SLUM WORK

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 297, 12 June 1912, Page 4

SLUM WORK

REV. COLVTLE'S EXPERIENCES. The monthly devotional service in connection with' the Church of England' Men's Society was held in St. Mary's Church last night. Immediately afterwards the monthly meeting was held in St. Mary's Hall, Mr. S. L. Weller, vicepresident, being in the chair. After the transaction of the ordinary business of the branch, the Rev. A. H. Colvile gavo a very interesting account of his own personal experiences of slum work in England. He asked the audience to imagine they were accompanying him on one of his visits to a slum in the town in which he was engaged in that class of work. He would put on his oldest clothes and a cloth cap, and carry a Bible in one pocket and a packet of coal tickets in the other. A vivid picture was drawn of the entrance to the slum through a kind of tunnel, called Slipper Passage, after the name of the public house at the corner, "The Slipper." The lecturer's description of the awful filth and sordid poverty that prevailed in tb« "shut," or yard, and the utter lack of sanitation was listened to with almost a. shudder. He described how all th« houses were in a very bad state of repair, practically leaning up against each' other, and how in many cases three 01 four families occupied one small house. He had not seen anything quite so had as one ease mentioned bv the Bishop of London, in which it was told that a different family lived in each corner ol a room, and a fifth in the centre, and that they all got on very well until th» family m the centre of the room took in a lodger. The reverend gentleman then gave an account of his spiritual work in the slums, and it was quite apparent that the difficulties confronting him were almost insuperable. Low publichouses abounded, and it was only after the most strenuous efforts on his part, and, after incurring much unpopularity, that he succeeded in closing one of these houses. An utter lack of sense of responsibility characterised the men in th» slums. Amidst their squalid surroundings, and despite the fact that they were often on the verge of starvation, they always had a smile readv, and possessed a keen sense of humour.' An interesting discussion followed, in which various members recounted their experiences of the slum- in England. The Vicar said that he hoped on some future occasion to give an account of his experiences amongst the hop pickers at Home.