The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5034, 2 May 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1878.

Perhaps one of the most important of the inany considerations which arise in the growing.life of- a colony, is, the,relief of its poor;' As population has increased, and rapidly has it done so in New Zealand generally, and in Wellington particularly,, •pari passu has poverty, with its attendant train of evils, crept in and obtained afoothold in the land. To eradicate, or rather ameliorate it, legislation has done much, benevolent institutions more.; In allisbcieties of men and women there is a large element of brotherly kindness arid charity which blit' for such institutions would remain, undeveloped. In England . the clergy are generally the medium of diffusing such charity, .a task,, .wo believe, for which they are as-, eminently unfitted as they are for dispensing justice from the Bench, and from the’same cause. : Their .training is special; , they are taught to search deeply into the mysteries of the Divine economy, arid rarely are found to have gathered more than a few crumbs mf political economy; They are blind to .the large share they have' in maintaining and propagating pauperism by unwise and indiscriminate almsgiving, and forget that the same Apostlewho wrote that famous 'panegyric which ‘has" commended itself to the: heart of all Christendom, also- laid down the stern rule, ‘ ‘He that will not work neither let him eat.” , • ;

In the colonies, howevor, a better system of dispensing relief has prevailed, and under good management and organisation has, been productive of much good, and might be made productive of more.

: A benevolent institution should be conducted on the most general principles. Its members should bo worthy men, chosen irrespectively of creed or position, and, above all, its chairman should be a man of large experience, utterly untrammelled by prejudices, religious, social, or political,, which; would deter him from doing what would prove of the greatest good to the community. Relief should never be given in money if it can be given in kind, ; and, "whenever practicable, a certain amount of work' should ■be required as an equivalent from women and children as well as from men. The vagrant, proper, who too often maintains his worthless existence on ! the alms intended for the relief of helpless and genuine distress, should be relegated to the tender mercies of the Resident Magistrate’s Court, and made to pay, for the support he has , solicited, by his labor, hard or otherwise, as his condition might admit of.

In all questionable cases of relief the society and the. Police Court should be en rapport , as. thus and only- thus can the best method and proper measure of assistance to be meted out be ascertained; The truth of this has been verified in more than one case which has come under our notice lately ; and we fully ; endorse the eulogiura which was • bestowed on the late Chairman of the Benevolent . Society ; ,as, few could have been in a better; .posit ion to use, or few have . used . better, the discretion which in his dual capacity was placed in his power. Last of all, charity to be charity must' be discriminating, and the benefit must not all be as it were on one. The avoiding money payments, the helping people to help themselves, and the exacting a quid pro quo in the shape of labor,.would; conduce to preserve the feeling of self-respect in the bosom of the recipient, which is always impaired, if not totally destroyed, by the acceptance of purely eleemosynary aid, as well as to foster and form habits of industry.