The Orphanage Question.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5581, 31 March 1886, Page 4

The Orphanage Question.

PUBLIO MEETING AT LYTTELTON. A largely attended meeting was held last night in the Colonists' Hall, Lyttelton. The attendance numbered about 150. Among those present were a number of ladies. The Mayor of the Port occupied the chair, and opened the proceedings by reading the requisition asking him to convene the meeting, also by reading apologies for non-attendance, through other and unavoidable engagements, from Mr John Joyce and the Key Mr Williams. The Chairman then explained his position as an ex-member of the Orphanage Committee, giving his reasons for resigning, and deprecating any idea that he was a partisan. He thought that the whole matter of Charitable Aid deserved a great deal of consideration from the people. His own opinion was that the best interests of %ttelton and the poor of Lyttelton would bt consulted by the separation of Lyttelton from Christchurch. He concluded by calling upon any member who to propose, but would first give his reasons for doing so. No one in Lyttelton had had greater experience of the Orphanage than he had had. He had endeavoured to make himself a true friend to the orphans. His father had been Chaplain to the Devonport Orphanage, and he (Mr Chambers) knew how the children were managed there. The trustees looked upon the manager as accountable to the Almighty rather than as a tool in their hands. They locked to him to see to the comfort and happiness of the children. For the last twelve months he had been personally acquainted with Mr and Mrs Ritchey, and had felt it a privilege to be among the children, with whom he was a personal friend. Mr Eitchey was not a milk and water man, and did not allow freedom to the people in the neighbourhood of the Orphanage, as they had formerly had. As inhabitants of Lyttelton, they ought to be glad to have such a man as Mr Ritchey., and so ought the Board. (Applause.) Mr Ritchey had not had fair play shown to him, and the meeting as Britishers should stand by him. Had he been justly treated ? (No.) For once in a life-time, the four papers in Christchurch were unanimous in taking Mr Ritchey's part. From Ashburton in the south to Rangiora in the north, the public feeling was the same, that the action of the Board was reprehensible, and would not be forgotten for some time. There was a day of reckoning, if not bow, at least hereafter, and he pitied those who were responsible for this injustice. The Board had turned Mr Ritchey out. That was a good stroke of policy to secure possession, for possession was nine points of the law. He was not a lawyer, and did not wish to be. (Laughter.) Some one had now been appointed to succeed Mr Ritchey, and the question was, Was that successor fitted to take the position ? That man was uncertificated. Mr Ritchey had been said to be only an E3, but some people seemed to think that no qualification was better than that. Mr Ritchey had been brought up in an orphanage, and was held to be a martinet. It was true that Mr Ritchey was a good disciplinarian, and he (Mr Chambers) hoped his successor would be as good. He had to propose the following resolution, which he left in the hands of the meeting (applause) : — " That, in the opinion of this meeting, the action of the Charitable Aid Board in dismissing the master and matron of the Lyttelton Orphanage is unjust and harsh in the extreme, insomuch as that body did not, previous to dismissal, give Mr Ritchey an opportunity of rebutting any charges which they preferred against him." (Loud applause.) Mr John Olliver seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously with a stentorian "aye." Mr S. R. Webb was sorry to have to refer to a case of hardship against an individual. The affair at the Orphanage had caused sensation from one end of the Colony to the other. The Board had not been unanimous, however, as the meeting had just been. No one could deny that the past three years had been a time of sunshine for the Orphanage, compared with the gloom that existed previously. The speaker contrasted the palace-looking appearance of the Orphanage with the dungeon-like appearance it formerly had. The new Board had been well called the Uncharitable Aid Board. He had been a member of the former Board and was quite willing to take his share of the blame, if any was deserved, for the extravagance that had converted the dilapidated building into a comfortable dwelling for the children. (Applause.) The result of the teaching in the school there had shown the capacity of Mr Ritchey as a teacher. The non-possession of a degree even, did not prevent a teacher turning out first- clacs pupils, as was the case with the master in their own Borough school. Let them visit the Orphanage before April Fool's Day — possibly someone might be made an April fool, by the tye — they would see how admirably the institution was managed. (Applause.) The former Board, by the desire of Mr Ritchey, had done their best to make the children happy, and the Committee had trusted the master and matron, with the best results. The present Board and Committee ""had mistrusted Mr Ritchey from the first, and that mistrust had been cvi-

