THE CARE OF THE AGED AND INFIRM.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 8 May 1890, Page 11

THE CARE OF THE AGED AND INFIRM.

(From Ova Own Coreespondent.) Auckland, May 2.

For some considerable, time past there has been a good deal of correspondence passing between the Government and the public officers in connection with the lunatic asylum, with reference to a large numbsr of patients who are kept incarcerated in that institution, although hatmle=i3 ami luff «ring from no other affliction than that, of being aged, homeless, and failing iv uu-ntvl acnti ness. Tho most recent development has ttikfn place to-day, when Dr Hassell, suporint" n.'eut of the lunaic asylum, actiuj, it is said, on instructions from tho Government, di-chi-rge'i from the institution six patient-*, who are said to be perfectly harmless, as they are suffering only from senile decay, and consequently unfit to remain incarc^rnted with dangerous lunatics. A wtek ago the secretary of tho Charitable Aid Board recdv^d a letter from Be Macgregor, inspector of a.i\luni«, informing the board that there were at present 40 old people in the asylum who were tome properly chargeable upon tbe Old Men's Refuge. Dr Macgregor politely requested that the board, now that they had such extensive accommodation at the new Costley Homo for the aged poor, should adopt these 40 asylum patients and have them cared for ac the cost of the ratepayers. As the Charitable Aid Board does not nieefe till Monday afternoon next, the letter received from Dr Macgrcgor has not yet been before th. committee, and 'hef".irpris>pspruu£up >n ii.p,m k.ii iti-'.n o,)i) \?. i .s,,uii ii v i x "•-.'<.'' J d. \- out ](• 10-i-.-- to 3 o'clock li ■ >; » tJ >"t < !.! f.-Hov... Vftrc .Vwi c;i)ifttl/ ui> io t'-^ d-n.t c.f Iho (.'L^ci'--h!(5 Aid P.o.ur! Mh'"-i in a co.^i'e oi irj-p-. 'i'hey sa-.!Q(.-' quiie c-rtlehs of what happened to than:, aud waited witliout a rtord or a bigu thf.s they ui4''.cih'. cod an j thing, while the nji-n in charge of (hem went to conduit Mf Garla-.d, secretary c«f thf- bonrd, as to what should be done with them. It was pifful to see the vacant stara of the poor old men' as they shivered with ih'i cold of \he wind th^t blew, up the street. Only one gavo any yigu of animation, and he was an old Maori, who nqdded fiud smiled to everyone a.bout. Que poor ojd ful}ow, who came to the colony SO years ago as doctor in charge of a

ship, seemed quite oblivious to his surroundings, hanging on to the seat and moving his lips automatically. Their ages ranged from 55 to 70. Mr Garland said that the new Costley Home would not do much more than accommodate the large number of inmates of the old refuges, and the board could not possibly take over all [of those alleged to be harmless patients from the lunatic asylum, as they were requested to do by Dr Macgregor! Mr Garland protested on behalf of the board, and communicated by telephone with the chairman, who instructed him to take co steps of any kind pending a meeting of the board t-pecially convened to-morrow morning to consider th« situation. The police, rathir than see the lunatics drift about the streets, took charge of them and housed them in the lock-up Inspector Brohatn will bring them before this bench to-morrow morning to deal with them. It appears that tho authorities' assertion is that the asylum is overcrowded, and Dr fllacure^or says that unless further accommodation is obtained there will be great hardship and suffering this winter. He says it is not desirable to place more than. 500 lunatics in one as>lum, and unless harmless imbeciles are cleared out a second asylum 'will be uecessary, for which there is no money available. Mr F. G Ewington, official visitor, and Mr Theo. Cooper, deputy inspector, have reported against the danger of overcrowding ; and another point is that the late Mr Juhtice Gillies paid it was illegal to keep these people there, and that, although the Government have actid from tbe best of in. ten toons, there was no doubt that they bad acted illegally in keeping thco people there. WhYs the A'H-Mmi.'' pu'Oie complain of is J'tif. ~\ - '.■:-. '. o» iv.-Mi.ii.' < I h '„«» n {lurl o'< r.j< IN -nil 1.-I'.u-i is v.v - ....,>•.■•'! ■.•_. U. Auckiieo '.•v*.i 'n cii.i 'b.v -• - . >' ">> in-.*,, to no. ! ,U ib. s ;iop i ).°a c'.M/vb »|- 0.-wy UfjKi ''at ru i r.i> Jh <j[ tli.. c'y oi A'K .v.iiMay 3. Tbe f-il'owing is Dr M«c.arPg r' a letter to thi» C v-iifcablo Aid Board in M;aw g she tv -aten; d h.Miiing over to ih in of . or.-vie. c>?eso ; sr-uile decay up to the present in the lunatic asylum.

