The Children's Bread Fund.

Otago Witness, Issue 2923, 23 March 1910, Page 13

The Children's Bread Fund.

TO THE EDITOB. Sie,—Some time ago you published correspondence from a Mr Lister Stead, of Glasgow, in. connection with the British Children's Bread Fund, in which grave doubts were expressed, as to the genuineness of the persons to whom the disposal of the money had been entrusted. At the timp the Trades and Labour Council replied to the communication and supplied sufficient documentary information to satisfy the subscribers to the fund that the money was mot .only in the hands of most ' reliable persons, but that it was being expended in the manner stipulated in the Trades Council's appeal. The Rev. S. Bailey, of Kew, has kindly placed at your disposal, and you have been good enough to publish, a letter from the Rev. Thomas Jackson, superintendent of the Working Lads' Institute and Home, London, in which _tnat gentleman states he had heard nothing of a New Zealand Bread Fund; and, further,, "that if the Christians of New Zealand, through the Labour Council, send their liberal gifts to the care of Mr Robert Blatchford, of the Clarion, then there is no need to wonder that no portion of' their contributions finds its way to agonoies that associate religion and high-toned morality with their operations." With the opinions of the rev. gentleman in reference to Mr Blafcchford's religious

views we have nothing whatever to do. A man's religion is a matter which concerns himself only, and is no other person's business, but it is another matter when Mr Jackson casts a doubt on the honesty of Mr Blatohford simply because he holds different opinions on the question of religion. Mr Blatchford did not ask the people of the Dominion to forward their subscriptions to him. He might have been just as pleased had the money been forwarded and distributed through some other channel. But his great heart had been moved to pity by the sight of starving children. He appealed to the people of England, and the response was good. The echo of his appeal reached New Zealand, and was put into concrete form by the Otago Trades and Labour Council. The result was a response of which the people of Otago and the Trades Council had reason to be proud. The responsibility of fulfilling the trust reposed in Mr Blatchford, of distributing the New Zealand gift, was undoubtedly felt by him, and after consultation with the High Commissioner, he fully concurred with the pledge given by the Trades Council—viz., that the money woruld he expended on food only, and that no' portion would be spent in distribution expenses. The money was banked in the names of Robert Blatchford, editor, and Alexander M. Thompson, manager of the Clarion, and another. On May 7 the following appeared in the Clarion, signed by Mr Thompson : To the Secretaries of Cinderella Clubs and Bread Funds. We have devoted long and earnest consideration to the disposal of the' funds entrusted to us for the. feeding of hungry children by trades unions and other subscribers in New Zealand, and, by the approval of the High Commissioner for the Dominion, we have decided to dispense the money through the medium of the Cinderella Clubs and Bread Funds. To help us in this work, we would ask all Cinderella and Bread Fund secretaries to send us report of the work they are actually doing, the needs with which they are dealing, and the possibilities of further useful expenditure. Secretaries'' of Cinderella Clubs and Bread Funds who have been compelled to give up work owing to lack of funds are invited also to send in statements of their local needs that we may allocate the funds as jtustly and evenly as our organisation will permit. All reports should be addressed to me at this office. This clearly indicates that those entrusted with the disposal of the money subscribed in New Zealand were not only taking steps tc have it expended in the manner stipulated in cur appeal, but they had consulted the High Commissioner as to the mode'of distributing it. To give your readers, an idea of the work done by the Cinderella Clubs referred to, we would like you to publish the following extracts: We brought our winter's work to a close on Good Friday by giving a breakfast of cocoa, bread' and dripping, and buns, to 443 children. Since we started last October we have given 5559 breakfasts. In addition to this we cave a hot Christmas dinner of roast beef, plum pudding, oranges, etc., to 295 children. Some of the children who came to us were- clean, though poorly clad. Others who came to us at 7.30 in the morning had the appearance of not having been washed for. days. Marry were without boots or stockings, a large number without decent underclothing, their nakedness covered by rags one would not put a dog to lie'on. In' face of these conditions, and remembering the homes the children would have to go back to, our work appeared to me like trying to put out Vesuvius with a teacup. There is a pale little girl who looks as if she did not belong to this world, and to whom a stay amongst the grass and flowers would be a paradise indeed. What can the ■Clarion do in this way? These extracts were published in the Clarion last .winter, and reports have appeared almost every week up to the present time, some of them more heartrending than those quoted above. Mr Jackson boasts about the number of people his society has been instrumental in assisting, but we question whether he can produce a better record than the Cinderella. Clubs and bread funds during their existence in Britain. When launching our appeal we made it clear that it was our intention to send the money to Mr Blatchford, and the fact that the various churches subscribed such a large sum proves that the members of those churches had confidence in the Trades Council that the money would be placed in the hands of trustworthy people, and it would require something more than the letter from the Rev. Thomas Jackson to convince us that our confidence in Mr Robert Blatchford has been misplaced. Mr Jackson's letter, so far as it relates to Mr Blatchford, is very bitter, arid is anything but creditable to a man who claims to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look for charity from Christian ministers, but we can look in vain for a sign of charity in Mr Jackson's letter. A short time ago the cables announced that a Rev. Lewis D. Thomas intended holding a thanksgiving service for the defeat of Mr Will Crooks at the British elections. Fortunately for us, Mr Crooks had a short time previously paid a visit to the Dominion, and, besides delivering public addresses, had taken the pulpit in several church meetings. We therefore took no notice of the ravings of this, person. Mr Blatchford has never visited this part of the world, but we venture to say that were he to do so we would find that he was just as deserving of the bitter attack of the Rev. Thomas Jackson a® Mr Will Crooks was of the attack of the Rev. Lewis D. Thomas. We are perfectly satisfied of the honesty of Mr Blatchford, and have implicit faith in him to carry out the pledge we gave to the public. He has a record that even the Rev. Thomas Jackson might well be proud of. In conclusion, allow us to quote two lines from Mr Thomas Bracken's poem, "Not Understood":. Poor souls with stunted vision "-•' Oft measure giants by their narrow gauge. On fcohalf of the Bread Fund Committee, I am, etc., R. Breen, secretary.