THE SOCIAL CANCER.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10634, 19 April 1900, Page 2

THE SOCIAL CANCER.

mm TO THE ■EDITOR OF THE TRESS.

Sir,*—Several letters having appeared in your columns under this heading, advocating various methods of cure, which partake largely of the nature of palliatives, but do not by any x»«ans fill the bill, I venture to oiler what I consider the beet and only method to extract the kernel oat of thi* very difficult nut. The only remedy, in my opinion, is "early marriage," Make this scheme possible, and t&e millennium will have arrived. If young people could have a reasonable hope of marrying between the ages of from twenty to twenty-live, and maintaining a family, they would in «Jl probability compxmce an honourable courtship to an engagement later on, terminating Jn respectable wedlock as a "finale." All this wcmJd unquestionably tend to an improvement in molality "being brought about by natural means." But tak« tfce Jaeta as they are. Precarious «WplojTWiWk; at low wagee, deter our voun£ »n*« tmd womeu living in Urge centres from ' SSS&n* 0 *! 1 !*? d « seot, 7 *° d respectably; 5£ 8 Wiuth ',, the y are driTen 2S T> " S CiWe «l**»l«»t to a corse)

The fact of the birtli rate of the colony failing otf may be attributed to the same cause. 'Our fashionable married ladies can't spare the time, bother, or responsibility of rearing families, and our struggling clerk'"or artisan (however willing) dare not increase his burdens. The poor working man and his wife seem to be the true mainstar of population at present, possibly from their ignorance in not knowing better than to load themselves with other mouths to feed. "Verily, they have their ova reward!" Take another instance, a young man and woman are working in a factory, their conjoined wages amounts to, say. £3 10s per week: for mutual protection and comfort they marry, and keep on working as before, and open an account with the Savings Bank, which is

very satisfactory, so long as the wife does not become a mother.

As the old adage says, "For every Jack there is a, GillaJi." This is , doubtless true in the abstract, but the consolidation of large fortunes and wealth hunger snakes the wedding of Jack with Gil Jan extremely doubtful, improbable, and indefinite, and their morals suffer accordingly. From time immemorial a- variety of schemes have been, propounded, and plans tried, to alleviate the misery resulting from uncontrolled passions, passions so firmly implanted in every living creature by the Creator, th:it since the foundations of the world we fi;:d seme of our brightest and noblest examples (in their days of polygamy) transgressing from time to time.

.Such being the case, and as there is no use in our trv'mg to "stop the sun/ , let us do our best to f]evi.se some practicable plan of minimising this stain on oar vaunted civilisation, and carry out with decency and order the Divine command of increase and multiply. Our present Government liave done much for the improvement of the working-classes, and will, no doubt, in the future do more to render it possible for poor Jack to mate with Gilhn. a consummation devoutly to be wished. Finally, as the father of a large family, I protest against the narrow-minded bigotry of the few, who oppose the carrying out of the CD. Apt in Christchuroh. As the social evil cannot he stamped out, let us at least keep it as harmless as possible, and within bounds. That the Act properly enforced would have this effect no one" can doubt who has had any experience of its working.—Yours, etc.,

OMEGA.

TO THE WHTOH Or THIS PBBSS. '

Civ. —You de-serve -crediit for, iowever late in the day, permitting correspondence on the above doleful subject. I can remember the- time when the Christehurch medical men, anxious to preserve the then comparative purity of our imported race from Sydney importations kept all public women clean, n.nd had nearly etispesed of what may be termed the cancer part of the business, "Vhen minister? of religion and others ros3 up and velicmentlv denounced the humane 'action of the doctors. They said, amongst.other things, that to keep people free from certain diseases was to nullify -the judgments of the Almighty, and to encourage, sin. Therefore the inspection business was dropped, the unfortunates were hunted from house to house, and the result has been that ignorant children walk our streets, spreading disease -wholesale., Such are the results of the efforts 6f tfie godly when untempered by worldly wisdom, and ignoreiit of the cancer Avith which they fajh; would deal. I have no hesitation in saying that the baneful results of the suppres: sion of the CD. Act in Christchurch cannot now be ended for many and would refer you to any known medical man for his opinion on the subject.—Yours, etc., / ONE WHO KNOWS.