liisppetor'o Office, Wellington, Apiil 15, 1890. .Sir, -As f pointed out to yoi^ at my vjelf |n January \n*t, the"' Auckland A«vlnm Is Retting qver-crowik-.i with meroly o'd finjl IHu'ess p»moTia wl t o ongUfc to f'O in a refuse to t.lie ijra'it saving of thotsx pnyeVt. Many of the-o people werf of necessity admitted to th.^ asylum under protect simply because

no 'suitable provision hf been made for their aafe keeping and support. They are beyond the reach of any medical treatment, and their remaining in the asylum involves a needless waste of public money. The male Bide of the asylum is in such a state from overcrowding that I do not see how we can get ovor the winter witl.o.ut great hardship and suffering. No further additions to the asylum are desirable. A new asylum must be provided soon, but at present it is impossible to get the money. In these circumstances I venture to appeal for relief to your board. I am confid nt that they will not' allow the mem distinction between I'.qnl and general taxes to influence their decision. Will the board admit 40 of these chronio cases'into the Costley Refuge ?— I havo^&c., D. Macgrkgor.

Ohairraau, Auck'and Charitable Aid Boatd.

At the meeting of the hoard to-day to diVcusa tbe a'-tion of ttiP asjlmu au'.tioiitie-, the chairrna'i (Mr Aitki ) said ho could not allow fhyf-e oli in; v from tho lunatic u^yluiu t.i ha dumped on the r< fuge nutil the mat.it r had been discussed hy the board; aid in The meantime hi: bad a strong objection to receiving theeo rocn on any ground whatever. It seemed to him moht uarobhonnble that the as-ylum, when it had jfca collecting cioutids over such a large portion of the Nurth I>-!an"!, should expect one charitable ai:l bn»rd to take the whole of the surp'us iuroatos aud provide for them ; for that wa? what Dr Ma gregor was asking the board to do. Another question for the board to consider was whether the asylum was a fit place from which surplus inmates should properly acme to th-; Charitable Aid Bojirrl. H<? had done what he could for the c people as a private citizen, b t ho declined to rtco^iiise any liability on the parfc oF the board in reference to them. With the txeejit'ou of Mr Oliver Muj s ihe whole of 1 V- -'. nji, . ■ „f th H.. i » fOMklEt •••' Jl ■ 4 f'.3'.« o* Hr Mi ' ,'.'j l\\r TiJ.,,-! ( • '.i j ot f t ( ..

c. L i t •s ;• '■, i .'..-■" I:, to v \-f ' 3 i '; ai I .!_, lob. ;.;- i?>r.'i.. •, , ropo^d b; ViX (!■'• <v-.-> ci'ni'l: — • IV;' 'hu. yi'n ■ , i th(-- Govornra n^ in st.ten pli>>g wi.houi. no'icp lv ihiv'.st i.p ,n ihii r,di.<i a' yum b r of chrooiii casio froai tbe asylum is; uncour!«ou«; thas tlie Ci.ivtirumeiit i^ojiy.;oeusuro for th'p htt-ir-irss\yiiy''i:» wLjoh bt.la h^iueon dono, aucl u,aJ,er tbo ■;!?. lisasUneei. tUo board decline to a>;oeist jpv re^pan^ibilUy." Wlv-ii tbo «li3ohap(»dd lunatics w< re brought before the bench, Mr WarJtll, R.M., taW lhat Ibis juu-.t have the tffect of bringing befuru thf: public that i\ home for incurables was urgently

needed. In the past the asylum unfortunately I had been made a receptacle for a great many ' similar cases. It was a fact within bis knowledge that the male portion of the asylum was so crowded that the attendants had been compelled to make a shakedown in the corridors for some of the patients. He hoped that the members of the Charitable Aid Board would recorsider th*i matter, and find it consistent with their duty to provide for these men. He could only personally and from the benrh express his gratitude to any charitable body that would care for the men for the present. Sergeant-major Turton, of the Salvation Army, who always attends the coart, stepped forward and said, " I will take them for a few days ; I shall be very glad to assist you in any way." Mr Wardell thanked the officer, and the old men were driven by the police in an express to the Prison Gate Home. Sergeantmajor Turton remarked, " We can take care of them all right, though unfortunately we are rather short of blankets for such a number." The Herald condemns the action of the Government, Dr Macgregor, and the asylum authorities ; while the Star denounces the action of the Government, and says the question will have to be coade a subject of special legislation. When they were taken to the Salvation Army Home some difficulty was experienced owing to the scarcity of blankets, but this was solved by the generosity of Sir George Grey, who, despite the bad weather, drove to the home on Saturday evening, and when he heard that blankets were needed, gave the authorities of the home £5 to meet this want. From close observation the members of the army at the home believe that five of the men are without doubt lunatics. The other man has made several attempts to escape.