THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.

Evening Star, Issue 4050, 18 February 1876, Page 2

THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.

i < The annual meeting yesterday Of the sub-* scribera to the above was attended by about i twenty-live gentlemen. letter was read from ; i ti»e Hev. Or Stuart expressing-regret that he was '■ prevented from being ores nfc, congratulating , the committee on. rhe continued liberality oi the . Uovemmeut and the settle 's, and trusting that i the report would be widely ci culated. • , The Chairman (Mr A. O Strode) remarked: i that an unusually large amount of distress hj d been relieved during the past year. The immi i gration scheme bad naturally: largely added to the work of the Committee. A number of Cork work-house women had been very pertii nacious applicants at the institution for relief They had been accustomed to be fed and clothed at the public expense,.and therefore it . was natural for them to ball upon the Henevoi lent Institution The committee had dealt > with each case upon its merits,, and had done [ their best to restore seme independence of L character with regard to these people. He had , to tell the same story that he told last year as to the causes ef destitution—-the frequent desertion of wives and families in most ca es by lazy or drunken husbands. Then He said the ’ Legislature should be invited to deal with this subject, and on this occasion he felt more strongly that it should be done. .The Skobetabt read the report, the concluding p*rt of which (held over from yesterday), read aa follows;not Bunnrires, bospitai,,' xro. ' r"■ An unusually large amount was expended last year on very necessary.works at the institution. As mentioned in last report, a detached hospital, or sanitarium, has been erected at a cost of LSO4, as a provision against any cases' of Contagious disease that'may occur. The Committee' and the subscribers have the satisfaction of knowing that they.are now in some measure prepared to meet, any such epidemics as have been prevalent in the Colony. Extensive and very necessary improvements bave been made in connection withthe drainage and other sanitary arrangements throughout the whole of: the premises, and the grounds and various buildings are now in good order and repair. . . . TUB BSCBSTABT AND THU MATBOH. The committee consider it their duty to place on record their high appreciation of the valnable services rendered by Mr «nd Mrs Quin; They are freatly indebted to Mr Quin for the zeal and pmence with which he has performed his multifarious and difficult duties as secretary and master, and to Mrs Quin for the painstaking and creditable manner; in which she has carried' on the domestic arrange- i mentis under increasingly trying circumstances. It' ought not to be overlooked that the recent large increase of adu't inmates, with their many infirmities of body, mind, and temper* cannot mil to.have: added largely to the labors and anxiety of the master and matron. CAUTION. ; , The Committee deem it right to warn the public against giving money, to systematic beggars, who in some numbers now seek to impose upon the charitably disposed. The money so best© ved simply encourages the lazy and the unworthy in their evil courses. The Committee have means et discovering whether obieots are worthy or unworthy, and aS ■ applicants for. charity of whom nothing is known should be referred to the Secretary,Mr Quin, who, aa, already stated, is, authorised to relieve at onbe all urgent and deserving cases. ATVSAZi TO TBs PUBLIC. The Committee beg to drge fipon the consideration of subscribers, and those also who have hot yet contributed, the fact that numerous and heavy as have been the demands .upon the funds of the Institution during the past twelve months, there is every reason to fear that these will be still greater during the'current year. 'Although the receipts bare exceeded those of former years, there has been a still greater increase iu the expenditure, for the balance, in hand.pt the beginning of the year has been reduced from L3?B 15s 6d to LlO4 4s id. The Committee, therefore, earnestly and confidently. appeal to Idle public for a still larger amount of support than hitherto, so as to enable them to meet the numerous claims lor relief which will on-: doubtedly be made upon them during the present ISKnv. -'T hOHcttlkiok; In conclusion, top uojpmtydjoe would impress upon all, especially toe owners' And oaeppiers of pro-, perty, the indisputable fact that by means of the: Benevolent Institution^security is given th£t ho. one within onr borders shafi porisb for lack of food or she-ter; while at toe .same time the community i s preserved from those numerous evils whiohare : now very generally admittodito be toe fruits of toe compulsory Poor Law system of relief which halrk) long prevailed in the Mother,upunb^. The medical officer (Mr Hockeh) reported as follows ‘ "

I am glad tO'report that dating no prehrions yelr since the foundation of the InstMrntionhasthehealth' of the inmates been so excellent as doting the: one maw terminated—There - has not B single case of severe acute disease. From forms, however, ■five haw cdte4A*-fonr of these being very old people—one female, Sarah Him, . aged,.-elghtjr-foor. years, of; Cooper, stated to be 118 years/ but oertainlyiigibt • moon more than ?{»,; from the ifllme ■ binge; a Sti, ‘ Mary Bridger, 16, who died soon after admission, > fromhip-jbmt disease; MarchafltfJSi from cancer of the stomach, and Saunders, 74>icom liver disease of old standing.- I considered iraSvisA.hle thatth'ej last two shouldhe removed to J&e j&spltal. Adaeetf 1 cataract in a, of 18 operated;

L 1667; on rations, allowances, 1582 ; on fencing, building, etc., 1-754; in fuel, 1.126; and inmedecine, L 139. The balance carried torwa d is LlO4. Mr Bathgate, R.M., in moving the adophad been • verypropmy brought under notice by the Committee It was. their rduty as citizens to put the Legislatttrein nit><i* n to try and core the causes of pauperism. An iustitu-oarposato-body. The Legislature should.give power to it to enable the Committfe« !J fc6' Xhake persons able to do so >ay every single sixpence for iheir Bupuort by the institution. There were ablebodied men deserting their wives and children ■and going about the country ‘* Jhafing.’*then there was a great necessity for an asylutn for inebriates.—(Hear, bar.) If ttiatonul id be obtained there would be less necessity for females oomig upon the Benevolent Institution The principle wan r. oogtdsed already in the I.unities Act. The e the fri-n ts of any confirmed drunkard could send him to the asylum, but the momeh f thatman, had got tile dr:nk out r.f bis he -d he tui|;ht say to the ier, “ Why do you keep me here ? I »m a sane man. Let me go 1” What they wanted wa- to*end a man to in'inch'date asyluinjlor I® 1 ) two, three, ay«*, five years if nt-c-lsaty. This druukt-nness was becoming an ordinary calamity. 'ln to e past year sixty wives had come . to .him to'ask for prot> ction agai.st drunken husbands an averag ;of five per month. This was something awful Tin should make unite together to. get Government 4o put ,4he afibirs-pf this Institution on a sound footing, bygiring (he commbee power to compel ablebodied parents to support their children, wnd also to nave an Inebti te Asylum. .' „ The following were,, on Mr :S; JaSo&’s motion, elected the Ocmmrte of Msnag&ntmt for the- e-suing year President, WA.’ O. Strode; Yice-presi ienlp,' iWessis B B. MarHn and lexander Rennie; Messrs Jhb. Moll son, Benjamin Bagley, James Fult n, John BBdop (treasurer) ; C. H. Street, James Brown, CapC Toomsou. and John Hislop (jeweller).. A/rvpte of thanks to the retiring comipitto«, whiofi jwas earned by acclamation, brought. proceedings to a close. . , - i