A PATHETIC SIGHT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3715, 22 September 1906, Page 3

A PATHETIC SIGHT.

A sad instance of neglect came before the trustees of the Samaritan Home at Christchurch at their meeting last week. A lad aged 17, had been brought to the 1 home by the police, having le**t the : place where he was boarded out at t Timaru, and being found wandering round Sydenham. The police 1 were unable to have the lad admitted into the Nazareth Home, and they wished him to be allowed to remain in the Samaritan Home until the new Roman Catholic Home is opened in Wellington, when he will be removed there and taught some useful trade. The • trustees questioned the lad, who has lost the use of his legs, and has been neglected since childhood. He swings along at a rapid pace on his hands, in a posture resembling that of a man sitting on the ground, with his feet underneath him, and it was a pathetic sight to see a human being reduced to such a state of physical incapacity, yet able to make a brave struggle against his disabilites. The lad said he wanted to learn some such trade as bootmaking. Hitherto he had been herding cows for the people whom he boarded with. He could not read or write, and did not even know the letters of the alphabet, but would like to learn to read. He had been a cripple since he was three years old. it was decided to consult the inspector of police and the magistrate, with a view to have something done for the youth in the way of having him taught a trade while he is waiting to be removed to Wellington