PATIENTS & PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY

Otago Witness, Issue 2905, 17 November 1909, Page 36

PATIENTS & PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY

i «. — ANNUAL MEETING. The thirty-second annual meeting of the Patients and Prisoners' Aid Society was 'held at the Town .Hall on J>he 15bh inst., [ and among those present were Messrs J. F. [ M. Fraser, J. Loudon, W. Gow, C. C. Graham, E. E. C. Quick, G. Fenwiek, WD. Stewart, P. Barr, A. J. C. Brown, the Revs. Canon King, R. E. Davies, J. Chisholm, G. Heighway, W. Ronaldsom, R. Fairmaid, the Yen. Archdeacon Gould, Dr Falconer, and Mr Soanten (head gaoler). Apologies for absence were received from the Very Rev. Dean Fitchett, Professor Hewibsoa, Bishop NevilL, Sir James Mills, Messrs R. Chisholm, S. C. Phillips, Moore, IJ. M. Gallaway, E. R. Smith, Duncan Wright, and Dr King. His Honor Mr Justice Williams, who prei sided, moved the adoption of the report and I balance sheet. He said it was the thirty- ! second annual report, and he had had the unique pleasure of having been connected with the society from its very commencement. There was ntybhrng striking in the report — there was nothing, really new. All I of them knew — the whole community knew I — what - the- work of the .society was, and ' how much qmet good was done through its 1 medium. On looking at the balance sheet | they would be happy to see that they were ' living within their income, and they had ' also a certain amount on deposit as a re- , serve fund. It was important to have such a fund, because it was impossible to say , when it would not be necessary for. them 1 to draw upon it. The friende of the society • and the churches had very generously helped them, and they were exceedingly 1 thankful to them for it. The work of the | agent had been, strenuous. From the report j 638 visits had been made to. the various I institutions, and 286 services had-been held. I The . ageat attended the . courts, and: had I from time to time been able to render as- ) sistanoe to those whom the judge or magist rate had given a chance to reform through | them placing themselves' in the agent's hands. He (hia Honor) was always glad lo see Mr Cumming's face in court when j prisoners came up for sentence, and on several occasions he had rendered valuable i assistance. Material help, as they would see, had been given in 223 cases. That help had been grveos in different forms; ' money was ■very seldom gives, and when given it was given in very small sums. It j was desirable that discharged prisoners '. should have an opportunity of getting away j into the- country, and that toots should be I supplied to give them a fresh start, and that a sum of money should be placed in , their hands. The society had received very great support from the officials of different i institutions', and speakers, organists, and singers, both at the Hospital and Gaol, . tiad rendered valuable assistance gratuitously.' That happy -institution Hospital Saturday had been the means of adding £75 to the funds of the society, which was now . permanently included in the list of particii pants in' ( the collection. Two gentlemen ! Who had rendered considerable' assistance , to .the society had unfortunately retired I from their official positions — Mr C. C. j Graham -from the position of stipendiary I magistrate and Mr Bratby from the po_sij tion of governor of -the gaol. The comj mittee wished to place on record the many j kindnesses shown by these gentlemen to I the- society. Mr Scanlan, the new governor 'of the Gaol, followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, and gave every assistance in the work or reformation and rescue. The 1 society had reason to speak in the highest terms of Mr Cumming, who had proved a worthy successor to their late venerated friend Mr Torranoe. The committee hoped and believed that the public would still continue to support the society, and would help it to carry on the valuable work it had undertaken. That day they were especially privileged inasmuch as they had with them the Rev. Mr Kayll, who had been appointed to an official position -in ! the Prisons Department. Th«f Attorneyi general (the Hon. Dr Findlay) had taken in band the matter of prison reform — one of the most difficult questions for anyone to face, — and by appointing tihe Rev. Mr Kayll and Dr Hay mental experts ,the Government had shown an earnest endeavour to promote such reform. It was generally known; he thought, that mental disease amd crime were very often very closely conmected, and it was important that the gentleman who was at the head of the Prisons Department should be an expert in mental diseases. Sometimes it was very difficult indeed to determine whether a prisoner was or was not to some extent mentally afflicted. He trusted that they would loiter on have the pleasure of hearing some remarks from the Rev, Mr Kavll. In the meantime, he would move the adoption of the report and - balance 6heet. A