PATIENTS AND PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Volume 14, Issue 2648, 14 December 1904, Page 34

PATIENTS AND PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY.

The following report will be submitted to the annual meeting z>f subscribers to the Patients and Prisoners' Aid Society on Wednesday afternoon : —

Ao the statement from Messrs Torrance and Axelsen, iihe society's agents, is herewith appended, the committee do not deem- a lengthy repoit to be required of them Ihey "think that during the ygar ending September 30 ths society's objects were well carried out, and that the work of the year compares favourably with that of previous years. | For the support accorded them the comI mittes sincerely thank the subscribers, the city And country churches, an-J Sabbath I schools -for their liberal! donations, the iriends I wjio voluntarily gave substantially for general purposes 1 and for special cases, and tiie col- !. lectors in tho various districts for their **valuable and self-denying services.

I The year began with a credit balance of JEIO7 IBs 2d, and clossd with a balance to credit of JEIOI 16s 7d. Tiie subscriptions, inclusive of £5 13s 5d refunded by recipients of < aid, -amouwtea-'to £459 4s lid. The committee have in stating /that during the year two legacies of !£IOO each I were 'received by the hon. treasurer fiom "the i trustees in the estates ot the latejilrs James ' 'Clark and late Mrs James Lothian respectively. ' After consideration it was decided to kesp ?J these two, sums apart from the general in- |' come, and they have accordingly been placed ' upon deposit as .a reserve fun-a.

While the agents as the Protestant chaplains confine themselves in their Sunday service and week-day pastoral duties to their own sphere, the aid. branch, is, as it iaas all through the years been, administeied on broad xm sectarian principles. A great-jnany, regardless of national or denominational distinctions, had their way paved for them more or less effectively by the efforts of the agents; and, as shown by the balance sheet, the material help io over 270, in addition to assistance by effort to many of them, comprised money (mostly in smaill sums), articles of clothifig, boots, blankets, bed and board, boat cr railway or coach faros, working implements, goods to hawk; and material help ■was given in o^htr miscellaneous wajs, including labour registry fees. Refunds by recipients ,-of aid are pleasantly suggestive. Oi these there were a number this year, and in two instances the- refunds were sent from distant cities' by postal notes. Apart from the .material haip from the society's funds above mentioned, a large number of persons were without cost supplied with good clothing Mcdly furnished by several friends named by the agents in their statement. The committee are grateful to all those reverend gentlemen and church officers in city and suburban and country districts who have evidenced theif sympathy with the society ; to the ladies and gentlemen who, as preachers and organists, assisted the agents in connection with the Sunday services ; to the employers who gave work to persons recommended by the agents; to the various philanthropic organisations for theii valuable cooperation; to- all who in any way furthered ■the society's objects; and to the chief officers and staffs of the institutions for their kindly 'bearing -and help to the agents.

The following letter from Mr &. M. BurImson, manager of the Caversham Industrial School, is expressive of -his appreciation of the important and interesting weekly Bible claes wcrk carried on among the non-Anglican and* noE-Roinaii Catholic children in that institution. That class, as a special work, is wholly in* charge of the society's" junior agent ; and, since it was taken over from the Council of the Churches Mr Axelseu has conducted it systematically, with enthusiasm, and to gcod purpose. Mr Burlinson, writing on the 30th of October, cays : — " Dear Mr Torrance. — Another year has come and gone since I last wrote to yoxi to say how thankful I wa3 for the assistance rendered by your .society in allowing Mr Axelsen to carry or. the work of the Friday religious olasses at this school for children of denominations other than Church of England ar.d Roman Catholic. Devoted to his duties, Mr Axelsen is most regular in his attendance. His disinterestedness and the good way he has of teaching the boys ha 3 quite won them, and he has been able therefore to strengthen in e^ cry way the effect of the gcod work that he has been doing with J .he class. I beg yoti will convey to your committee mv obligations to them for this assistance ; and may I again thank you for the great interest that you take in my work and in the children, and for having helped it on so much m its religious aspect. — Yours very tru.y, G. M. Burlinsok- Manager."

The committee t&ke this opportunity of expresing their sens-s of the loss the society has sustained (sir.cc ths previous report was issued) by the death of one of their number, Dr John Hi=slop. At the meeting of committee, held on June 7, the deliverance, moved by Mr Eobert Chisholm. was passed-— "With a heart lor all good work having for its object the well-bnng of his fellows— spiritually, morally, socially and educationally— Dr Hislop. as far back as June, 1889. leadily connected himself with the society, and "until barred by old-age infirmities he took a very active part in the society's work and in the counsels of the committee, and by continuous self-denying personal effort he year by yrar laboured to put the society on a sound fooling and to further its interests and work. Besides his legulai atteud-

ance at executive mes lings, and since his retirement from active life, he "nas at his private lesidence ever accessible to the agent for the consideration of intricate cases; ond in these consultations his wisa, thoughtful advice and his experience and knowledge as a visiting justice cf the prison were eminently helpful, to the advantage of the persons on whose behalf action was being taken. The committee desire to put on record their profound veneration for their departed co-wqrkei ar.d their sincere sympathy with the gooct doctor's berea\ ed family."

