DANGER OF FALLING BIRTH-RATE

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23538, 16 January 1942, Page 8

DANGER OF FALLING BIRTH-RATE

NEED FOR REMEDIAL MEASURES (P.S.S.) WELLINGTON. January 15. The grave decline of the birth-rate in New Zealand and the catastrophic consequences of racial decay were emphasised by the Chancellor of the University of New Zealand (the Hon. J. A. Hanan) in his address to the Senate to-day. He said that New Zealand’s population was very small and the loss of life in the war would be great. “The general situation is so alarming that we cannot remain coldly indifferent to realities,” continued Mr Hanan. “To increase the birth-rate, and to save child life is an axiom of State preservation; to remedy this defect should be an axiom of State economy. “There is a commanding duty imposed and a responsibility resting upon all educationists, doctors, social reformers, churches, and the press, to come together in a co-operative spirit, not with a soft-pedalling of views, but with a clear manifestation of moral courage, will power and driving force to diffuse knowledge widely and impressively, exposing the causes of this arresting decline and the nature of those effective remedial measures that are so essential to help towards the settlement of this vital problem—never greater, more imperative, and more urgent than now.”