TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 194, 17 August 1922, Page 7

TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES.

1 MOTHERHOOD ENDOWMENT. MR. SAVAGE'S SCHEME. (By Teleprnph.—Special to "Star") WELLINGTON, this day. The Endowment of Motherhood Bill,! introduced by Mr. M. J. Savage (Auckland West), is much on the lines of a similar rfeasure that Mr. McGirr passed through the New .South Wales Parliament, but which the Upper House there threw out. The first object of Mr. ' Savage's bill is to establish a basic wage for the average family, which he suggests should consist of the parents and two children. The endowment o) , 10/ then becomes available to the third and every successive child.. In the case of any parent receiving a wage greater tha.n the basic wage, the addition is j taken into consideration before any : claim for endowment is sanctioned— that is to say, if the basic wage was £sand a man with five children was receiving £7 10/, his family would not be entitled to benefit. The second principle of the measure is that every branch of industry shall contribute to the endow- : ment by way of taxation, the money thus I to come from the Consolidated Fund. In I this respect the hill differs substantially from Mr. Mitchell's measure, which proposed to tax only a section of industry. I Mr. Savage maintains that unless every section is taxed the measure would j defeat its own end. The bill makes provision for continuation of benefits in the event of a mother dying, the Mm- j ister of Pensions being authorised to ' appoint a person to draw the endow- i ment. Illegitimate children are also included in the scheme. Another point which its supporters emphasise is that provision is made for the family, of a woman whose husband either ; deserts her, is incapacitated, or is , imprisoned, provided application is made within a month- Moneys received from, friendly or similar societies are i not to be calculated as income and I the endowment is not attachable for j debts. Penalties are prescribed for breaches of the Act, and there are the other usual machinery clauses.