Your committee arc pleased to ba able to again record their appreciation of the faithiul work performed by Mr Torrance and Mr Axelssn. Mr Toriance's health has fortunately been better, and he has devoted himself to the society's work, to which he has for so^inany years given such assiduous and judicious attention, to the complete satisfaction of the committee and ihe benefit of the community. Mr Axclson has still further shown his valupble qualities as Mr Tomuice's right hand man, pnd has proved his entire fitness for the work.

THE REPORT OF THE AGENTS

The report of the society's agents (Messrs J. A. Torranoe and E. A. Arisen) contains the following- clauses: — t' In the several depaitments of the work the 3 ear was « busy one, an.l it need scaroely be said lhat the daily and nightly duties laid tipon us by the aid branch, with the correspondence it occasions, mainly absorbed our time. In addition to material help to many, there was much personal effort on behalf ot the largest proportion cf them, while many others were advantageously assisted without outlay of money.

In the matter of finding work in town and country districts for persons whom we feol justified in reeonimenuing, we are bound to say that our experience does not tally with the oft lepeated averment that avenues of employment are ruthele.=sly_ closed against all dischargees from prison — an allegation freely irade by people of vagrant typo in excuse for their idle habits, and one that is too readily believed by respectable persons who don't know. 'While many were put ir> the way cf obteiring work, numbers of emplo3 - erj gave the '" chance " asked for by us; and tiie following extract from a letter recently received, m lep^j to an application on behalf of a ycu^i, is fairly indicative of the spirit we meet with: — "'I ha-ve decided to give a trial. I will not expect much from him for a start, but I am sure, if he behaves well and tckes an interest, in things, I will be able to make Foniething of him " Throughout the colony' and beyond it many whose way was thus paved for them in couise of the years are living steady, industrious,- and, (m some instances) r.-ctive Christian lives'. We need | scarcely say we are very careful as to whom we recommend, and when wo interview or communioate with employers we frankly make | full disclosure of all the particulars qf each i case. Sometimes prisoners, in view of their discharge, ask us to find work for them without .disclosing' the fact of thair imprisonment. To such requests we -give a prompt refusal, at the same time -making clear' to them the foTly of such a deceptive line of procedure. Wo axe aware of rare instances of ex-prisoners .-who obtained work without our aid being dismissed when their 'employers learned they had been in gaol. On the other hand, cases are known to us in which employers, when ffiformed the -men had" been in durance vile, resented the disclosure, and replied that as as they (the men concerned) acted as -satisfactorily as they had been doing they would mot ba interfered with. In one distinctive case a man who had served a long sentence was, in compliance with our solicitation given employment in a large establishment. Several years afterwards, when he left for a distant plsce, there were given him, alike by employers and fellow workmen, tokens of the respect in which he was held, because he had, under God, misled himself by sieady peistveiance in weil-doing from the condition in which his former nic-dc o: life had involved him.

In relation to the aid department, we have again thankfully to say that in individual cases we frequently receive guiding information and material assistance from the staffs of all the institutions ; and we , know thai at this time ex-gaol inmates are reaping the benefits of the kindly counsel and self-deling help given them by prison officers.

Aa usual, a good many cases of a special nature came into our hands — cases in which more than ordinary material help was reqiiired. In connection with such we seldom have much difficulty, as philanthropic friends are ever ready to respond. In a number of instances, also, friends of the persons concerned voluntarily, or by appeal from us, supplied the requisite funds. All these sums are duly passed to the honorary treasurer? and appear in the subscription list as '" special subscriptions." "We have also gratefully to say that six friends— Mr G-eorge Gray Russell. Mrs E. H. Carew, Mr R. P. Bagley, Mr J. j. Clark, Mr H. Islip, and Mr K. Ramsay— gratuitously supplied us with good partially-worn clothing, whereby a considerable number of persons were benefited without cost to the society. Re the institutional Sunday services in the city and at Seacliff and Taiaroa Heads, we have gratefully to say that effective assistance was given us by .divinity students and Dunedin gentlemen, and also (in connection with the psalmody) by musical friends. For many vp?t= Mr C. F. Edgar and Mr D. M. 'Miller generously acted in turn as organists at the City Prison. The former gentleman having removed to a northern part, Messrs J. and T. Mirams now kindly co-operate with Mr Miller. In the like capacity Misses L. Sutherland, E. Mathieson, J. Finlay. and M. Torrance serve at the Hospital ; and Mr W. L. Logic and his Singing Band are helpful to us by continuing their monthly sacred service of song. At Seacliff Asylum the choir (a very effective one) comprises nurses and inmates, and Mr R. \V. Jou.es (a resident and expert instrumentalist) leads on the organ;, and inmates* of the Heads Prison form the choir there. In all the four institutions there is marked interest in the services.

