A Scandalous Affair.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1833, 17 May 1886, Page 2

A Scandalous Affair.

TnaRE 18 always some fresh scandal cropping up with teepect to the treatment of orphans and destitute children in the charitable institutions of this colony. The last instance of this is that ofdhe Orphanage at ChrisU church. The newly appointed master of that institution reports ;—" I was surprised t find oo taking up my duties at the Orphanage that the children had been grossly neglected in many respects, particularly ihe girls, who, as regards clothing, were in a state bordering closely on destitution, while the hair dressing apparatus for 96 children consisted of half an old dressing comb. As to food, I found the dinners were fairly good, but the milk given for breakfast and tea had been so diluted with water that it would not make a good drink for a thirsty child, aud much less an article of diet. 1 found the floors of the dormitories clean, but the blankets belonging to each bed without exception ,weie dirty, and many of them filthy, but all folded with the greatest cate and neatness.” In consequence of (be above report* from (be master, m well

as personal inspection, the Committee Las taken the necessary stops to have the institution and its inmates placed in a thoroughly efficient state. Samples of the blankets and clothes were produced at the meeting, and three members of the Board who had visited the Orphanage confirmed the report. Now there must be some persons to blame lor the neglect and illltreatment oi these helpless little children. It is not enough to remedy an evil—the person who caused it should be criminally prosecuted and visited with the severest punishment which the law allows. An enormous amount of public money is devoted to charitable aid, yet here are nearly one hundred children whohavebeen ill fed, ill clothed, ill cared for, and their shivering bodies at night covered with filthy blankets. The thing is absolutely scandalous.