The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1886. DEATH FROM STARVATION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1562, 28 September 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1886. DEATH FROM STARVATION.

Tma was the verdict of the Coroner’s jury who enquired into the death of the man Ward, whose body was found one day last week at Island Biy, near Wellington, and according to the evidence their finding was quite justifiable. The story of tho case is that Ward was a hardworking respectable man, and that for the past two months he had been out of employment. He did everything in his power to get something to do to provide for his wife and ohitdren, but failed, and sooner than see them starve he went without (food h'mself, till at last, “ tired and worn out with anxiety,” as the scrap of paper found on his person expressed, he laid do wn and died. The post mortem examination showed a complete absence of internal fat, indicating that he had partaken of but very little food for » long time, while an ounce of mucus was all his intestines contained. And while ho was in the agonies of death his poor wife was breaking up her bedstead for fuel, being unable to procure firing by any other means. All this happened in the capital city of New Zealand, under very shadows. of the Government buildings. It .is .a tale too horrifying t 0.,, reflect upon, aud we have no desire to dwell upon it. That such an occurrence should take place io a civilised community is deplorable ; nay, shockingly disgraceful. We are told that Ward was too sensitive, and would not make bis wants known, or else he would have been assisted. It is a wellknown fact that there’ure many similarly circumstanced throughout the colony. They prefer enduring the pangs of hunger and thirst, to letting it be known that they are reduced to the necessity of seeking assistance from their neighbors. If they go out and join the- ranks of the unemployed, they know that henceforward they will be classed amongst agitators and loafers by well-fed newspaper men, Cabinet ' Ministers, and others, and so they prefer to suffer ia silence. Their condition is certainly one that ought to excite sympathy, and the fate of poor Ward ought to make those who are always too ready to characterise the unemployed as loafers and agitators pause before coming rashly to such conclusions. There is want of employment in this colony at present; in fact, we know for a positive fact that there are men working ori contracts in this district who do not earn more than 3s or As a day. For the life of ua we cannot realise bow any one could be so indifferent to human suffering as some of the writers on the public press of the colony show themselves. They seem to have only one idea: that is, to howl down tbs poor working men. It is to be hoped that the terrible casualty referred to above will appeal to their better nature, and that in future they will remember that poor working people have fee'ings as sensitive of insult, and as desirous of being independent, as their richer brethren. Let them think of the self-sacrifice of poor Ward, who starved himself to death to save the miserable crust for his famishing children, and pause lesl tlthcir vulgar attacks on the helpless poor may bring others' to a similar tnd. Another matter to which we desire to draw attention to in connection with this is the action of Parliament in voting yearly large sums of money for bringing immigrants into this colony. If we remember rightly, the House passed last session a sum of £20,000 for carrying on immigration, in the very face of the fact ' that Ministers were at their wits’ end to provide employment for persons out of work. This is scandalous, and, aa the general elections are drawing near, we trust the matter will .not be forgotten.