A PITIABLE CASE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7678, 11 April 1903, Page 4

A PITIABLE CASE.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir, — Will you permit me to pass a few remarks on the fallowing case, which appeared a few days ago in your columns : — " Emma Richards, an old woman, was charged! with being without lawful visible means of support. The police evidence was that the Charitable Aid Board, which had been assisting her, had withheld its donations for the reason that the children of the accused ought to support her. There was no suggestion of drunkenness or looseness of morals in the case, tbe woman being simply indigent, and having nowhere to go she had got hopelessly in arrears with her rent and had been turned out. The home being thus broken up the children had separated. Under the circumstances the police had no option, but to take the case in band, and bring the woman before the Bench." It seems to me a very curious proceeding on the part of the Charitable Aid Board to suddenly throw a poor and destitute old! woman on her own resources after supporting her for some time,, the result being that her home was broken up and she (poor, destitute, old soul) got turned out into the gutter. I call it an astonishingly brutal thing to do. -If, as the Board .says, "the children ought to support her," if they have not done so in the past, it was nob likely they would do so in future. My point is simply this. The plain duty of the Board was to take legal proceedings against the children and compel them to support their mother (if they were in a position to do so), but in the meantime to supply this old woman with actual necessaries of life. — I am, etc., H. JUTSUM. Christchurch, April 11.