CHRISTMAS FUND SUGGESTED. i His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. H. Walker), in seconding the motion, said this annual report had been gone into so fully by the ■ mover that it left him very little to say. He would like to remark, however, that he believed that the citizens warmly appreciated ti\e work done by this society, also the work that was being done by Mr Cumming. In this society, as in all others, the success ot the society depended mainly upon those connected with it, and unless | for an agent or officer a society had a thorough workman and a good man it could not prosper. In Mr Cumming lie was con•vinced that the society had obtained a ! worthy successor to the late Mr J. A. Tor- ! ranoe. In his capacity of chairman of the 1 Charitable Aid Board he could not ht*!p ! being greatly struck with the value and the amount of the work done by the various societies and the enthusiasm of their members. On reading the report it seemed to him that a great amount of work had beeri. done afc very little expense. He believed j ths society had to thank Mr Cumming for i this." He knew what a difficult matter it ! was to dispense charity, either as to the amount or to the people to whom it was to be given. Here they had someone who made it h-is business to become perfectly acquainted with all the facts. His Worship went cm to say thait they had in the City Council a sum of money (£SO) sent by Madame Melba. This has been sent to the Finance Committee. He believed it would be a good thing to expend the sum, with what might be added to it, on giving children good cheer during the Christmas holidays. He was asking the Finance Committee to augment this fund, and he hoped the matter of further increasing it would be taken U£ ■2.?* <^"s'.asticallv by the citizens.

The fund would do a great deal of good.' 1 His Worship concluded by wishing that, as j in the past the society had been successful, so in the future might it be even more so. THE VALUE OF THE WOKK. The Rev. James Chisholm moved — That a hearty vote of thanks be accorded those gentlemen who have assisted the agents in connection with the services in the several institutions; to the collectors in town and country districts for their valuable services; to the city, suburban, and country churches and Sabbath schools which gave liberal collections and donations; to the friends who gave employment to the persons recommended by the, agents; to the hon. auditor for the year's accounts; to the Benevolent Institution authorities and all others who have furthered the agents' efforts ; and { •to the officers of the several institutions ! , for the assistance they have rendered. Further — That the Patients and Prisoners' Aid Society is worthy of public sympathy and support. ' Speaking to his motion, Mr 'Chisholm said ■ i that if all tasks in life were as easy and ■ pleasant as this there would be little reason. ' for strenuous thought or hand work, but it , seemed to him that if our thanks* were to | be something more than mere- brag we must our imaginations iat order , to get at the real facts- of the case. There > must have been a very great deal of hard • work. They knew that collecting money I Vas hard work, and they must thank those collectors who, often anonymously* had trudged from house to house. Tfaisr work . had been most fruitful!. Recently he jaet a little girl, who told him, " I waS, iff yesterday," adding " I've been sick a Fot of times. I don't get the strap when I am • ill." By such means one was brought to, see that there were people sick in thir couni 'try — fnocalav and- mentally sick — whose ! malady might be' deah with not by the strap, but by a better, kinder, and wiser ' spirit. Need he remind them that this ■ work had the approbation of Him- whose judgment was of 'permanent value — He who said : "I was sick and ye visited me ; imprisoned and ye came unto me." That > voice which was calmer than silence, "Ye did it unto me." ! Dr Falconer seconded the motion pre- ' posed by the Rev. Mr Ohjsholm, and said ' h<s position; as an official at the Hospital 1 enabled him to know a good deal 'of the , work done in connection with, that institution by Mr Camming. Mr Cvuaming 1 arranged for a good many convalescent ! patients to go into the country, more 1 especially female patients. To some -extent ! male patients were treated the same way. j There 'were ertein patients that went out I to a restaurant, where Mr Oumming 1 had I more control over them, as they were under closer- supervision-. -He thought such a place could be obtained on a more permanent footing, and if the executive' would give some attention to the matter it would bo of great benefit to the Hospital. ; The motion was cawied. A MJGAI OPiNIOW. Mr J. F. M. Frasear moved— "That a j vote of thanks be accorded the committee ' for its. services during the past year, and that the following gentlemen be the officei bearers for the ensuing year :.