A NECESSARY EVIL.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 337, 26 January 1889, Page 6

A NECESSARY EVIL.

Auckland, Jan. 23. Scumk very bei'ious allegations were made by members ot the Ho&pibal and Charitable Aid Board last evening, in the course of a diseus&ion on the materniby ward at the Old Men's Refuge. The Chairman (Mr C Atlun) moved, in accordance with notice of motion, "That the maternity ward be closed on the lab May, 1889." He said there wa& no doubt that this part of the institution had been taken advantage of in different ways. Girls were leceived there without any provision having been made tor their offsj^ring, and twice or three times they had claimed admission as a positive right. He was convinced that it there was to be a maternity ward at all, it should be pait of some other than, this institution. In answer to Mr Buckland the Chairman stated that the maternity ward contained four bedrooms. It required the attention of Mrs Brophy and sometimes an aesi?tant. Mr Buckland : And what is done with bhe babies? The Chan man : They shunt them, air. We could give you some lively instances. Mr Sbi-athern has just found a mother ot one child that he has been hunting for since last August. Why, if we carry out this system we shall have a nice stock of illegitimate children directing public opinion very shoitly, and, coupling them with the paupers, I doubt if there will be enough to counterbalance them, judging by the result of the past tew yeais." Mr Gooseman seconded the resolution. He had heaid that females came from the South to be confined here, and became chargeable on our Charitable Aid Boaid. i Mr Udy said there was no doubt that provision would have to be made for these cases. He thought, however, that the question A\as rather one for the ladies than for the Board. He would heartily auppott the motion, and thought that the sooner the ward was closed the better. Mr Mays said that two years ago he was in the same mind as the Unairman. So much imposition had been practised upon the Board that they made up their minds to close the ward, and it was closed. On making inquiry they found that it was injudicious to do so, for notwithstanding the amount of imposition practised, there were no doubt genuine cases of distress. Young women, hitherto holding respectable positions, had been seduced, and were trying to hide their shame, and the first case inquired into revealed a pitiful state of things. The girl had no money, the father of the child was away, she had no means and neither friends nor relatives in the colony, and it waa simply a question whether bhe giri was bo be taken into the ward, or otherwise cared for at three or four times the cost. Since that time a great deal had been done to check imposirion, and numbers ot applications had been tefused. He believed that it they pursued the present system they would reduce the amount of imposition to a minimum. He had suggested that the Ladies' Benevolent Society, or some similar organisation, should take up this work, but they failed to do anything of the kind. What they called rescue work was something altogether different. He was not opposed to Mr Atkins resolution, but he felt that it was no use ! blinking; the real state of affairs, and it was true that the institution acted the Good j Samaritan in a good many cases. There had been many girls in the institution who [ had never been there since, and who had afterwards occupied better positions in society. If they closed the door altogether to these cases, without other provision being made, thoy would bring about a public scandal — they would drive some unfortunate girl to despair, encourage her to suicide, infanticide or something worse. They made pi'ovision for the drunkard and j who had spent all his money, and beat his | wife and children ; they cared tor the i woman who had led an abandoned life, and allowed her to end her days in the Refuge ; they took the criminal himself and carefully nurtured him bo the gallows ; but they were inclined to turn their backs upon the poor girl who had sinned but once. He urged that unless the Ladies' Benevolent Society or some other institution would take over this work, the ward should be kept open to meet i real cases of hardship and distress. Messrs Holland, Buckland, and Bell spoke in a similar strain, and the motion was put and lost.