To the Industrial School Bible Class work, taken from the Council of the Churches some three years ago, close attention was given. The examination at the close of the school season evidenced the benefits derived by the boys and girls from the course of instruction pursued, and Mr Burlinson's letter of October 80 is proof of the estimation in which he holds this new branch of the society's work on behalf of the young people under his charge. By donations from friends we were enabled to provide prizes for the children at Christmas time. It should also be understood that when any of them pass from the school to situations their Jianies and locations are supplied to us, and they are kept in touch with by personal visitation or otherwise. Their generally friendless condition makes this arrangement very desirable. We have much pleasure in stating that in connection with the Industrial School work the utmost harmony prevails between the -"society's agent and the Rev. Mr King (the instructor of the Anglican children), and that at the break-up of the school at Christmas time the classes are combined in the final ceremony.

Week-day visitation to the local institutions, and also to ex-inmates in their homes in the city and suburbs, bring us into close touch with many cases that call for sympathetic attention and spiritual and temporal aid. The fact is worthy of remark that we sometimes meet with pathetic instances of fielf-d.ea.yinj;

thoughtfulness by poor people towards neighbours in more distressful circumstances.

While we are carefiii not to trench on what does not come within our province, we do our best to 13e helpful to the several institutions; and to the probation officer all poss*Qle assistance is rendered in connection with persons, especially young men and youths, placed under the First Offenders Act. Also, as has frequently been done by the society's agent in past years, we occasional, in open coiirt, and sometimes by suggestion of court officials, take charge of persons whom, for special reasons, it is deemed inadvisable to commit to prison or place under probation ; and, in addiuon, to further steps on their behalf, a friendly surveillance over them is mamtpined. Lately (here were a number of the kind, and they are now in our hands. In : x-h cases the judicial and police authorities have always heartily favoured our action. The spirit manifested towards us by the chief officers and staffs of the different establishments is cordial and encouraging; ancl for the smooth and pleasant prosecution of our work every facility is afforded us. We also work harmoniously, and to mutual helpfulness in individual cases, with the various philanthropic organisations — the Church Sisterhoods, the Salvation Army, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, etc. We have likewise thankfully to record that the trustees and secretary of the Benevolent Institution have m many instances, and on several reoently, readily and effectively assisted us m exceptional cases by (at our request) housing the persons concerned pending completion of arrangements on their behalf. During the past year — as through all the years since the society's inception — we in a good many instances conducted, by request, services in city and suburban pulpits and in churches in northern and southern districts. As a rule, the ministers and congregations so served generously support the society, and- by these occasional services sympathetic interest m the society is maintained.

Looking back upon the year's work, we feel we have many grounds for gratitude to God for clear proofs that the society's work in all its branches is owned of " Hun. Individuals and families have been more or less advantaged and their lives more hopeful ; and through the pulpit services, and especially at the bedside of the sick and dying, the gospel of Christ has manifested its comforting, strengthening, and transforming power.

One other matter, we think, may not unreasonably be alluded to. We do not know the belief largely prevails that the society in its aid branch exists for general relief purposes : but, be that as it may, the appeals at our residences by persons not in any way connected with any of the institutions are out of all reason. Ordinarily they gay they have been advised to apply to us. Likely enough, that is not always true, but it must often be true — as, for example, when made by fresh nr recent arrivals from other parts of New Zealand or from distant lands. Often the circumstances are such that immediate help cannot be refused. It is our wish that citizens should refer to tis all applicants for assistance who say they have bsen connected with, one or other of the institutions ; and if these persons present themselves to us, and are not known to be unsuitable cases, they will be assisted, perhaps more than materially, as it is our aim so to help as that those we aid shall not have to continue to seek for charitable relief. But we at the same time think that citizen*, if it is in their power to assist materially, should give to the persons (ether than ex-inmates) they send to us signed notes containing a promise to make good any sums we may deem it expedient to advance. This plan has been adopted by numbers of citizens, and it has worked satisfactorily.