CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2451, 13 November 1886, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE NORTH WAIRARAPA ■ BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. To the Editor. Sir,—Will'you kindly allow mo apace to reply to your leading article in yesterday's paper, under the heading of "The North Wairarapa Benevolent Society." 1 will in the first placo deal with the aotion of the Trustees in entering a proteat against tho committal of the children of Mrs Ellen Jackson to the.lndustrial School. The 'Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act 1885, Amendment 1888,' section 3, says, "Evory order heretofore made or hereafter to bo made at any place under sub-section one of Bection sixteen of 'Tho Industrial Schools Act 1882' for commitment of a ohild as an inmate of an industrial school shall be deemed to havo been made within the hospital district wherein such place is situate; and the Board of such district, or the Board of the united district wherein such hospital district is comprised, shall defray the cost of maintaining such inmate at the aforesaid school, whether such inmate was oommitted to such school at anytime before or after the first day of Ootober, 1885.", What does this mean a3 it affects this case?' It means, that this District would havo to pay about £B7O for tho maintenance of tho six ohildren at the Industrial School, r until they respectively attain tho age of • fifteen years, and as this Society is the , only one .in the district administering ) Charitable Aid, the United District Board i would look to it for the paymont, and if E such payment had to be mado, I can only 1 aoe one way in which it could be done, 1 and that is by levying a rate. You, yourself, sir, took an active part in assisting the Society to become incorporated as a separate institution for the purpose of • preventing a rato for charitable aid being levied in the district, and Ido not think you would like to see tho results of that labor last only for the short space of one year. The reason for the intervention of the Trustees was this, They did not feel justified iu allowing the district to be > saddled with a debt of nearly £9OO if they could avoid it, but have no doubt that should the subscribers to tho Society, notify thera that such is their wish, they will at tho expiration of the four months tor which tho committal is suspended allow the committal to take place without further protest. With regard to the agreemont to pay five shillings per month for the education of the ohildren, it is a matter in which 1 am personally concerned, as when tho demand waß made in court, Iliad no opportunity of consulting with tho Chairman or other Trustoea, and was taken by surprise at such a demand being made, I objected to it on tho ground that the public Bchool was available where the children would be educated free, and was met by tho argument that if the children wore sent to the Industrial School, they would bo educated in the Roman Catholio faith and if the Trustees wished to prevent their beinu; committed, they should provide them with the same, and on tho recommendation of the Resident ) Magistrate, I gave way, as I did not wish it to prove an obstacle to the suspension of the committal. My action was endorsed by the Trustees, although I am certain they were of opinion with myself that such a claim should uever have beeu made. I at once wrote to the Rev. Father Treacy, asking for a remission of the school foes, as this was an exceptioaal ' case, but up to the present time he has " not had the courtesy to reply. Suoh then is my explanation, that I, as Secretary, 1 agreed to the paymunt as a matter of ■ expediency, while recognising that it was j wrong in principle, and taking the same view the Trustees endorsed my action. As to the children being engajed in col- , lecting bottles, etc,, if suoh is the case 1 ' am not aware of it, but shall take caro to 1 make the necessary enquiries, and I do • not think that there is any necessity for their doing bo. lam, etc,, j . , Tim C. D'Arcy, North Wairarapa Benevolent Society.