POVERTY IN WELLINGTON.

NZ Truth, Issue 87, 16 February 1907, Page 5

POVERTY IN WELLINGTON.

A HEARTRENDING CASE. Little Children Crying for Bread. A Paltry Pittance Wrijiig from a i Hard-hearted Grandmother. "That Paper 'Truth'" Ventilates the Father's Pitiable Plight. *'

The possession of wealth, though it does not count for everything, is something all, more or. less/ drive for and, m these strenuous times when so many sink under unnoticed, it is always interesting to note what effect the accumulation of wealth has on those who reach the Golden Shore. Too often the effect on some wko have attained plenty after years and years of adversity and. penury is to make them stonyhearted and coldly indifferent to the unhappy condition of those wko are near and should be dear to them. The possession of wealth has made many a man and woman inordinately selfish and greedy and dead m all feeling to those who helped them to make their tidy little pile. Father disowns son and daughter.. Son and daughter regard their parents as obstacles to their . social career and calmly stand by and see their aged mother, and father "carried qverJthG hill to the poor-house."" Instances b'v the hundreds cajn.be given where wealthy men and women blessed with every comfort that the, world can af-. ford allow blood. relations to be cast' bn the State for their . maintenance ; and m this, country it is a wonder that greater advantage is not taken of the Destitute Persons Act, where near blood relations are liable to be held responsible for the care of their, pauper brethren. Under this Destitute Persons Act a rather unusual case came before Dr. ' McArthur, S.M.. at the Magistrate's Court on' Monday last. It was a xas'e m which a. mother blessed with the good things of the world * was called upon to show cause why she could not contribute towards the maintenance of her son who is m an indigent state. The son s IS. A GROWN-UP MAN and the circumstances of the case warranted him m thus forcibly appealing to his mother' for support. The case referred to is (that of Alfred Adams versus Emma Adams, and m this paper's last issue attention was directed to the fact that the son? who resided with his wife and a young family of four, m May-street, for whom the Benevolent Bumbles of this town would do nothing, were, m an awful state of poverty. Adams is only -a young, man ; but he is suffering from incurable rheumatism. -He is incapacitated from following his occupation as a' platelayer and to take on hard manual' toil, which he is willing to do, would be to disregard medical advice, and the consequences of disregarding that advice mighty prove fatal to him. ' The mother is the widow of a deceased farmer of Masterton, and the family is well-known m that district. For years the so» toiled on the farm and the father promised to remember him m his will, but the old man died without making good his word to the son, and the bulk of the property, valued at £4000, was bequeathed to the mother ; and oa this £4000 she receives five per cent interest, m addition to a small private estate of her own, besides drawing rent from a property at Masterton. She seems a , PRETTY STINGY "OLD: GIRL," as she told Dr. McArthur that she could hot afford to pay anything towards her son's support ; but that Magistrate sized the situation up by ordering her to pay the sum of 10s per week. To "Truth" this seems a genuine H2ase of poverty, arising from circumstances over which none, ex-, oepting perhaps an unnatural mother^ had any control. Adams' position is a painful one and no one realises it more than himself. His mother knew of his position, she saw the empty cupboards, heard the children ■ cry for bread 1 , but she was deaf to their plaintive appeals and calmly and majestically walked from the ill-starred house m May-street. , More than thait some individual, posing as a reporter from the "Post" •„ interviewed- the son and. assured him that the case was sure to he put 'm "that paper 'Truth,' " which is' just exactly" ',whjat the son requires. His poor, unfortunate wife has been for'cf ed ( to go out to work to keep/ her huslsaad and little ones from staryar tion. It has been a hard and tryUg battle, and- what can a mite of a woman do, unaided and handicapped . v as she is? Their wants were many, and there was a rich mother who was adamant to appeals for help. Fortunately a law existed which could force her, and recourse was made to that Law with the result stated. Since the proceedings against the mother- 1 last -Monday the police, no doubt prompted by what appeared m "Truth," have taken action. The children are to be cared for Id some charitable institution and the father has signed an order by which the 10s a week wrung from a miserly grandmother is to help defray the cost of trieir keep. This is the best thin** thai could possibly happen to the little ones, and Adams, hopeless as is his case, admits it. The prospect though, that his gallant little wife will have ' TO MOIL AND TOIL at the tub from dawn to dark itp keep him, is not a pleasant one, and he is determined that such will not be the case. He has had experience as a storeman and holds excellent references as to his character. He was forced to relinquish his employment as a plate-layer on the Government Railways through his infirmity, -and he, 'will not be re-employed without the production of a medical certificate. He is desirous of obtaining any light employment and any offer of such employment or letter can be addressed to "Truth" Office, Wellington. Adams' address is 26 Maystreet, but he is liable to be turned out from the house at any moment. This is a sad case of honest poverty, and it is to be trusted that Adams will not appeal m vain.