THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1881. THE COMING WINTER.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2253, 18 May 1881, Page 1

THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1881. THE COMING WINTER.

Already, as may easily bo seen, we are beginning to find ourselves face to face with the problem which gave us such an infinite amount of trouble last year—-viz., how to deal with that destitution which is sure to arise during the coming winter. As to the advisableness of the course pursued last season there may be, and doubtless is, some diversity of opinion; but there can be no question that a great deal of good was done. Granted that in some cases imposition was practised on the committee, there was no more than inevitably arises where such an organisation exists. The question now comes—How is the present season to be provided forp Wo agree with one of the speakers at the meeting yesterday that to a largo extent it is the women and children who will be the more affected, or, at any rate, who will more largely require the practical sympathy of any committee which may be formed. A certain per-centage of able-bodied men will, in the natural cessation of many sources of employment, owing to the weather, &c., require some relief, but the main body of the applicants will be those whoso husbands and fathers have had to leave them whilst seeking a precarious livelihood elsewhere. These, like the poor, we shall always have with ns, and it seems to us that what is needed is some regularly organised scheme for their relief—some machinery which will not be intermittent like that established last season, but continuous. Even were the Bill proposed by the Government introduced and carried — which is far from likely to be un fait accompli so soon as appears to be anticipated—there are classes of poor which would not come under its provisions, but which, nevertheless, would have to be relieved. It is just as well to make up our minds on this point, that whether trade is brisk or dull, whether the times are good or bad, we shall always have a per-centage of persons dependent during a portion of the year upon the charity of their fellow citizens. This, it must be remembered, is entirely and completely outside of the charitable aid department. Therefore wo cannot quite see the practical utility of waiting to see what the Government scheme will be like after undergoing the ordeal of committee. While the grass is growing the steed is starving, and already we have heard the cry of distress. There are many more, no doubt, who, like the Spartan boy with the fox, hug their misery and want the closer so that these may not become known. It is yet a full month before Parliament will be in session, and it may be yet another before the Bill referred to is brought in. So it will be seen that the proposal now made is to wait, at the least, two months before doing anything to relieve the distress which is sure to come. To our mind this seems not only absurd but positively inhuman. As we have already pointed out, even supposing the Bill passed to-morrow morning, there are numbers of cases—the very ones, too, which ordinary coupon relief tickets will not reach—which urgently call for relief, and would not receive it from the Government. We do not propose here to discuss the question of high or low wages. It may be true that men refuse to take under a certain amount, but the question is one regulating itself by the simple laws of supply and demand. But these are not the class for whom relief is urgently needed. They are enabled to travel from one locality whore work is scarce to that perhaps whore it is obtainable. If they decline a fair amount of wage—not one offered by the employer, as it were trading upon the necessities of the employed—then certainly they are not entitled to much sympathy. But we are afraid that it is too much the fashion to raise this cry whenever the distress of the unemployed is mentioned without any very good grounds for it. It is so easy for one to lay the flattering unction to his soul that those on whose behalf charity is asked are not worthy, and thus save both trouble and money. Whether this be so or not does not affect the question we have raised, viz,, What are wo going to do with the women and children who, during the present season, will inevitably be in distress ? That is the difficulty wo have to solve, and we feel bound to say that, at the meeting yesterday, though incidentally referred to, it was, after all, ignored in favour of delay. We are surprised that some steps have not been already taken by his Worship the Mayor to ascertain the opinions of the citizens on this subject. It may be that he waited for the meeting of the Benevolent Association. Well, that is over, and so far as wo can see, nothing practical has come of it. Indeed, we are much inclined to believe that it will—quite unintentionally, bo it understood—do a great deal of harm. Those who might bo disposed to take part in any movement having for its object the establishment of a regular and systematic scheme of relief, will now feel constrained for some reason or other to wait and see what the Government intend to do. The belief in the parental character of the Government is especially strong in the colonial mind, and no doubt this would cause a serious delay. But we trust that this will not be so, but that those who feel an interest in the movement will band themselves together and devise some method of meeting what we feel sure will occur ere long, viz., many oases of distress amongst women and children, and also a class of persons entirely outside of the ordinary means of relief. What form this should take is matter for discussion, but we certainly think the citizens should be convened to consider what is best to be done, and not leave the whole burden on a few private individuals.