Arizona silver belt., 1896-11-26
NO WORKK~JSES.
Tho Poor Children of Australia
 Cared For by tho State.
A svstem of Providing for the Waifs which Has Become Popular and Sue cessfui-rrained for Usc-
 ful l.iNcs.

A syatem of Providing tor s"e
 which Has Become Popular and Sue
 csssfui-rrained for Usc-
 fut Lives.
 The British poor law system being unknown in Australia, where there are 10 work houses, 1t follows that there ,re DO poor rates such not being need- ,d. for although tt may happen that rom time to tim, the assistance of the ,tatc is claimed by, and granted TO- qsle-bod.ed men who arc unable to md endowment, that assistance takes the form of wages paid for work spe- cially provided by the state to meet condition of the labor market which is certainly abnormal The chief eff forts of the authorities, as regard char ity, are directed toward the rescue of ;he young from criminal comranion- ship and temptation to crime, the sup port of the aged and infirm, the care of the inlbecile or insane, and the sub sidizing of private charity for the cure oi the sick and injured, and the amelio- ration of want. Even where the gov ernment grants aid for philanthropic purposes, the management of the in- stitutions supervising the expenditure is in private hands; and in addition to state-aided institutions. there are nu- mcrous private charities. whose efforts for the relief of those whom penury, sickness or misfortune has afflicted arc Seyond all praise. The rescue of the la at in ways--fiTst, by means of orphanages. industrial schools and reformatories, which take care of children who have been abandoned by their natural guar dials, or who are likely, from the pow crty or incapacity of their parents, to be SO neglected as 10 render them liable to lapse into crime; and secondly, by acqucstcr.ng children who have al- ready committed crime, or whose pa- rents or guardians find themselves un- able to control them. The problem of dealing with destitute children and hose liable from their environment to become criminal is naturally surround cd with very great difficulty, and in New South Wales it's solution was at .cmpted many years ago by the estab- .shLcnt of the orphanages at Parra- yuatta, and the destitute ciildren's asy- .Um at Eandwick, as we'll as the Vernon training snip for boys, and the Biloela vefosmatory and industrial school for girls.
 The system of crowding children in large establishments was rightly con 5idered as open to many grave ohjec- iiou8, and in 1880 scheme of separate treatment was inaugurated, an act be- ing passed by the New South Wales legislature empowering the formation of Q state children's relief board, to whose charge the destitute or neglect cdchildren of the colony were entrusted. The board was empowered to take chil- dren from the various institutions and deal with them in certain specified ways. Starting with the charge of 59 children in 1881, the number has an nualiy increased until the beginning of the present year, when it was 3,lTi, 1892 being boys aud the remainder girls. The greater portion of the chil-
  flies, n few are adopted, and, where they gre of infantile age or possess delicate constitutions, they are placed in charge of properly selected nurses. 1t the commencement of 1895. there were l,23o homes with one board cd-out child each. 39s homes with two children each, 197 with three children, $ with four children and three with i've children. Where possible, families Jf children are kept in the same home; thus there are 2S2 families with sep Irate guardians, the idea being to pre- Gerve intact the ties of family. The children are boarded out all over the colony, and are under the supervision yf local women visitors, who give their services Gratuitously.
 4 marked illustration of the popular fly and success of the boarding-out sys- tenn is to be found in the very large in. .'rcase which takes place every year in the number of persons who desire to 'btain the control of state children, and the illustration is the more grati- lying when it is remembered that the applications are unsolicited in any way. and come from all parts of the country. Many of the boys are taken by farmers, but almost every leading industry and profession in the colony is represented in the list of guardians. The average cost of each child to the state is 6 IT lss &d per annum. As the children grow up they are apprenticed to useful trades. the money paid for their services being placed to their individual credit in the government savings bank. Under the firm and energetic administration of Inc board the system has been suc- cess from the very first, and is doing much to prevent the introduction of the hereditary pauper element among the New South Wales population. [ Where practicable, the parents are compelled to contribute to the support of their offspring, and itis encouraging lo note that, while instances of mis- conduct on the part of guardians or wrongful conduct on the part of the children are comparatively few, the number of boys ana girls who arc rapidly becoming good and useful members of society is large, and stead fly on the increase.-Australian Letter.
 
 CORRSW-O MlRTH.