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Report of Proceeding. at the Annual Meeting,

The annual meeting of subscribers to the Benevolent Institution was held at the Chamber of Commerce on February 19. The president (Mr R. B. Martin) occupied the chair, and about twenty gentlemen were present.

Archdeacon Edwards asked whether there was any probability of anything being done by the Government with regard to charitable aid, and the Committee getting more money this year than last.

The Chairman said he did not believe they would get anything more than the pound for pound subsidy until the Government took into consideration some general schema.

In reply to the Rev. Dr. Stuart, the Chairman said the Committee had not overlooked the matter, and had taken steps to urge it on the Government. He believed the Government had some scheme in view, but it was not matured.

Mr W. D. Stewart, M.H.R., moved the adoption of the report, which has been already published. He commended the Committee for the admirable manner in which the funds of the Institution had been managed during the year. He spoke in favour of establishing a system of charitable aid which would provide for the distribution of public funds with some degree of justice throughout the Colony. Our present system of relief was calculated to foster a "sponging" spirit, which should be counteracted as much as possible. He did not believe public opinion was sufficiently pro- page 12 nounced in condemning the cowardly conduct of deserting husbands, and promised to use his endeavours towards obtaining stringent legislation to meet cases of the kind.

The Rev. Dr. Stuart seconded the motion. He thought the subscribers ought to be very grateful to the Committee for having so successfully managed the Institution. Until he read the report he had no idea that so many as 2,215 of the population had received aid during the year. The most melancholy fact appearing from the report was that 200 ablebodied men and women were receiving outdoor relief through being temporarily out of work. He would like to know what efforts could be made to secure employment for these people. It was to him most unaccountable that there should be as many as 158 widows in want. He could not imagine why widows should be thus as thick as blackberries, and that there should be such a fatality in regard to husbands in this Colony. It was a matter of some surprise that the Committee of the Institution were so successful in their efforts, and that they did not make more mistakes. In regard to the Old Men's Home, he hoped that the dark side of the building would be lathed and plastered.

The Chairman said that was the very thing which had not been provided for. Funds would not permit of it.

The Rev. Dr. Stuart said this was a great pity, for no brick wall which was not on the sunny side of a building in this Colony would keep out the damp.

The motion was carried unanimously.

