Bufc the whole question of such relief should, how ever, be discussed on a much wider IwiV. and it appears to me that/ if a portion of the llos] ijtnl grounds weru appraprinlcl to the erection of a suitable building, the difficulty would bs solved economically aud cffyctnaily. Alv ivporfc would b", incomplete were I to omit reference to the unwearying kindness and attention of Mrs Quin. the matron, to the inmates.— T. M. Hockuv, medical officer,

Dr Hocken spoko of the necessity that existed for a hospital for incurables. There were a great many cases in the Institution that were really not suitable to it — old men and wome.i who required a great deal of medical attention, and it was high time stops were taken to hive some provision made for them. He would supgeht. that some part of the extensive Hospital grounds should be utilised. A corner could well be cut of? for such a building as would be required, and medical aid could be supplied to it and the Hospital jointly.

Rev. Dr Stuart asked why should the institution not be in connection with the present Hospital ? He had an objection to a multiplicity of institutions. Dr Hocken explain % d that it would be inadvisable to have the two classes of patients under the same roof, for reasons that were well recognised.

Mr Gourley poin< c 1 out that patients could be kept at the Benevolent Institution at about half the cost they could at the Hospital.

Mr Fish agreed with Dr Hockeu's suggestion.

Mr Caheoli- also thought it was unfair that the inmates of the Benevolent Institution should have tho incurable patiertts from the Hospital amongst them.

On the motion of tho Rev. Dr Stuart, it was resolved that the trustees of the Benevolent Institution should put themselves in communication with the trustees of the Hospital about tho matter.

On the mofciou of Mr Stewart, ,a vote of thanks was passed to the retiring committee, Dr Hocken, and the officers.

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES.

A meeting of contributors was then held for the appointment of six trustees on the Charitable Aid Board. The following gentlemen were elected: Messrs Rennie, Kirkpatrick, Solomon, Hart, W. Hutchison, and Gourley.