Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1891. Charity?

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 12 March 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1891. Charity ?

■ • Once a year the Charitable Aid Board makes a rough-and-ready estimate of the demands that are likely to be made upon it, and then calculates the sum, in a thousand pounds of value, that needs to be struck to yield this revenue. To prepare such an estimate the Board invite from the contributing local bodies their idea of the amount likely to be needed. The principle is this, that all the local bodies from the Manawatu Eiver to Waitotara pay into the Central Board the amount that their rate, at so much per thousand pounds, comes to ; to this the Government contribute pound for pound. During the twelve months, the local bodies, as cases arise, grant help and draw all outgoings from the Board, which pays with a cheerful spirit, knowing full well that if the account gets overdrawn, it can easily be put right when the following year's rate is struck. The administration is " we

simplicity " as the Board has no anxiety, neither do many of the local bodies, as their chief anxiety appears to be, to secure an expenditure within, their area, of more than double the amount they contribute. This action arises from the funds collected never being refunded or care being exercised, when once paid for, they are gone for ever. Naturally this is a very short-sighted policy on the part of the local bodies, as prudence in expenditure one year would, lessen the rates in the following year, but prudence is hardly as yet a colonial virtue. We regret to notice that the claims made by some districts seem out of all proportion to their necessities, and we find Palmerston getting £315 yet contributing only £39. Thus what Palmerston was short of has been made up from the contributions of other districts that have paid more than they have received. No one likes to be hard in refusing aid to the poor and needy, but the ease with which this money can be obtained allows the local dispensers to give with too free a hand, and without the proper enquiry into the needs of the case. The amount, yet awhile, is small, but as the administration could hardly be worse, it bodes evil to those who have to bear taxation, unless a more reasonable and vigilant system is adopted. "We trust this subject will receive more attention, than it has done, at the hands of our local governing bodies who have to find the money.