SOCIAL WELFARE

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17114, 8 April 1921, Page 7

SOCIAL WELFARE

| PROBLEM OF THE UNFIT. )■-:, ADDRESSES AT S.P.W.C. K 'i Various aspects of social welfare work ;: %ere dealt with in addresses given at annual mectine of the Society for ->& Protection of Women and Children ;&fiWt by ProfcSior Condliffe i > *M% 0. Sullivan, M.P., and his Lordship ;;' Sfiiohoa Brodie. : m Professor Condliffe dealt with the of the unfit from the view>r;&int of the economist. In his oprnion, SC said, tho causes of degeneracy in Dominion were more moral than $■ :&onomio. It was a very striking tn':&•>s£ to New Zealand that the causes '<?■ J? Airtreas in the Dominion were, gendue to factors other v vffeconomic Some people thought : ; Slow wages and other s.m.lar factors ' lere the greatest cause of social welHe had never behoved .' ■■ ' that and considered that the cause was rsSSi; rather than economic. la New he believed, trouble was. causes because our economic conditions fS'Sre better than in other countries. was. however, an intimate reia#!tibn between poverty and social troumT The speaker dealt briefly with the s:#Snblem of prostitution in the older tlgSs "ascribing it. to the fact that Stowages of the working class prevent!?#«4them marmng early in. life. Pro«gor Shelley had said that slums lnod »tfie hearts of the people. He could ifSi support that statement altogether W* meant that the people mentally l&tted slums. "We had to watch for #lfeflHr moral and economic factors which *#e4tised trouble, and check them when •sMMev appeared. He was pleased that »e Society realised that there were Wffiims in embryo in New Zealand It 'Wlteour duty to see that these slum Kfffito were wiped out. He believed msm the 'tendency to over-crowd the «|jfMties W ns the cause of slum areas. 'lP&ilation in the country was also a mSxtie of social degeneracy—the remedy lijfor --this was tho creation of country IHentres so that people would not ho Prevention was better than SeyHe helieved that the social legis«latio'n nin New Zealand paid for iteelf Tho old age pensions lIS-New Zealand obviated the necessity poorhouses which other coun|}i& hadV The work of the Society Wis,-in the-trueßt sense, a work of Wm>£ citizenship. Its work among chilwas particularly valuable, placS.'.'them in surroundings where they Sl#ould' develop into good citizens. If lltdiaeaae. either moral or social, were SSSwect to exist, it took the strong as aa the weak. In conclusion, he mmjoa'- referred to the excellent work ilPKchlthe Society was doing. ' glpttr D. O. Sullivan, M.P., said that Wffifc duty was to go* right down to the* KS*-of'the social trouble and then fittd Slmto-remedy v for it. There was an mMfiffiite relationship- between had homes The speaker quoted various lll^rmatbrystatistics to show that tlw |KdJ{viof.i the inmates pi gaols and re««Satories came'from bad homes. Ho Sigroed' 'with ' Professor Condliffe tlhat llioT6rty'was not the only cause of ae- ; While he realised that eiiplaved a very important part llp&ljitiidevelopment of citizens, yethO' impress on them that biolowere the most prolific Pop'of degeneracy. The conscience of Kwo;average3man was' sufficient to keep . becoming a degenerate. # In lon of the. speaker, the t time )d when Parliament should pay ttentiori to the health of tho No ■ expenditure was more pessary than that for ensurs»lth of tho community. We iblioi Health Department, bnt iatut-was riot doing Sufficient • lie 1 public Health Department trry bht a vigorous campaign bo <ffe ;public, on matters, of M■jstti\s- healtih'j 'He'iwtiuld ; | established aripus centres, where .people and learn the, pest methods of gptid, hfealth; One of the ngs;. dqnc; ,-by .Government 'arryirig-bilt of'the medical ext of: school children. They j further, however, and promedical advice. There were •ents who did not act on the (elation ■ that they ■, should gob dvice'far ••their children. In ifiHr Sullivan! expressed the bat„the~ workYof the Society >r«luctive olfgood citizenship. Brodie, congratulated the prcijiersrori the mannci in wjiich idiscuWed'' the problems of ilis remarks, be said, $ the,form of suggestions. His lotion was that the members of' ifcji-should .make vse of .tlhe fence of religion in their work. e. r of different denominations, jhoaldnotpreyent >them, ft-om ijnK.iihi lookup'? after . the' : welfaiesof ;-.si unfortunate tht whom to • deil.' raised';; inestimable :ihe ;#ftole; We:: rece'ntly s sensational le'cbmmuniiv'where .a voung {been, to d'eafh for -As a Bishop ho fSa to take a merciful vie n; 1 Without entering merits of iljo case at all, it. io- sm so much' sympathy exy'Sthe ityblic. i His, Lordship rrod' to the 'Alice,Parkinson ibadinothing,whatever to say ije: judicsary and the Prisons lien were comprised of men of #; Zealand might be proud, athaye seen it stated in the tely ; : that YvfcEis nnfortunato id;,slb6wn'a dispoaition which irrant her release from prison «."■ He felt sure, however, that >Tgy used religious influenced providb what was lacking so. Her;case was a reraark" Because she. Tiad killed' the ilty person : she! was; sent to ife,.;o There could, nenv; be nobknk despairs in her life. If nflnenbe could bo brought to soul, then a society j(B Sbcietv for the Protection and Children could do. a great pplying itself to such a case, nipt then dealt With the need ying and specialising mental ukvour mental hospitals. If orVunato people had more 'surroundings, l ; great good accomplished. We could not the; best: results unless .we oh people in congenial suriLiNo matter what' expendiwe should have atment for'our mental cases.. Brodie then dealt with the jmprovins our Court cpndile Court officials were most e, he said, but the present nded to destroy a womnn'3 t and 'sense of shame. Wo to find a system which would low a poor creature to retain ire was then hope for her. ce was made by the Rev. C. to the action of tijie Govcmnaking divorce easier..' This, rould materially increase the ;he Society. He commended ir Party for tho stand it had tho matter. I. Cuninpjham suggested that ty should' bring pressure to ave affiliation cases taken in room, instead of in rt, where a poor unfortunate to reveal her shame in front ng crowd at the back of. the akerß were accorded votes of r their, addresses.