The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1896.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 156, 4 July 1896, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1896.

Ser, fewasußfli-tlisttoks. assistaiics, Ssrtfee fstoffl in tba &staira». JmflvOieigssoa that wo oan do.

The persistency with which the question of old age State pensions keeps cropping up in the social literature and legislative proposals of all civilised countries indicates a vitality and reasonableness in the idea which are not associated with mere fads. At the same time, the multitude of schemes propounded for national provident insurance against pauperism, and the hesitation to adopt any of them shows how hedged about with difficulty the proposal is. Everybody nowadays, who has carefully considered the matter, is ready to admit the wisdom of voluntary insurance, aiad a great many people are consistent enough to make some provision against the time when they may not be able to earn a living. The necessity for some such provision is probably greater now than it has ever been. With all our'science and legislation, we have not been able to amend, to any appreciable extent, the proverbial mutability and uncertainty of mundane affairs. Indeed, there can be little doubt that owing to the very complicated and speculative character of modern life, it is more difficult than ever'to say what the morrow will bring forth, and as to forecasting the years, it is out of the question. In a stationary community like China a man may lay plans twenty years ahead with some little certainty of getting them coraoleted should he live, but in progressive, nervous, and so often distracted Europe, with its life at high pressure, its panics, its financial crises, its wars, it is altogether different. In the words of the popular song, it may with a good deal of truth be said of the most sagacious of us that "'E dunno where 'c are." The sagacious people may generally be trusted to make prevision for the rainy days by taking advantage of the many excellent systems of insurance in vogue. But unfortunately they cannot always do.so. There arc many frugal, industrious and far-seeing mortals, wH6i though they quite recognise the desirability of feathering their nests against the winter of old age, find that their present necessities absorb every penny of their means, and that they have quite enough to do keeping body and soul together and supplying the wants of those dependent on them without attempting to provide for the future. The existence of so many cases of this kind proves the necessity lor some system of insurance which ceuld be taken advantage of by those in indigent circumstances. The existing institutions, which are conducted on purely commercial lines, cannot be expected to add^wbat would in some degree at least be a charitable branch to their business, and the societies for mutual help are altogether too poor to afford anything but a very temporary assistance to their members. Everything points to State aid in the matter. As a fact, when every other resource has failed, it is the State which mast come to the rescue, and the question is whether it might not grant assistance by better systematised, more effective, and less objectionable methods than those at present adopted.

We have as yet only spoken of the poor who are too poor to be provident. Their case appeals to every Christian and human sentiment within us, and for their sates we might all be willing to contribute something towards the alleviation of their lot by means of State pensions. We have certainly not the same sympathy with those who are unnecessarily improvident, and they constitute an enormous class, especially, we believe, in these colonies. But no State pension scheme which contemplates their exclusion could be considered adequate m these days. We .must, to some extent at least, accept improvidence as we do typhoid, treat the victim of it as irresponsible, and deal with him accordingly. Following this plan, we may either adopt Mr Charles-Booth's scheme of a universal pension paid to every man and woman withput any previous contribotioa or any qualification except that of haviag reached the age of sixty-five ; or we may, with the object of inculcating and enforcing thrift adopt a scheme of compulsory insurance by which every man and woman must contribute an annual premium. All the schemes advocated may be classed under one or other of these two principles, or under that of voluntary state-aided-insurance.

Serious objections have been urged against compulsory insurance. Most of them were touched on in the report of the Select Committee which exaraiued Canoa Blackley's scheme. The upper and middle classes, it was contended, none of whom would be entitled to a pension under the scheme unless they fell to the level of wageearners, " would be bitterly opposed to being taxed for their allowances, part of which would be enjoyed by an immense number of working people who are quite able to make pecuniary provision for themselves." Again, the evidence taken by the Committee showed that contributions for pensions could not be

obtained from very many of the poorer classes, who would, therefore, fail to jarticipate in the benefit of the scheme. This same objection may be urged with equal force against Mr Chamber* lain's scheme, which provides for voluntary insurance and makes use of the present friendly Society machinery,' Mr Charles Booth's scheme has distiact advantages, but it is.not freevfrom enormous difficulties and objections, And chief among the latter is that its adoption would seem tobe a premium on improvidence, intemperance, and idleness. The hard-working taxpayers would pay for the dissolute and careless. Mr Booth meets this objection thus: " There is nothing new in a system of payment by the rich for the poor, much less in the worthy paying for the worthless. It is the ordinaay rule of life, and cannot be altered unless we steel our hearts against the sufferings of the sick and the weak as well as of the idle, the drunken, and the vicious, and leave them to perisiji, unaided." As we said at the outset, the diffi? culties which lie in the way of the adoption of any scheme are enormous. The various Commissions in the Old Country which have inquired into, the respective merits of each new device have never been able to recommend any, and now we see by a cable the other night that the Treasury has appointed a commission of experts to inquire into the practicability of the many proposals. While they "are at work our own Parliament may have under discussion the same wiighty pro* blem. In the Governor's speech we were promised that the question $t a old age pensions would receive 'consideration, and in the first dajs of the session the Hon. Mr Hall-Jones gave notice of his intention to move for a select committee to deal with the .matter. We doubt not that the members of the Committee will make themselves familiar with all the English and Continental schemes if they have not already done so, but. in recommending any scheme for New Zealand the enormous difference in the conditions of life here as compared with Europe must be taken into account,, It has to be determined whether the colony is yet ripe for the inauguration of any scheme ot ■-•' the kind, and then behind that looms the terrible * question of expense, which has frightened even the British Treasury, with its enormous resources. Some of our friends . we know are impatient at the delay which there has been in the colony in con* nection with this matter of old age pensions, but let them cast an eye on England and see what an enormous amount of deliberation has taken/ place there, and still the Government hesitate to commit themselves to the adoption of any scheme; We bete are inclined sometimes to rush Wo madly ahead. This is a question with regard to which we would do well to adopt our ex-Governor's motto, Mstina titite, lest in endeavouring to provide against the risk of poverty ia the future^we aggravate the difficulties experienced by the industrious in providing for present needs.