; dently reciprocated by the master. Some I of the Committee had almost never visited : the Orphanage, and yet led the Board into ' an action which sooner or later they must 1 regret. He had to move — " That it is expedient that the Lyttelton Orphanage be brought under the thirty-sixth and subse- ; quent clauses of the Hospitals and Charitj able Aid Act as a separate institution with 'as little delay as possible." It was high | time that the Orphanage should be taken I out of the hands of so uncharitable a | Committee. (Applause.) He might say I much more, but would leave the resolution [in the hands of the meeting. The Hon E. C. J. Stevens had admirably described j the advantages of forming the Orphanage into a separate institution. Hr H. Graham seconded the resolution. His Worship explained to the meeting that if a hundred or more people subscribed I .£IOO or more, they could petition the | Governor, giving the present Board notice, I to have the institution made a separate j one. The only objection the Board could ! make was that the institution was not required, and he thought it would take a considerable " amount of cheek" for the ■ Board to make that objection. (Laughter.) j The speaker went on to explain how the j management of such a separate institution i could be carried on. He incidentally rej marked that there were some valuable en- • dowments in favour of the Orphanage that j mist fall in eventually. He had, when on ( the old Board, opposed the separation of the Orphanage, but after the way the present Board had acted, he had altered j his opinion so far as to have promised to I become a subscriber to the Orphanage as a separate institution. He did not think he could give a stionger proof of his sympathy with Mr Eitchey. The resolution was put and carried, with one "No" against a very enthusiastic "Aye." His Worship expressed the hope that those who had voted for the resolution would soon " make the money chink." -• He went on to give a history of the Committee meetings at which he had been present at the Orphanage, where, he maintained, they ought always to be held. He had never found any difficulty in obtaining every information from Mr Eitchey. The children's money was now invested in the name of the present Chairman of the Committee, and of course the children would all get their money when they wanted it. (Laughter and applause.) He was sure that none present would like to have their employers dogging their heels at every moment. It was, to his mind, a credit to any man who did turn round and protest against such treatment. (Applause.) The Eev J. Hill, who was loudly applauded, had had a pretty hard day's work at Christchurch, and had felt that he could hardly do justice to his subject without some preparation. His text, however, wa3 so good that he hoped to make a good serj mon from it. The resolution he had to move was as follows :— "That the thanks of this meeting be accorded to A. Chalmers, Esq., Mayor of Lyttelton, for being one of the four members who voted against the resolution for the dismissal of Mr and Mrs Eitchey, and that he be respectfully asked to tender his resignation as a member of a Board, the majority of whom have acted so unjustly to Mr. and Mrs Eitchey." It was often said that Ministers should not take part in squabbles ; this, however, was no squabble, but a gross act of injustice. The Board was composed of respectable men, some of whom were his personal friends, but no amount of respectability or personal friendship could prevent him from protesting against injustice. On very trivial charges, and charges that bore on the very men who made them, Mr Eitchey had been dismissed. The old Board admitted that they were responsible for the expenditure for which Mr Eitchey was blamed and punished. It would have been very easy for the Committee to say simply, "This expenditure must cease." The charges, moreover, were not correct. The charge in connestion with the band had been triumphantly proved by Mr Eitchey to be incorrect! (Applause.) Moreover, man w*ho Tma W, been _ ma , de , a g ainst a S»ity of defendii.^f? afforded^ opporthat all would stand up for the^m&fi 'wfio did not get fair play. The injustice was a great wrong to the Orphanage, where discipline was tempered with the kindness of a father and of a mother. (Applause.) And this was not namby-pamby kindness, but was associated with education of the highest kind. The children were also being taught carpentry, boot-making, &c, and prepared in every way to fight their way in the world. (Applause.) Mr Eitchey had done what he could to get the children good places when they left the Orphanage. (Applause.) Not only was Mr Eitchey singularly adapted for the position, but so also was Mrs Eitchey. (Applause.) The children would be deeply wronged, for they would be led to believe that Mr Eitchey, whom they so much respected, had been dismissed for some disgraceful act, and thus the children's confidence in human nature would be destroyed. Such, an injustice ought to be wiped out.. The first wiping out was wiping out the Board. (Applause.) He had not read a word in the public prints, or met a man who said a word in favour of the Board. If the Board could face that universal disapproval they were guilty of an injustice to the community in which they lived. The wiping out of the Board would not be sufficient. The only efficient remedy would be the re-instateinent of Mr Eitchey, and he (Mr Hill) trusted that some way would be found to secure this. (Applause.) He knew nothing of Mr Eitchey except in his public capacity. A great wroug had been done, and he (Mr Hill) said, " Let it be undone." (Loud cheers.) . Mr S. E. Webb seconded the resolution, but suggested that the latter portion should be left out. The Eev J. Hill was quite willing to adopt this course. He put the resolution as curtailed, and it was carried unanimously. His Worship was glad to find that lie was in accord with the meeting. He duly acknowledged the compliment paid him. He animadverted at soine length upon the system of constant adjournments of Boards, in consequence of Committees not being prepared with their teports, as they thus finally got power to act. Through the good sense of some members of the Charitable Aid Board the business had not yet been given over to the Committees, though attempts in that direction had been made. Mr Webb moved — " That a Committee, consisting of the Eers Messrs Chambers, Hill, and Williams, and Mr John Joyce and the Mayor, with the mover, be appointed to further the objects of the second resolution." The motion was seconded by two persons in the body of the Hall, and was carried unanimously. The Eev Mr Chambers took it that immediate action must be taken in order that Mr Eitchey iniglit be retained for the institution. He moved — " That this meeting is of opinion that Mr Eitchey remain at the Orphanage until the expiration of hi<first notice, to end on May 10, with a view to something being done towards his permanent reinstatement." (Applause.) Mr Thomas M'Donald seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. A vote of thanks to the Chairman and three cheers for Mr Eitchey closed the business. The Committee then held a preliminary meeting.