Kingstown Slums

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 20, 14 May 1903, Page 9

Kingstown Slums

Pro^ftin^ IPffj?1 Pffj? * Urban Coun c ll «aye applied for a Provisional Order to enable them to acquire certain pro-£-n y nnn f in^i tOWti ' *™i also to get a loan of some £,0,000 for the purpose of building artisans' dwellings. ivL^ll £ a^° n was oPPo^d by a number of interested pioperty holders and an inquiry was instituted to reOnrno^ eDCe ' Th T? teeing witness on behalf of the K?KJ n Jh M Father Murphy, the parish priest of V?-frip uurX supplied minute statistics showing that a large number of lamihes were housed in dwellings £' C1 d «L cn £ cd . a s ' desperately bad.' In one case Ec found fourteen families with only a single latrine accommodation. In a one-roomed house, 12ft by 10ft, he found „ husband, wife, and four children. In some cases Slfrtf^ h J a ? ull , eS were c r own up, he found that the nrlSr to llVe away from their Parents in order to &S* nf ce + h ame * nn l tics of dect>nc y- These are some samples of the statements put forward by Father K"wfth "I haS i n( l} lired ve Sy closely into the condition " whc [ f hls P® o Pl e live, and is resolved to strive for their betterment By most people Kingstown is regarded £!h~/ aJUbUI£a J UbUI £ Of **i blin ' and the statement now published showing the existence of slums of the most degraded character comes as an eye-opener to the public at