OUR OLD MEN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 10141, 30 August 1904, Page 4

OUR OLD MEN.

A HIGH-METTLED SUBJECT.

RULES OF THE HOME MUST BE OBEYED.

In this small, though rising, town of Gisborno there are lacking many of those institutions which m larger centres arc available for people who are at the mercy of the world, those who through old age or incapacity are unable to make their way unaided m the battle of lift-. Almost the sole institution of the kind is the Old Men's Home, though the. need for others for aged women and children have been considered at, times. The Old Men's Home is a desirable retreat for those who have not made a blazing success m this world, whether through lack of ability or opporl tuiiity, and the good work that the Home is doing m a quiet way goes almost unnoticed. It is only at' the meetings of the Borough Council, sitting as a Charitable Aid Board, that the value of the institution is shown. Some of the cases that come before the Board are full rn ntcr€st> P^^ os an -d humor combined. lo take an instance. At the last meeting of the Council an old' fellow who had been refused admission came m person to plead his cause, andl he did it m a way that gave not a, little amusement to his hearers. On the M-hole, he made an able advocate.

There was a. fire m the old man's eye. He stood m a position of need, a supplicant, but there was a. sturdy independence m his bearing, his aged figure still betraying plenty of nervous force and power, which showed that he was yet to be reckoned with. He was wanting to go into the Home, but on the manner of his going he had something to urge. "What are your reasons for asking admission?" enquired' his Worship m his kindly lone.

The applicant straightened himself to an erect position, and m a- still strong voice he told the Council: "I have no money ; I cannot get work, and the people where I am think I have stayed long enough." Three all-sufficient reasons why lie wanted to seek Ihe shelter of the. Home these bleak days of early spring. What was there to keep him out of the warmth and care of the Home? There liad been a hint that he could not get on well with the other aged men. He had been m Ihe Home before, and the old birds m their nest did not agree. "Regarding tliat," he explained, "I cannot stand being insulted. I was insulted, and I struck him, and I will do it again. Wouldn't you, if you were insulted, wouldn't you?" h e asked, turning confidently to each Councillor. "But there is peace m the Home since you left," mildly remarked a Councillor. "It wasn't my fault that there was trouble before," he returned warmly. "I wouldn't deliberately insult anybody, and I won't stand anyone slighting me. I would just as soon have a man, who spits at me behind my back, spit m my face. I won't be put on. Wouldn't you strikeanyone if y^u were insulted?" he urged vehemently. ''No," replied a Councillor belonging to the legal persuasion. "You should not break the rules. You should 1 report the matter to the Board, and not take things into your own hands." "You are a lawyer," retorted the old man, as if that were enough, and his back thrust caused a general laugh. "I am a. man, and it is human nature to strike back." He wandered on, strongly defending his contrary view to the Christian doctrine that when struck you should turn the other cheek lo the smiter. Then the Mayor brought him to order by telling him business must be got down to. "You must obey the rules of the Home if you wish to get m," he said, "and you've got an Imperial pension which you must hand over to the Council to help to maintain you at the Home." "What?" .cried the applicant. "No, I cannot* agree, to that. Why should I give up that, and others who have the old age pension are allowed to keep it. Forty-three years, 43 years, I waited for that pension, and now you want lo lake it away from me," he remarked pitifully. "All those others who have pensions did nothing but live long enough to get it." The Mayor and Councillors were obdurate. That pension must be surrendered, that was their ultimatum.

Age and want hauled down his ilag. "I tell you w,hat I will do," the old 1 man finally said, as if he were making a big concession. "I'll agree to give £3 a quarter out of the pension for my maintenance." "And you'll keep the miles of the Home?" asked Councillors. The applicant was ready to do this, "but what am I to do II "he insults me?" That was his difficulty,' -and Councillors enforced on him that he must not make reprJjsals. He must report it to the Board,'- *#}% applicant was satisfied 1 to let it ijn™h at that. Then he had a new triple, and one not wholly confined! to himself. He was m debt. Would the Council settle his liabilities? he asked. "I owe £3," he replied to a question as to the extent of liis debts. The Council agreed to meet his creditors, and settled that he should have an order to the Home next day.