“CHARITABLE AID.”

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16607, 3 December 1919, Page 3

“CHARITABLE AID.”

BOARD IMPOSED UPON, : CASE OP MISREPRESENTATION. j A story of how the North Canter- ■ bury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was imposed upon by a person who, from it and other sources, obtamed charity for a period of five mouths, winch was equal to an income of £SOO a year, was told at Wednesday's meeting of tho board. Tho - Charitable Aid Committee in its report stated that it desired to call attention to a case whereby relief was obtained by tho'most barefaced misrepresentation; tho worst case of the kind that had occurred in a number of years. Application was made tor assistance on Juno 6 on ac-; count of tho illness of a man, there being -a wife and eight children. Immediate relief in tiio form of food and milk was given. On June IS, the food and milk allowance was renewed, and an additional allowance for rent | was made for a period of four weeks. ' This allowance was renewed on four other occasions, making tho assistance , continuous to November 13. Tho an- ' ewers given to questions on each re- i ncwal of tho application were that tho | only moans the family had was the j grant by tho board. The committee j was throughout suspicious and made | special inquiries! | It had since transpired that in May ; tho man’s wife wrote to tho union of ; which her husband 'is a member. A j collection was made, and £5 handed ! to her, and from July 15 to Novem- j her 17 further sums wore handed to her totalling £B2 10s. Tho man who ! was in hospital from Juno 12 to July I 18, was handed a sum of £ls to on- : able him to go away to fully recover f his health, and clothing of a value of £22 was given for tho children. I The total received from the union was ■ £122 10s. Besides the above a j church organisation gave assistance j equal to about £75 in the early j stage of tho man’s illness. Tho total of the assistance received by this family from Juno 6 to November 17; was as follows; 1 £ s. d. From Union 122 10 0 From Church 75 0 0 From H. and C.A. Board ... 45 10 0 ■' • Total M £243 0 0 Mrs. H. F. Herbert said that the man's wife admitted to the committee that she had £ls in the bank. Flic husband now was working, and sho thought steps should be taken to recover tho amount expended by ! the board. j Tho chairman (Mr. F. Horrell) remarked that the board was always in danger of being “bad.” It was] because of tho proper caution it ox- ; ercisod that the board was sometimes j described as callous. ' j On Mrs. Herbert's motion tho mat- i ter was referred back to tho committee. Mr. B. Sorenson: And 1 hope the committee will be more careful in future. ;