FOR THE BLIND.

Wairarapa Age, 14 July 1931, Page 4

FOR THE BLIND.

ACTIVITIES OF THE JUBILEE t INSTITUTE. ADOPTION OF NEW TITLE PROPOSED. An interesting survey of the present and proposed activities of the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, the name of which it is proposed to change shortly to “The New Zealand Institute for the Blind,” is made by the Director of the Institution, Mr. Olutha Meckenzie, in the following letter to Mr. F. Norris, secretary of the local committee for the blind:— “I am writing this letter to give you and the committee some account of how matters go with us. The work on the whole is running along very smoothly in spite of bad times, though naturally we must accept cheerfully a steady falling-off in subscriptions and a tendency for trade to be slack. Actually we are succeeding in keeping up a fairly satisfactory sale of goods, but this is being achieved only by unremitting salesmanship and by the splendid assistance of many friends throughout the Dominion in conducting . sales of goods at shows, Rotary Clubs, and Women’s Institutes have been exceptionally good. Last season’s strawberry crop was unusually poor, and this left us with several hundred thousand on our hands. We hope for better luck next season.

“A further addition to the workshops, costing with the land, £7OOO, was finished in February—a three-floored building in which are housed a raw material store, a tuition department, the cane furniture department and a modern paint-spraying equipment. This has relieved congestion. It was of great advantage being able to create a tuition department—previously tuition had to be given in spare moments left by the rush of commercial orders, under which conditions teaching was necessarily slow and unsatisfactory. “The musical side of the Institute continues to do fine work. During Their Excellencies’ stay in Auckland, the full band played twice for Government House Garden Parties, and the Dance Band provided the music for the big ball of the season, this effort requiring a perfect memorisation of no fewer than 32 pieces. Enthusiastic dancers cheered the band at the close of the ball.

“We hope at no distant date to be able to make a start with the home for the aged and incapable blind l —those who are not able to benefit by training and employment. There are many needing care and a comfortable retreat which at present we are not able to provide. Last month an elderly blind man, Mr. Walter Haddrell, of New Plymouth, who knew we were planning such an establishment, died, leaving us in his will a very generous sum of £3OO. We already had £lBB 19s 5d in hand. Of course, a very considerable sum is still wanted. We have recently received a generous gift of £5OO in local body debentures from Mr. James Fleck, South Riverton, to be held in perpetuity as a trust, the revenue to be devoted to the general purposes of the institute.

“At a recent meeting of the board it was unanimously decided to take steps to have the name of the Institute altered from its present title to the wider one of The New Zealand Institute for the 'Blind. The I Jubilee’ so memorialised was not that of Queen Victoria, but the fiftieth of the foundation of the Colony. A sum of something under £3OO collected on that occasion, formed the nucleus of our funds—hence the name. For the reasons that our work is for the whole of our blind community, that our organisation is Dominion wide and that our work is generouslysupported by every district alike, our. Institute is genuinely national. The new title more truly outlines our scope. No doubt some considerable time will elapse before legal formalities are completed and the new name gazetted. “I was absent from the Institute for three months to enable me to- represent New Zealand at the World Conference on Work for the Blind, held in New York and Eastern States from April 13 to 30. This was made possible through the generosity of our American hosts in meeting the greater part of the expenses. Thirty-five countries were represented, about half the delegates themselves being blind directors of schools, workshops or other organisations. It is impossible hare to give even the shortest account- of the work. The benefit, however, especially to backward countries, will foe tremendous. In its main principles, organisation and scope our organisation stands splendidly. Nevertheless, there were many points of detail in which I was 1 able to gain information which will be of great value here. I was particularly interested in the work throughout Canada and I owe a debt of gratitude to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind whose guest I was. “Our annual report for the year ending’March 31 last will be printed shortly, when the Government auditor has passed the financial statement. The stress of the times will, I am afraid, reveal a deficit. Like others, we have instituted economies. All salaries and wages of executive, teaching and domestic staffs' have been reduced ten per cent., but not blind workers’ wages. Probably in (December we will hold a big three-day Fair at the Institute for the purpose of disposing of accumulated stocks of baskets and of raising needed money.

*‘l shall hope to pay my usual visit to the south to meet our committee about November.

In closing, may I say how deeply grateful the trustees and the whole blind community are to our many friends throughout the Dominion, particularly the committees, who contribute so largely towards the success of the work.”