Feilding Benevolent Society

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 41, 15 September 1885, Page 2

Feilding Benevolent Society

The balance sheet for the yean ended August 31st 1885, shows — Keceipts — balance from previous year £2 7s lid; subscriptions and subsidies £26 4b ; special subsidies £94 ; total £122 lls lid. Expenditure, relief, ordinary and special £84 13s 6d; advertising, &c, £2 19s 2d; balm bank £34 19s 3d; total £122 lls lid. The outstanding liabilities are £4 lls 64. The following is the Secretary's report : — From the large sum of money expended by the society during the past year it may be thought that its existence has tended to develop pauperism or that the committee have not been sufficiently careful as to whom they made the subjects of the society's relief. That it is not so, you will readily understand when you have! our assurance that each ease-receiving assistance has been one of genuine distress arising through sickness or accident, and that several have been refused relief, because it was suspected that their distress was the outcome of distaste for work. A much abused and objectionable custom, that of handing private subscriptions lists for relief from house to house, seems to have been supplanted by the operations of the society, which has the advantage of supplementing donations £ for £, and of dealing charity only after due consideration and enquiry into the merits of each case. Difficulty is experienced in getting members together for the monthly meetings, and as their attendance is really necessary to enable us to dispose of all cases in a proper manner, it is hoped that only gentlemen who can find time to attend, will be elected to the committee for the current year. At the nine meetings during th» past year the following is a list of attendances: — . _.- Treasurer, 8 ; Secretary, 8; Mr Bray, 7 ; Mr Eade, 6 ; Mr Lethbridge, 5 ; Mr Murray, 4 ; Mr Bishop, 4 ; Mr Kirton, 3 ; Mr Jones, 2 ; Mr Bartholomew, 2 ; Mr Wright, 1 ; Mr SherwiU, 1. The balance sheet shows a credit on ordinary -account of £5 19s 3d against which liabilities of £4 lls 6d are outstaning; whilst there are one family receiving 10s, and two 5s each per week. The necessity for immediate payment of the current years subscriptions is therefore apparent. A credit of £29 upon special account is also shown which is being distributed at the rate of £1 per week to the family for whose benefit it was subscribed. Jas. H. Stevens, Secretary. Feilding Sept. 11th, 1885.