CARE OF THE BLIND

Otago Witness, Issue 3556, 9 May 1922, Page 23

CARE OF THE BLIND

MOVEMENT LAUNCHED IN DUNEDIN. At the invitation of the Mayor (Mr J. S. Douglas) a meeting was held in the Town Hall on Friday evening to consider the question of assisting locally in the raising of a fund for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of Sir Arthur Pearson by establishing in the dominion the system of training the blind which he applied so successfully in the Old Country. There was a good attendance including a large proportion of ladies. The Mayor, who presided, extended a very hearty welcome to Mr Clutha Mackenzie on the occasion of his first visit to Dunedin since his election to Parliament as the representative of Auckland East, Mr Clutha Mackenzie, who was warmly received, outlined the scheme for raising the fund of which ho .has been appointed chairman. The blind had always been with us, and in the past they had not received the treatment that they should have received. Too many people considered that with the loss of their eyes they practically lost all their other faculties as well. That huff been the case in England until 1912 when Sir Arthur Pearson came along, and with his ability and energy coupled gifh his own personal knowledge of blindness and its disabilities and the support of his fellow pressmen, he entirely revolutionised things in the short space of two years. He worked on the lines that there was a niche for the blind and the deaf, and those who were disabled ; and when during the war period the blinded soldiers commenced to go along to St. Dunstan’s he eduoated them in accordance with his own methods and enabled many of them to go out into the world and lead lives' of useful activity. In the speaker’s own case Sir Arthur Pearson had done a great deal for him, and had given him new hope and enabled him to face the future in a way he had not at one time expected to do. Proceeding Mr Mackenzie gave some particulars of the methods and daily routine at St. DunstajTs where, he said, the day was divided into two parts—one for work an-d one for recreation 'Typewriting was learned very readily by most of the men and a good number of those from the colonies were taught poultry farming, while others took up boot-making or carpentry and joinery work. Sir Arthur Pearson had asked the 23 New Zealand blinded soldiers who had attended St. Dunstan’s to do what they could for the civilian blind on their return to this country, and it was in furtherance of that mission that he had come to Dunedin. Speaking as to the conditions which prevailed in the dominion Mr Mackenzie stated that New Zealand had done less for the blind than any other part of the British dominions; and it was a standing disgrace to us. There were no pensions for them, the training was inadequate, and there was practically no guardianship for them in any part of the country. There was only one institute in New Zealand and it could best be described by saying that it was typically pre-Pearson. The trustees, who we re leading Auckland business men, had been fully alive to its deficiencies but had been waiting for an expert lead. New Zealand’s share of the Pearson Endowment Fund, he continued, would be devoted to assisting the work in the dominion, particularly the after-oare wqrk and an agreement had been arrived at whereby the fund when completed would be handed over to the trustees of the institute under certain conditions laid down by the Advisory Board of the dominion fund. The Hon. Geo. Fowlds, who was oliairman of the institute, was a member of the committee of the fund and also chairman of the Auckland Committee. Tire amount which ttiey were aiming at was £45,000, which would carry a Government subsidy of £55,000 and would provide an income of £5500 a year. It was the intention to use the present funds of the institute entirely for the education of the blind, and this new fund would lie devoted to the After-care Department. This department would have many activities, but its principal field of operations would be to act as the guardian of the blind throughout the dominion, to obtain them positions wherever possible, and to advertise them when once they were established in business. In the past there had been too much of a tendency to blame a man’s blindness when he did his work badly, but these men would now be thoroughly trained, and he hoped the old prejudice against those who had lost their sight would soon break down altogether. The local committees in each centre would be purely voluntary and would include the leading blind men of the district, and an after-care supervisor would take care of the blind. Among the other duties of those administering the fund would be to provide tile blind with raw materials and to act in a helpful and advisory capacity generally. Every avenue of employment for the blind would be explored, and in this conned ion he mentioned that massage work was preeminently suitable for them. Speaking as to the distribution of the interest from the fund, Mr Mackenzie stated that £2500 . would be required yearly for the establishment of blind people in business after training. Another sum of £3OO or £4OO would be required for the salary of the supervisor, and a further £250 for his assistant, together with an additional £250 for travelling expenses. A sum of £BOO wculd be required for the establishment of a small home in Auckland for the mentally backward blind, and also £6OO to be sent Home for the purposes of more advanced education there, notably in the way of training masseurs. In conclusion, " the speaker stated that there were about 30 blinded persons in Dunedin, of whom only four or five were usefully employed; and it was desired by means of this fund to do something for them so that they might lie made happier in every way and have a brighter outlook on life. In other parts of the dominion the fund was well under way, and the quota fixed for Dunedin was Is per head, making a total, be thought, of about £3500 or £3700. Already he had received two donations of £25 each in this city, as well as several others for smaller sums. —(Applause.) A number of other speakers briefly addressed the meeting, including two blinded persons who had been through the institute, and who stated that although their training had been very satisfactory nothing had been done in the way of helping them when they wont out into the world. It was then that the fight had begun,. A COMMITTEE APPOINTED. Mr J. W. Dove (Mayor of St. Kilda) moved that steps be taken to form a committee so as to assist in the attainment of

the object which Mr Mackenzie had placed before them. —This was carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr J. Hutchison, seconded by the Hon. G. M. Thomson, the following committee was then set up, with power to add to its number: —The Mayor, Mr J. S. Douglas (convener), Sir George Fenwick, Messrs J. B. Waters, F. W. Mitchell, C. W. Rattray, G. R. Ritchie. 11. Harris, J. J. Clark, the Hon. G. M. Thomson, J. W. Dove, L. I l ’. Evans, W. Herbert, J. Gilchrist, Sinclair, and King (representing the blind), Mesdames Macfie, Douglas, Dove,. Don, Barningham, Misses Reynolds, Theomin, and M‘Kerrow. Before the meeting closed Mr Mackenzie expressed his thanks for the practical manner in which thei views he had placed before them that evening had been received, and for the support already accorded the movement.