The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1912. THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 244, 15 April 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1912. THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN.

The appeal which we printed from Dr. Bamardo, on Saturday, should attract a warm response frrm lovers of children in the Dominion, 'j !iore are many of us who are well acquainted with the seamy side of life in. the Old World, and from these we may expect an abundant sympathy with the trials and temptations of thoso unfortunate children whose lives are led in a sunless atmosphere of temptation and vice that, in a great majority of cases, leads to suffering and crime. But a younger generation, brought up under sunny skies, surrounded by home comforts, and crowned with showers of social and political blessings, can naturally have little understanding of the conditions that prevail in the congested centres of an older civilisation. It is to these that we appeal. Dr. Barnardo's Homes for the destitute are a legitimate philanthropic work, and the results that have 'been achieved by the earnest, noble-hearted men and women who are associated with him in his labor of love, are a standing monument to their lives of far more worth than "tinkling brass and sounding cymbals." N T o child whose little feet have wandered, perhaps unconsciously, from the narrow way, no girl who has sold her woman's heritage for bread, no boy who has missed his chances in life and succumbed to the temptations of his unfortunate surroundings, have ever been refused the helping hand to save them from deeper degradation. The doors of the Bamardo institutions stand open day and night for the youth of all ages and all sexes and all sects. Want and necessity are the only passports required for admission, and the institutions have saved thousands of children from lives of crime, making good citizens and desirable immigrants of them. There is no (suggestion of reformatory or prison life about the administration of the homes, for the inmates, while subject to the strictest supervision, are taught that the true basis of their lives must be a return of self-respect and self-confidence. The results have been marvellous, and it is amazing that so small a proportion of those who have received a thorough education in the Homes should have relapsed in after life. The number, indeed, is almost negligible. The institutions are turning out good men and good women, imbued with a sense of their responsibilities, and eager to "make good" in a new sphere of life. But, of course, all this requires money, and whilst the institutions earn a fair proportion of their upkeep from the work of the inmates, they cannot he made selfsupporting. It is this which necessitates an appeal to tho public, and the cause is one which is deserving of the widest support from tho sisters and brothers of these children overseas. The Dominion has never been backward in responding to such an appeal, and we trust that New Zealand will do a generous share in lightening the responsibilities of Dr. Barnardo, and helping him to preßerve his splendid record.