DECLINE IN BIRTHS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 137, 13 June 1938, Page 5

DECLINE IN BIRTHS

STARTLING OUTLOOK. WRONG ATTITUDE TAKEN. ADOPTION SOCIETY MOOTED. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WAIROA, this day. If the number of births in New Zealand continues to fall as it is to-day the population of the Dominion in 100 years is going to be reduced to 500,000. This was the rather startling announcement made at the annual meeting of the Wairoa branch Gf t»he Plunket Society by Dr. S. W. J. Harbutt during a speech in which he dealt with social problems which might come under the influence of the society. He stated that one of the most important things to any country was its man power, and, with a falling birthrate, man power was also being reduced. He referred to the rush being, made to rearm, but stated that rearmament was of little use unless they had men. He had heard people ask what was the use of raising children who were to become gun fodder later on. That J was an • entirely wrong attitude. The bigger the • family the stronger a country would be, with the result, he said> that there would be less likelihood of trouble. ' Dr. Harbutt added that with the continuation of the falling birthrate, in 30 or 40 years' time the proportion of old people was going to rise considerably. Young people .would become fewer, and J consequently the efficiency of the nation must suffer. Referring to the problem of the unmarried mother, and the recent report of the commission which investigated the question, Dr. Harbutt stated that conditions here wer£ no worse than lliey were in . England. Immorality was always going to be with us, and the thing was to see that these unmarried mothers and their children did afct come to any harm. This was a case in which the law could take contrbl to a certain extent,. but other efforts ■.should also- be

made. If these mothers could be. given a reasonable assurance that their children, when they arrived; would be kept from the public gaze, and that they were going to be cared for, then very many of them would be prepared to carry on, and the incidence of abortion would drop. In liis opinion-it was the place of the Plunket Society to look after these children on the lines of the Adoption Society in England. There were many families eagerly awaiting to adopt children. It would be a great thing if the Plunket Society could form something in the nature of an Adoption Society, which would relieve the country of a Teat deal of the trouble it was to-day experiencing.