DISTRESS IN DUNEDIN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1093, 12 August 1880, Page 2

DISTRESS IN DUNEDIN.

, T-,oe'- Spieit op Competition.

(•From^the Otago Daily Times),

Mackggan street, in the neighbourhood of the business premises of Messrs. A. and J. M'Farlane, grocers, and of Mr. W. Patrick, butcher, presented an extraordinary scene of animation on . Saturday night. Quite a : revival : has taken place in the meat trade since the advent of Messrs. Shand and Worth's establishment, and the displays made at the various butchers' shops on Friday and Saturday nights would have done credit to -fche proprietors as Christmas; F shows instead of being the ordinary weekly display. Going a shade beyond the reduction in prices which has resulted from increased competition, Mr. Patrick advertised that after 9 o'clock on Saturday night, poor people, unable to pay for a joint, would be supplied free ; aud his next-door neighbours, Messrs. A. 1 and J. M'Farlane, also intimated by advertisement in our columns that heads of families, unable to pay, would be supplied with bread and potatoes free, in order to complete the Sunday's dinner of butcher meat to be supplied by, Mr. Patrick Messrs. M'FarlanVan& Co. had their large stock of goods displayed in the windows and throughout the" shop in a most artistic manner. Their commodious premises enabled them to do this most effectively, and we must confess we have not before seen anything like it in the Colonies^ To add to-,the,-,effect, also, the electric lijjh|;y fteed on'- a 'building immediately opposite, was brought to bear directly on their, prenjise_s. i'and this, with the addition' of : a number of flags stretched overhead, and the large crowd which thronged the street, gave the neighbourhood a most unusual appearance; Mr. Patrick's display of meet was very large, amongst it being some of the first lambs of the season. To prove that -/the' promised 'free distribution of division's

did not end with words only, we are enabled to state that Mr. Patrick gave away to poor people one whole body of beef and 10 sheep, and Messrs. M'FarlaneandCo. about 250 loaves and 20 bags of potatoes. It is ndtivery cheering, to think that there exists in Dunedin such an amount of distress as this large distribution of food 'se»m3' to indicate, for-it is not. to be expected .• that it could be continued by butchers and grocers lifter their first ••. experience of the extent to which, their generosity ntay "be drawn upon. Probably few in Dunedini except those who have had control in our Benevolent Institution, /and who in" other ways may have. hadJspe'cial means of obtaining an insight.into.v the poverty which exists, have any 3 . .iclea of its extent. We feel bound to add, however, that there iB reason to believe the charity was in some instances abused, and that persons who obtained the free supply .had previously spent on drink the money with which they might have bought the articles in the usual way.