Geelong Advertiser Sat 5 July 1902 CHINESE PAUPERS. A GROWING BURDEN. CASTLEMAINE, Thursday. For some time past the committees or the local charitable institutions have;been confronted by a serious problem, in the shape of a heavy demand on their financial resources by the destitute Chinese.Unfortunately, the demand is not wholly confined to the Castlemaine district, as Chinese are sent here by the under-treasurer from districts which have no connection whatever with Castlemaine, and in which the residents do not in any way contribute to thesupport of the charitable institutions here. The last Chinese admitted to the local Benevolent Asylum came from the Kerang district, an unaccountable proceeding, as there are asylums nearer Kerang than the Castlemaine asylum. The question of maintaining so many Chinese has assumed such grave proportions that the public subscriptions are not on so liberal a scale as formerly, and many who were at one time regular, subscribers positively decline to subscribe,on the ground that too many Chinese are participating in the benefits of the charitable institutions. The Chinese question is not only of local interest, but has for some time been engaging the serious attention of charitable bodies in other parts of the state. Consequently it is held that stops should be taken by the Government, either in the direction of recouping the institutions for any loss sustained through assisting indigent Chinese or of compelling the Chinese residents of the state to maintain their own poor in a separate institution in Melbourne or elsewhere under Government control. Unless some action is taken by the Government, the charitable bodies here will find it a hard matter to make ends meet, as public subscriptions will fall off to an extent that will seriously impair the efficiency of the institutions. The relief given to the Chinese is not of a temporary character, as some of them have been maintained for the past 12 years, as against which the Chinese contributions to the charities are lamentably small. So far as those in receipt of relief in this district are concerned, careful inquiry is made into their character and circumstances before relief is granted. Those in receipt of relief are aged and infirm, and it would be inhuman to refuse it. Every effort has been made to obtain subscriptions from the Chinese residents of Melbourne and elsewhere,but the response has been out of all proportion to the obligation, consequently Government action is necessary to preserve the efficiency of the institutions,and to prevent the public from ignoring the claims of the charitable bodies for financial assistance. The various committees have striven hard to evolve a scheme for the satisfactory solution of the problem, but without Government action nothing of any importance can be done, as the expenditure on Chinese is cut down to the very lowest. The ladies benevolent committee distributes relief to an average of 41 Chinese per annum. This relief takes the shape of an order on a storekeeper for goods to the amount of 1 /6 per week, which cannot be classed as an extravagant amount;The money spent in this way by the ladies committee during the three years came to £47.9/14/-, whereas the Chinese contributions amounted to £21/18/10, a deficiency of £458, equal to £150 per annum. The Chinese contributions average less than three-farthings per week per recipient, against a cost of 1/0 per week,In addition to the 1/6 per week, the ladies also distribute clothing, etc. It is interesting to note that at the present moment 38 Chinese are receiving relief from this society against only 15 Europeans. The Castlemaine Hospital has treated an average of 13 Chinese patients per year for the past three years, at a total cost of £491/0/2, and received in Chinese contributions the sum of £38/10/4, a deficiency of £453, equal to £150 per annum.The Chinese contributions average 1/1 for every £1 spent. The total cost of the Chinese to the three charitable institutions here—the hospital, asylum, and Ladies Benevolent Society—during the past three years is £1,504/11/7, and the total Chinese contributions £101/9/6,leaving a deficit of £1,403/2/1, equal to close on £500 a year. This represents the loss to the Victorian community. The Government grants for the period under review amounted to £755/3/-, leaving a deficit to be made up by the charitably disposed residents of the Castlemainedistrict- of £647/9/1, or about £220 per year,in addition to maintaining about 150 of their own nationality. There is, therefore, little wonder that the residents are getting weary of the burden imposed on them.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 11:48:59 +0000
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