Mr J. Bathgate, after expressing the thanks that were due to the Committee for their management during the year, said he wished to point out the alarming increase taking place here in regard to the burden of the poor. The question was whether it was possible to reduce this tendency to increase. For instance, in 1874 the total amount distributed by this Institution for charitable aid was £3,030. In five years—in 1879—it rose to £5,313; and in the next five years it had risen to £7,868. These figures, showing an alarming tendency to increase without limit, were sufficient to make us as citizens pause and ponder upon the situation. Were we to allow this to go on, and to use no page 13 efforts to stay the demoralisation which ensued from the very best form of administering charitable aid? He thought the time had come when we must take into consideration the question: Is there no possibility of remedying the present painful state of things, or is the next five years to bring the amount up to £10,000 or £15,000? He did not mean to say that the only remedy was a poor law. What he wanted was that inquiry should be made to ascertain whether some procedure could not be adopted without a poor law which would place the administration of charitable aid on a better foundation than it is at present. He was glad to say that the experiment had been tried and been found eminently successful elsewhere. If practical philanthropy was wanted we must go to Germany. There were many thoughtful men there who seemed to devote their lives and minds to the development of modes for improving the social condition of their fellow-creatures, and one gentleman in the town of Elberfeld struck out quite a new movement. His (Mr Bathgate's) suggestion was to clothe committees or local bodies such as the Committee of the Benevolent Asylum of Dunedin with statutory powers, to enable them to see that the relief that they administered was properly administered, and also to see that everyone paid alike. He did not approve of this spasmodic system of fancy fairs, etc., by which we realised £2,000 or £3,000 once a-year, when we saw our neighbours in Christchurch getting £10,000 without any trouble from the Government. It was for the subscribers to consider whether, as a body, they should not approach the Government and ask them to bring in some measure clothing boards with statutory powers, and giving them the means to raise necessary funds. Elberfeld and suburbs had a population precisely the same as Dunedin. In 1852 the population was, in round numbers, 50,000. The number of paupers was double ours (4,000), and they were relieved at a cost of £7,000—almost our sum precisely this year. Five years after, by the change of system, the number of paupers was reduced from 4,000 to 1,500, and the expenditure; as against £7,000, to £2,600. Now, surely any system that could check the growth of pauperism was deserving of support; and the whole principle was this (it was the true foundation of all social page 14 improvement): the spirit of sympathy. The town was divided into districts, and each had a certain number of visitors, and each visitor had four paupers to look after. The best families were called upon to serve, and they did it with the happiest results. Would it not be worth our while to see whether we could not get statutory power to adopt some such plan? In Elberfeld everything was scrutinised to the utmost degree, while, at the same time, a feeling of kindness and sympathy prevailed betwixt those who received relief and those who gave it Parties receiving relief found out in abuses were sent to gaol. He was sure that even in this town when relief was given in provisions they were sometimes sold for the purpose of getting liquor. The Elberfeld system had been tried in New York, Boston, and various other large towns with excellent effect. He moved—"That a memorial be framed and forwarded to the Government by the Committee on behalf of this meeting, strongly recommending that an Empowering Act be passed under which elective boards for the administration of charitable aid may be formed and incorporated in districts of convenient size as regards area and population; that funds be provided by requisition on the local governing bodies within the area, who may be authorised to meet the same from the ordinary rates or from special assessments; that unpaid overseers and visitors be appointed by the Boards, by whom all investigations shall be made, and relief, where necessary, distributed, as has been successfully carried out in Elberfeld (in Germany), New York, and other cities which have adopted the plan."

Mr W. D. Stewart seconded the motion. He thought such a scheme, if properly worked, would be a vast improvement on the present system. One great object to be aimed at in the distribution of charitable aid was decentralisation, and he thought this would effect the object The scheme sketched out by Mr Bathgate was to some extent carried out by Knox Church congregation, and with satisfactory results. He thought such a system would avoid many of the evils of the English poor law.

Mr J. Fulton, M.H.R., thought the meeting would he acting hastily if they passed a resolution recommending a page 15 particular scheme for adoption by the Government. He had not the least doubt that charitable aid would be thrown upon local bodies, who would carry out the spirit of this resolution by appointing persons who would undertake to supervise the administration of aid. He was glad that such a measure was likely to pass. He was thankful to Mr Bathgate for bringing forward this resolution, but he did not think it would meet the difficulty. What was wanted in this new country was to cultivate the feeling of charity among private persons, who would not perhaps very readily submit to any legal compulsion.

Mr J. B. Thomson supported the motion, as he looked upon it as a step in the right direction of throwing the burden of charitable aid on local bodies, and securing an equal division of public funds all over the Colony.

The Rev. D. Stuart thought the thanks of the meeting were due to Mr Bathgate for bringing forward this scheme. It had been widely discussed in England and Scotland years ago, but he was afraid it was just too benevolent to be practical. He thought the motion should be referred to the Committee for discussion.

After some further discussion, Mr Bathgate agreed to alter his resolution to read:—"That it be referred to the new Committee to consider specially whether an Empowering Act should not be passed," etc. In this form the motion was carried unanimously.

The following gentlemen were elected office-bearers for the ensuing year:—President, Mr A. Rennie; vice-presidents, General Fulton and Mr H. Gourley; treasurer, Mr Ainger; committee, General Irvine, Messrs Kirkpatrick, J. G. Fraser, J. Mollison, J. B. Thomson, J. Carroll, A. Solomon, J. Mackay.

On the motion of Mr Rennie, seconded by the Rev. Dr. Stuart, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr R. B. Martin for his long and valuable services in connection with the Institution.

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