ELDERLY ORPHANS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3885, 28 August 1928, Page 35

ELDERLY ORPHANS.

KAITANGATA RELIEF FUND. AMENDMENT OF LAW APPROVED. WELLINGTON, August 24. The Goldfields and Mines Committee of the House of Representatives in reporting to-day upon the petition of Hannah Wilson and 15 others that the remainder of the old Relief Fund be made available for the widows and children of the miners who lost their lives in the Kaitangata mine disaster in 1879, made a strong recommendation that the law should be amended to empower the granting of assistance to necessitous dependants of the miners who lost their lives in the disaster.

Mr F. Waite (Clutha) made a strong plea in favour of the petitioners’ request. Unless something was done with the £4OOO remaining in the fund, he said, the petition would come before the House year after year. He briefly referred to the history of the fund which, he said, had been raised in connection with the explosion in the Kaitangata mine in 1879. There were 84 sons and daughters of the miners who were killed still living, and some of them were in bad financial circumstances. The petitioners could not get the money and no one else could. They only had a right to it.

Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) : What are their ages? Mr Waite: The explosion occurred in 1879, so that if the hon. gentleman makes a calculation he can work out the age of the youngest born.— (Laughter.) Some of them had to go to work at 12 years of age, and that had been a handicap to them for the rest of their lives that was only now becoming fully apparent. “So far as I am aware,’ added Mr Waite, “these children are still orphans”—(laughter)—“but no matter what age they are, unless they get some of the money which is so badly needed in the latter days of their life you will have this petition year after year. The necessitous cases at least should be inquired into. Mr J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) said that one of the petitioners lived in his district and had a wife and family. He had been out of work for some time. His case was a very hard one. It was up to the Government to see that such a petition received recognition.

Mr J. Horn (Wakatipu) also advocated that consideration should be shown to the petitioners. The widows, in several cases with young families, got only 30s a week. There-was money lying in the hands of the Public Trustee now. It had been lying there for years. It had been collected solely for these people and now they were old they were entitled to relief.

Mr H. Holland (Christchurch South) also supported the recommendation of the Mines Committee. Ho condemned the inaction of the Government in not giving effect to the recommendation of the committee.

Mr A. M. Samuel (chairman of the committee) in reply said that the Act under which the renu» ; ;iing money had been tied up had been passed by the Seddon Government, and in consequence of the law the present Government had no power to Act. He suggested that the Government should bring in amending legislation this session to effect the necessary alteration in the law to enable the fund to be administered as was originally intended by those who subscribed the money. - The report was adopted.