A VISITOR FROM INDIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 13, 10 July 1911, Page 4

A VISITOR FROM INDIA.

WORK AMONGST THE LEPERS. "MOST NEGLECTED PEOPLE OX GOD'S EARTH." The Primitive Methodist Church, pulpit was occupied yesterday morning and the Baptist Church pulpit in the evening by the Rev. W. Powell, from India, who has had nearly a quarter of a century's experience in missionary work there, and who, for ,twenty-two and a half yeur,s ot that time, lws been helping someM the many thousands of afflicted lepers. A Daily News representative had an interesting chat with Mr. Powell on Saturday, and learned that he ia visiting the Dominion with a view of obtaining financial help in the work in which he has been for «o long and is still engaged. Mr. Powell said that during the past six years lie lmd been working' expressly for lepers, and has established a lepers' home at a place called Bapatla, in the Guntur district of the Madras Presidency, South India. When he left India on the 20th of Match last there were 133 lepers enrolled—men, women, and children, of all ages, from 50 years down to the smallest infants, in various stages of the deadly disease of leprosy. Those leper inmates were composed of Hindus, Mahommedans, Pariahs, Jains, and Christians, these latter numbering 45 and including Church of Ehgland, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army* Ameri- \ can Lutheran, and Baptist converts. The leper home is ; open to all castes and - . creeds, and food, clothing and shelter ; are given to all wlio are afflicted witli leprosy. But those that can an any way bear the expense of their maintenance and medicines sue expected to pay. "I believe," said Mr. Powell, "in the policy of self-support, and endeavor to induce the lepers, especially those in the first stages of the disea.se, to do as much as possible towards their own maintenance, and about a third of the 133 residents of the leper home in Bapatla do a little work by farming and gardening. The Government of .Mafcus has given me over 54 arces of land, as the location ofthe leper home. About 17 acres of that land are cultivated with rice and cliolum, a native grain somewhat resembling maize, expressly for the use of, the leper inmates. If I liad permission to sell things made nnd' raised by tile lepers I could do much towards making; the home self-supporting, but of course it would not be right to work upon that policy, oil account of'the danger of infection and contagion. For instance, even the very grain is infected, and I am forbidden to allow hoes, or crowbars, or anything like that, to be taken away from the place. I am vorking strictly on segregation* lines, and endeavor to keep as many lepers as possible entirely away from contaminating or endangering healthy people. I hope the time will speedily come when the •hundreds 'of thouasnds of lepers who are wandering all over Insa will be isolated in homes expressly set apart for themselves. Until that is done there l can be no hope of stamping out the' deadly disease of leprosy." "Is there a cure for lipr<>sy nt thV present day?" asked the reporter. Mr. Powell answered: /'A*(far iw my experience of twenty-two and a half years goes we have no &opq of a cure ' for leprosy in India. I hate recently seen some of the leading doctors ot India who have been treating leprosy for numbers of years, an&\they haveassured me that they have no cure and no prospect of one. It is quite true' that it is possible to help leprosy, in the * first stages especially, by some drugs l l that -we have in India, and by what iff called the nastin treatment, but I have yet to know of one of tliose afflicted people in India who lias been certified by responsible doctors to be thoroughly cured. In these days of, marvellous discoveries and progress I hope that some* one will speedily discover a genuine remedy for the mysterious aisease of leprosy." "But," broke off Mr. Powell, "perhaps yort would like to ask ijtf)« question," nnd he was promptly"Ssaed "Is leprosy hereditary, or is it spreSW only by infection or contagion?"., ™ He replied that doctors differed on the question of heredity, but the result of his experience was to convince him that the disease could be and frequently was transmitted from father and mother to children. He had had under his care whole families —mother, father,'and from t\Vo to five children, all afflicted. He had seen a young man develop the disease at the age of 22, after having lived for years irf « mission school nnd passed his matriculation examination, and having had no ppportunI ity for years of becoming contaminated The progress of the disease was rapid, the victim usually succumbing to it in about three vears.

Speaking of the leper hospital or mission station, Mr. Powell said that there was a Christian community of 45 lepers, a Sunday School of 106 lepers, a Christian Endeavor Society of 33, ana a day school for 20 leper children. Yes, some might say that it was a pure waste of time and energy to impart education to these poor children, whose days on earth were numbered, but to put hooks, etc., into their hands seemed* to qive them a new lease of life, to impart hope in them. Waste of money it might he, but it gave him infinite pleasure, to give these poor people a recreation oi any sort.

"Xo." lie answered to a' question by the interviewer, " the law does not compel the segregation of leper.?, and there is not much chance of a law being enacted in that direction. The reason why the Government does not take up that stand is because it is considered to be a religious question in India. Whoever has contracted leprosv is supposed to have committed one of the unpardonable sins and brought the combined curses of the 'gods on themselves, and should therefore be allowed to suffer, even to the end of their days. Th® Government of India- treats all religions from a neutral standpoint, and as the Brahmin priests raise objections to the cure of lepers by the Christian missionaries, the Government is afraid to lend its authority in any way to compulsory isolation. Notwithstanding the prejudice of the Brahmin priests, however. 1, firmly believe the time has come when' all the lepers of Tndia should be kept, entirely a)wrt from the healthy community, and treated humanely and kindly, until tliev pass away out of' their sufferings." _Mr, Powell evnbiincd that visiting the Dominion express!v at the command of South India Strict Baptist Missionary Society, to raise money for the mission, which has recently opened a new leper house 400 miles south of' Bapntla, where they hope to care before long for from 50 to 100 lepers. Tie will be extremely grateful for any practical sympathy which the friends of the lepers mav wish to show to "the most neglected people on God's earth to-day."