A WOMAN'S GRIEVANCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9912, 29 July 1910, Page 4

A WOMAN'S GRIEVANCE.

A CASE IN THE SUBCRBO. AN ALLEGED INJUSTICES.

The exposure of the conditions under which "Mother Duck" lived in/ hut in St Albans seems to have give}* prominence to another case that sfe first seemed to have the eamo unpleasant circumstances. It was brought ynder notice by a ladv, who wrote a letter to tho editor of the " Lyttelton Times' describing an old woman scantily clad, limping along in goloshes without'shoes, suffering physically and mentally, and apparently almost at the limits af endurance. Inquiries made in neveral directions yesterday showed tnat although the lady who took the ease up acted very humanely and sympathetically, the woman is not in such * sorry plight as was believed. She is not an old woman. • She ..is still in her prime, in fact., and can hardly.be much over fifty years of age. She is evidently strong and in fairly robust health. * As far as appearances are concerned, she is well fed, well clothed, intelligent, and, except for a grievance, contented. She told her own story to a reporter last evening. She does washing, scrubbing and other work, sometimes being out all day. She lived alone in a small cottage in one of the suburbs. The cottage was an old one, and some time ago it was pulled down. Sho had stored away in it a quantity of goods which she regarded as her household gods. The City Council's officers felt that the place was in an insanitary condition, and instructions were given that the accumulated rubbish should be removed. Her grievance is that the articles removed were not rubbish, but were of value to her, and that in the course of removal all the money she possessed, amounting to £lO 10s, was also taken. The lady who interested herself in the affair reported the case to the police and the Charitable Aid authorities. The former found that they could do nothing, as there was no charge they could bring against the woman. Sometimes they make the law somewhat elastic and lay a, charge of vagrancy, in order to deal humanely with a case, but the woman is not destitute, and could not be dealt with from that point of view. As to tlra Charitable Aid authorities, they stated that if she attended at their office and applied for help she would receive it. She did nob put in an appearance, and consequently nothing further was done. In speaking to the reporter last evening the woman said that it was quite true that she- had spent a part of two nights walking about in the cold, but sho admitted that she had a friend's house to go to, and that sho could have obtained more clothing if sho had tried to obtain it. She is now- installed in another cottage, and receives financial support from her Ron. 'This, in addition to what' she earns, is sufficient to maintain her. The lady who took her case in hand has been very kind to her, giving her presents and helping her to get work. She said that she did not seek charity. She was quite willing to work, and wished to earn her own living in that way. She complains that the City Council's officers have treated her harshly and unjustly, but she has no other 'grievance, and no other point upon which sho wishes to appeal. As far as her money in concerned, the police authorities state that she has made no complaint to them of her loss.

The ioxtn clerk. Mr \L It. Smith, told a reportei that the woman had been a perfect nuisance to the civic authorities and the inspectors had been kept busy at her abodes for several years, lie visited her house in 1906 and there found filth of all descriptions. Tho rooms were piled in many eases to the ceilings with rags and rubbish of all sorts, and in the living room there was only a, narrow track among the garbage. With reference to the

statement that the woman had been turned out by the Council officers -when she went to see them, Mr Smith said that she had been to complain that her goods had been stolen and she had been advised to see the'police. He showed the reporter two reports by the Council inspectors. The chief inspector, Mr IY. Throp, reported that in February, 1906, he visited the house and found it in a. very insanitary condition owing to an accumulation of rags., broken food and other rubbish about the yard. The interior of the building was piled to the ceilings with rags and there was onlv sufficient space to move about in the living room. The danger from fire was great. As there was a danger that the woman might be' burnt to death, lie got the town clerk and the superintendent of the Fire .Brigade to inspect the place. The. woman failed to comply with notices to clean the place. Her daughter-in-law had. said that her son had offered to contribute £1 a week towards her support and to furnish a house and pay her rent, but she, had declined the offer. Reporting oji the case as the result of his inspection in. March of this year, Mr L. Hardie, another inspector, stated that he gave the woman notice to remove all the old rags and rubbish, but it was not complied with. The owner of the bouse could not remove the woman, so he put bailiffs in. She then removed to another place, o.nd when the owner of that property saw the rubbish lie locked the place up to prevent any more being taken there. lie told her that if she got rid of the rubbish she could stay, and she complained to the inspector that she had been locked out. He pot the key of the house and tho daughter-in-law spent a day there clearing the rags out, but the woman took them back again. As the inspector could do nothing with the woman, helocked the place up again. She then stayed with another woman. An officer of the Salvation Army, who paid a visit to the woman's present homo yesterday morning with a view to rendering any assistance in.the power of the organisation which he represented, told, a reporter that so far as be conld see she was a cleanly, hardworking, decent woman. Re stated that he intended to institute, further inquiries, and that if.the result of these was as favourable as the result of his personal observation, assistance would be given immediately.