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Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2045, 21 March 1887, Page 2

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(CONTINDID.) there or alflHf ®ay classes of pau> is found in oWgr counwho make begging and H^^^Krofession— the parasites on of labor, industry and These human vermin con while the bulk ot then are born to work for their mission in life fashion, suck at the workmen and draw of their surplus sundowners upon the effortsTHfc daily laborer or artisan are to in hordes and shoals in all populated towns ; they ar«Be deadly nightshade of society aIK their presence does not require toB always visible to be felt. There are Sways indirect ways oi feeling tbeßfccts of their existence within a siHl radius, as they invariably leaveakheir footprints behind them eithers the shape of disease, disaster, or ftier vile contaminations which spreaff like dire epidemics among the yang, sensual, or impetuous of ourl race. Such as these deserve to bo Seated as foul blemishes

upon our faif*name as British subjects. These human vampires should be taught to know that their existence in our mi|at is a blot upon our manhood—they should be dealt with with unrelenting and unsympatbic bands, and their destitution should be, as by the provisions of the Vagrancy Act it really is, treated as a punishable crime. Th« law should say in all such cases, “ if you do not work, and work honestly for your own mainte nance so long as you have health and strength, we will make you work ” And then it would not be worth their while to feign incompetency while employment is offered. There is another great cause for the adoption of this Charitable Aid Act and the consequent confusion caused thereby { in this young colony. Of course in' speaking of this precious Charitable Aid Act, we are only treating it as a Poor Law Act in disguise, but not with anything like the efficacy of the English Poor Law Act. The cause is this: the Government of New Zealand, in their sage Public Works Policy, have surfitted the country with an overplus of population, and that not in all cases of the kind that will likely prove beneficial, profitable, or reproductive for some time to come to the colony. Some of these new importations have first to learn how to live in this colony before they can earn their living. Channels that are open in Britain for employment are not yet in existence in New Zealand. How would the cotton spinner, the Spitalflelds weaver, the plaiter of straw for hats or bonnets, the brass moulder, or tke factory hand in many departments find sufficient employment in this sunny island of the South, if imported here in any quantity P Yet, there are such here, and in many oases, as colonists, practically useless. They have the will and the desire but cannot obtain employment as farm hands or domestic servants, simply because the market is well stocked with a sufficient quantity of experienced hands that drive the inexperienced in those particular lines out of the market. A policy of overanticipation is a most vicious and even murderous policy; it is a curse to civilization to introduce unsuitable immigrants to these shores. The sturdy ploughman, or the miner, from the northern hemisphere could at once find in Canterbury or Otago his proper sphere; he would most assuredly, if as persevering as he is reputed to be, soon provide himself with a comfortable home and a steady compe tence ; the Scotch, English, or Irish shepherd, cattle drover, or bushman would in the North Island speedily find employment congenial to his usuages ; but to transport the Lancashire weaver or the Staffordshire pottery hands to these shores in any numbers would probably mean to them misery, want, disappointment and despair. A judicious and cautious policy of immigration and a steadygoing system of progression—not that by leaps and bounds —is the surest road to the happiness and prosperity of the common weal of this or any other colony. One more point if worthy of notice while we are discussing this subject: the Greytowi Hospital authorities at the present time have intimated to the Wairarapa District Board and also the Govern ment that they estimate that a subsidy of £250 will be required the forthcoming year, ending March liist, 1888, to meet the demands upon the maintenance of their separate Institutions. The Masterton Hospital will also require a certain amount to supplement their voluntary contributions Ihe question now is this, “ Where does the bulk of the sickness which causes this outlay, arise ? Well, we have enquired so far as the Creytown Institution is concerned and what do we find ? Why we find that by far the greater portion of the trouble etna nates from the outlying districts where men for the most of the year live the lives of isolation, where the diet only varies from mutton and damper to damper and mutton ; where the facilities for wholesome cooking are very crude and imperfect; where vermin delight to congregate, and where the recluse has ample opportunities of becoming low in spirit, moody, gloomy, downcast, sad, weary and sick, Such patients are frequently found away in the wilds of the ranges, upon big runs. They are carted in and become sojour tiers of our hospital for some consider able time. If, luckily, they are turned out convalescent, they try the life of seclusion and exclusion some where else, perhaps in a remote part of the colony ; they leave with many thanks to the custodian for his trouble, and toe townspeople pay the piper. The large runholder who is benefitted by toe man's labor while wasting bis health and vigor, pays no more to the Hospital than the impecunious tradesman with a large family to support, and

then the Hospital want* a subaidy.l The whole sv«tcm is rot'en If we ml to have District Boards lei thorn hive fall powers to ralo for hospital purposes pro ra*n to the property qualißcation on tho ownership or th* holders!)ip of land basis or either abolish these bodies altogether. Either sweep them away or allow them !•,, make sweeping reforms by adminto"*"* tering and controlling their o*B, Charitable Aid. It appears from tU manifesto issued by the United that the money payable to the lington Benevolent Society -rom cm Wairarapa and district per annum li £3OO to the Caversham School £ 107 ss, Burnham £230, St Joseph’s Orphanage £B6, St Mary’s £54, JJ* Hutt and Horowhena Districts t <lo6, making a total of £986 ss, and out of this the Borough Council of Dreytown alone is asked to forward a sum of £lO9 9s Bd, a ninth share, the other Local Bodies in tho Valley in proportion to their appointment of membership ; thus the Mastertou Borough Council would have to pay two math shares, the County North three ditto and County South four ninths. Ihe Chairman and Clerk of the South County Council and tho Mavor and Clerk of the Qreytown Borough Council will endeavour to meet the officials of the United Board m Wellington, and the other Local Bodies should also send representatives atd enter a like protest.