"LIFTING THE HAY."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1078, 17 March 1911, Page 9

"LIFTING THE HAY."

TREATMENT OF INEBRIATES IN NEW ZEALAND. A TALK WITH BRIGADIER BRAY. "Whilst not figuring in tlipm prominently perhaps we help to \w>\\ o;i every society, league, or association whicn makes for good, as wo understand it, but. above and before all we accepr society as what: it is, and go riglit. in and help those who have fallen. Some people—good people, too—say when thev mo a drunken man in the gutter—'Let him lie, he has brought it on himself'.' That is not our creed —we say: Give him a chance, create in him a sense of shame at his condition when drunk alter you have got him sober. Lift the hay off him-you know that story, don't your" The speaker was Brigadier Bray, (in charge- of tho social work of the Salvation Army in New Zealand), and his sole auditor was a Dominion representative, who unblushingly confessed .that he had not heard the story. Well, an American boy in charge of a team, carting a big load of hay, met with an accident on the road. Vh<( wheel caught in a rut, and over-wont the hay. The lad. in. great distress, begged assistance of a tired negro,, who was loafing about. ."Come, and help me. to lift the hay," said the .boy. ''Plenty. o' tame," said, the negro, "come 'mi hab a smoke!" "No, i can't—father wouldn't like it," said the boy. "Neher mind yo father—come an sqat and.smoke under de tree!" "No, I must lift the hay, father wouldn't like it if I didn't." "Oh, get out" said the negro, "where'.. yo father, anyways?" "Under, the hay," replied the boy. "That's' just what we are ■ doing—we can't afford to wait for reforms—'we can't afford to loaf and smoke until society is. improved by education and advanced thought—we must lift the. hay, and give the.man underneath a cnance!". Curing the Inebriate. "I would, like you to tell us something of the Army's.work in reforming..inebriates," said, the pressman. . . "Well, that is. what I. am. most ;inter-' esterl. in, and what.l am" to. read a. paper about at the .Salvation Army Congress in London. We established bur. reformatory at Pakatoa Island ( Auckland) iii Soptem--ber, 11107, after the passing of the Habitual Drunkards Act, which provided for the indeterminate detention on those declared to be habitual drunkards. Pakatoa Island, which is fifty-nine acres in extent, was leased by the "Army for three years, but we had no sooner entered upon the work than we realised that the island was altogether too small for anything but experimental work... It .is essential that we should provide work for a few hours a day for the men under detention, and gardening is one of. the best forms of'work for 'cases,' as it ensures 'fresh air "and sunshine and healthy exercise.' ' Pakatoa. was.too small'; so wo looked 'around; '.and' found -that Rotqroa Island''(3oo" acres) ''Iy'ing'".''near Pakatoa, was.well suited for. our-purposes,' and we bought the freehold of it, deciding that at the end of the lease of Pakatpa we would transfer the home to. Rotprba. In tho meantime the question of how to deal with the female inebriate arose, and again we had to 'life the hay' by doing something. "Then it struck us that Pakatoa would be ideal as a reformatory for women drunkards, and as we had an option to purchase, we acquired the freehold of that island also; The transfer of the men. to Rotoron (from Pakatoa) took place.on Christmas Eve last. .There wo have' accommodation for 100 men, and at the present time we have 80 cases in hand. The old building civ Pakatoa was then refurbished ,for women, and was made available.. on.• February, ;J5 last. There are already seven cases undergoing treatment."' " . ' Your scope of action has been extended lately? . "Yes, .under the Reformatory Institutions Act of 1907 (which repealed the Habitual Drunkards Act;, the powers were considerably widened. There are four issues now under which we can act instead of one under the old Act. These are (1) voluntary committal; (2) committal by friends; (3) committal, by tho Court; and (l) committal for treatment for the use of harmful drugs under any. of the threo headings mentioned applying to drunkards. "Have you any particular method of treating,the inebriate?" "Our treatment," said the Brigadier, "is the same as that recommended by Dr. Branthwaite, Inspector-General of such institutions in the United' Kingdom. That authority said that having examined all the cures, he had come to the conclusion.that there was nothing better than a course which included reasonable detention and discipline, salutary work, special diet, and;.a good "moral'atmosphere. - . "I have nothing to° say agaiust drugs; as a cure—if they do.- good—well and good, but we don't u:-e. them. AYe onlygo as far as to - administer mild sedatives as nerve steadiers at crucial moments.. The constant absorption-of cura-' five drugs tends, I take it, to rob" a man of any snark of self-reliance he may have. Our treatment gives him the opportunity of reasserting himself as a man, and allows tho better self a clear course out of tho mental mirk and moral mud." And the results? "We never like to say much as to results in anv of our institutions under a three years 5 trial, but of those who. were detained for two years we have.every reason, to-, believe that.from 30 to 40.per cent, of cures.were effected. Then-you-must remember that the'first years j>f such, an Act's existence must be-the-, worst for-the reformatories, as the rakings of. the. cities/ are, generally speaking, the first - to be dealt with under the powers of the new statute. After .the first year or so we get better subjects-and better results, as is now tho case. We have every reason to be satisfied with the prospects of better work being accomplished in our island homes." '