DEGRADED POVERTY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 112, 3 July 1911, Page 6

DEGRADED POVERTY.

EEAIEDY—EN FORCED LABOUR. Opening a discussion on the treatment of undesirables, Mrs. Foil (Not son) moved at the Hospitals Conference in Wellington last Thursday:™ ' ‘‘That this conference considers it desirable ‘that an Act of Parlia - ment be passed to provide State farms, indusl rial homes or other suitable places of healthy restraint for the detention and enforced labour of confirmed drunkards or other self-hid agents who, having wife an family, incapacitate theniseves from wage-earning or spend an undue share of their earnings on themselves, thus leaving the maintenance of aforesaid wife and family to the charitably aid boards of their districts; That Liao time spent in such hbir.es, etc., be in proportion to the number of convictions; and that the earnings of such individuals be handed to their respective boards for the benefit of their families.” It was undesirable (Mrs Fell contended) that the State should be taxed for the maintenance of children who would probably prove of little benefit, morally or physically, to the country whilst under the present system the parent was encouraged to increase the number of such children by being freed, from the responsibility of \ their maintenance, or at least a considerable portion of it. If society was to cohere it must restrict and restrain those members whose behaviour ivas injurious to the community at ‘X Gillingham (South Canterbury) seconded the motion, saying that .it ivas designed to aid in the settlement of one of the most difficult parts cf social work. It avcs a great problem hoAv best to deal Avitli the rogues who deserted their Avives and children. If only they could be controlled properly some good might be done. At present they could refuse to obey maintenance orders, and ' the only j thing’that could now be done Avas to’ put them in prison, where they had to bo supported by the State and their dependents had to be maintained by tno general taxpayer. Mr. D. McLaren, M.P. (Wellington), said that the problem wary a A*ery complex one. There Avas, for instance, the possibility of the ’ products of men employed on the State farms competing unduly .with the output of free labour. It had also to be -remembered that these men avolo often the victims of the nature of thoi 1 . occupations. Some occupations, for instance, •predi;-posed men to hoav\\ drinking, He believed that 'until ,th< State had faced the question of pro viding work for the Avorkloss man the problem as a whole could not Ik tackled.

A delegate: How is it proposed tc make these people work? Dr. Valmtine said they might he kept in labour colonies, as in Switzerland, until they had done sufficient work to remunerate the boards for expense undergone on their behalf. The community should divest itself ol mushy sentimentality and met ' eft tq»fvtheso- i undesirables the treatment, tliat they ought to have. The Rev. W. A. Evans said he would be very happily surprised if the Legislature of New Zealand wore to take this matter up seriously. If a little common sense were brought to bear these evils of degraded poverty and degeneracy, if not altogether wip ed‘ off, ipight at least ho so mitigated as .to put our people on the up instead of the down, grade. The motion was carried. It was. agreed, on the motion of Mr. Harrell (North Canterbury)— “That the Government be. urged to take more active measures 'for arresting deserters of wives and children, and parents of illegitimate children, and setting thorn to remunerative work, the balance of their earnings (after defraying the first charges for me intenanco) to be applied towards the support of those dependent on them who may be in receipt of relief out of public funds.” ' The following Otago remit was alsto passed:— “That the Government be .requested to forthwith'gazette the regulations provided for in the Crimes Amendment Act. 1910, so that wages may be earned by criminals and so enable boards to. take advantage of the provisions of this Act.”