— President, i Mir Justice Willriams; vice-president, Mr E. E. C. Quick; committee — Messrs A. S. i Paterson, G. Fenwick, R. Ghisholm, P. Dunca% W. Gow, E. R, Smith, P. Ban, i F. Z. Moore, W. Downie Stewart, H. H. I Daiver, S. C. Phillips, Captain Thomson; j and H. Y. Widdowjxra, SJM." In moving this he would like in the first place to t voice the opinions of tihoee present, and indeed of the whole community, by saying 1 that the society was singnriaTly fortunate 1 and honoured 1 in its president. — (" Bear, ' hear.") A fact that might not be known ! to any of those present had been com- . rr.unica.ted to him 'by a brother barrister the other day. He spoke .subject to correction, , but at any rate he was nearly right when I he said that his Honor had had the longest • continuous service of any of his Majesty's judges in any part of the world. Tjhe good ' work done by his (Mr Fraser's) friend Mr Cumming largely depended upon the treat1 ment of the criminals in gaol, where the foundation for Mr Cumming's subsequent j work should be laid 1 . One or two points ho had not heard emphasised. In 'has humble opinion, it was absolutely im-pos-i table to bring about reformatory treatment in gaol unless the prisoners were given prcfitable and remunerative labour instead of penal labour. These was a small section of the community opposed to prisoners being given work of a remunerative kind; but he thought that feeling was a diminishing one. He thought in the administrationinistration- of the Hon. Dr Findlay, who had the subject p-t heart, the greatest monument he could kave behind him would be the reform of our goals, where reform was very badly needed Our gaols for decades had been of the Middle Ages. That was a serious indictment, but it was true. .Another point wn* appeals made to employers to' uplift discharged prisoners. Now, it would surpriee them if they knew how often he was applied to by employers who had in service discharged prisoners, irale or female. He found an abundance of Christian charity Ln the breasts of employers. Those shrinking from helping to aid a fallen brother or slater were the em- . plo3-ee>3 ; invariably employees. As for Mr ! Cummin.?, he had learned his profession j and his duty in that befit of schools, that I finost of organisations— the Salvation Army. Mr J. Loudon said he had very much pleasure in seconding the motion, and also in endorsing what had been said by the previous speakers^ as to the value of the work done by the' society. He would also like to make complimentary reference to ■ Mr Cumming and the way he had worked' for the society. j The motion was then carried. I INCULCATION OF RESPONSIBILITY. I Mr Kayll said he had come more with the object of learning than of speaking. He was anxious to learn about their method*. He had come to congratulate thorn and to bid tham " God-speed." Hn did not think that anywhere in New Zealand was such a society doing such work, that was able to hold such a meeting as this society was doing that day. He hac! been engaged both in and out of prisons for the last 16 years, and had never before seen people taking- up this work so enthusiastically as thoy were doing. Often in connection with this kind of work one found that people considered that they had only o-ne thing to do, ana that was to form a society. It did not seem to strike them that there was anything further to do. To make the movement a success required people like his bearers. It did not mat-

' ter how effective a system or a society i might be, it could not succeed without I collective and -iradividuaJ effort. - N<> matter how effective tha present prison system might be, it would not of itself be a success. The work being done must be taken up in the prisons. But people made mistakes on tb» question. Such often an 3peared in the press, usually from correspondents. It was as great a mistake to over-estimate as to under-estimate. Ifr was necessary, if possible, to get to the bottom of the person's psychologioal condition*. In. oraer to gauge the mort* standard of a eet of prisoners, they Were set to write an essay on "la honesty "the best policy?" Oae prisoner wrote — he wasnot going to- repeat the slang, but the substance of bis essay was that he knew two men who had gone " crook," for some time, who suddenly made up their mincEsj to live honestly. They started a little business, and by keeping strictly to honest dealing gained the confidence of their customers a>nd other business men. The Inez*' ness grew and prospered, *nd they were very successful. So much, so that the?, decided that they must enlarge therr_buii<Jings. For this .purpose they raised a>' large loan from a - bank, and decamped.These- two- men really believed in- beinghonest, not for honesty's sake,- but' that they might reap the greater harvest in the end; and this evidently wib the view taken oi the matter by the writer -of tboeesdy. The speaker went oa. to remark how some people, having been once, taken: in by a prisoner, would have nothing to> do with 'him again ; but then s-^me. people were inclined' to believe every word a prisoner said— gaol-bird or not. They, treated him as if he could do-no wrong, and? on his release 1 might perhaps ask bin* to tea. Then if he deceived tham theybecame very pessimistic - indeed- .'-iOfchersV agaia, seemed to think crhnraals - were t>> be colteidered as irresponsible for their actions. Nothing was further from the truth. As to " criminal anthropology '* he knew Mhis: that the authorities professed to know nothing at all about* ir. ;No matter how far an individual's mor*? ideas might be warped, he must bo made to recognfee that he Was responsible idi> what, he didt He must be made to recognise that his fellows ha<f rights and that - he must respect them. The speaker 'hoped! that some time he might be able to meet the society's executive. He congmtakt**? them on the work which, was «o intelK- ■ gently being <Jone, and he wished them every prosperity. The President s»*d be' was \«ry glad to hear from the last speaker thai it would never do to treat the criminal as an irresponsible being. He called on Mr Cumming to say a few worcfe. TBEATMENT OF PRISONERS. Mr Camming, the society's agent, said h» would like to, express his hearty thanks for the kind appreciation' of his work. " Be certainly had tried as far c< possible to .do his duty. He had honestly been goin« full; speed ahens, and there had been no reserve force as far as he .was- concerned; and the only way he could- show his appre- ■ ciation of their good-will waß to straggle to <fd better in the coming -year than he hod done in the year fiat passed ' As to' : what had been, said 1 by T>r Falconer - he had tried to find come place of shelter, some home, for those .who came out of tn<» Hospital, .and, for that matter, who came out of gaol. He had no idea there was anything of that kind in the doctor* mmd 1 , and he was not altogether without hopethat something of the -.kind, would yet cemefor the betterment of the people. There was an idea abroad that the police and 1 detective forces were guilty^ of hunting down discharged prisoners, and that vnbeni employment waa found for them the polio* were guilty of going and informing tb» employer what kind of a person he had employed, so that the man might be discharged from the position found for him. He wanted to say emphatically that, as far* as thai was concerned, it did not exist in Dunedin, because as agent of the society he had received the kindest assistance from the police. The police had assisted to--procure employment for these men. ffc was only right he should make the position perfectly clear.. Every facility • they could afford him was at -his disposal. As to prison reform-, it was very much in. th© air at the present moment. A good manyhad a rather vague idea as to what took place in our gaols at the present time. They had an idea that what was meted out was the most callous, type of treatment.Be was satisfied that those- in axtthorttr used their -very • best efforts, as fair as they possibly could under the present regulations, to mstit ' prisoners with new hope, so that when they left gaol they would try to- do better and not return to their old quarters. He had. had evidence again ■ and again of the groat kindness of thegaoler and warders. He had been able to procure a little assistance in the office, which meant a great deal to him, as it left, him much t moxe freedom to get about among the institutions. APPRECIATIVE TESTIMOXT. Mr J. F, M. Fraser said that Mrs Jaokson, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, desired to express her appreciation of the services she had received from Mr Cumming. The Rev. Mr Axdsen said he had to express the same appreciation on behalf ,of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children and the Presbyterian Social Service Association. His Honor : It is very satisfactory to hear these societies practically agree ana' work together for good under their common Master. Mr Fenwick said it had been his pleas areand privilege on many occasions to express his thanks to his Honor Mr Justice Williams, on bohalf of the committee and 1 members of the society, during the many) years his Honor had been president. Ho■did co with etill greater pleasure on thi» occasion, as he had been president of th» society for 32 years. He could eafelyt say no one had rendered such service to . our public bodies for co Jong and continuous a term as had his Honor -Mr Justice Williams. H~ only hoped they would long have the honour of retaining: him as president. — (Applause.) The President returned thanks for th» kind words spoken, and said it had always been a pleasure for him to work with tb» society. Mr Torranoe had been a man} with whom one could always work withf pleasure, and Mr -Cumming seemed to bo following in his steps. He was always glad* to see the agent of the society whenever advice or assistance were wanted. _ H«> hoped to see Mr Cummin;? in this connection as he had seen Mr Torrance.