Illegitimacy In Britain

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31596, 6 February 1968, Page 2

Illegitimacy In Britain

The rising rate of illegitimate births among girls aged 15 to 17 was causing concern in Britain, Lady Carrington, who is a member of the committee of a charitable home for unmarried mothers in England, said in Christchurch yester* day.

Although a mother was often happier if her parents could help her to keep her baby, adoption was advised for young girls. “It’s considered better for the baby to be adopted so the girl can start out her life afresh,” said Lady Carrington.

Lady Carrington is visiting New Zealand with her husband, who is chairman of the Bank of Australia and New Zealand.

lite number of recurring pregnancies among unmarried girls was also rising. Very often these girls had extremely unhappy family backgrounds and were of low intelligence. "The fathers are usually the same and this makes finding adoptive parents for the babies very difficult," she said. There was no shortage of couples wishing to adopt babies in Britain and Lady Carrington found the process of adoption fascinating. “This is all in conjunction with my work and when I return home I’m hoping to work for the National Adoption Society,” she said. The home, which accommodates 12, is financed by the Anglican Diocesan Moral Welfare Board, assisted by a grant from the local authority. The mothers pay in their Government maternity allowance of £4 a week.

Lady Carrington also takes an active interest in a home for children from broken or unhappy homes. "Fortunately

the numbers In these homes are decreasing because we have had success with a foster parents system for these children who will never be adopted,” she said. Lady Carrington spends week-days in London and week-ends at the family home in the country near Oxford. Her husband, now Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords, has spent many years in Government service and Lady Carrington is accustomed tn constant entertaining. Although Britain’s economic squeeze has not affected her greatly, she considers devaluation a “different story.” Like many New Zealanders, she has already found price increases in unexpected places. A recent inquiry into the price of English glasses revealed the fact that they would increase in price because the glass was made with Continental sand. Lady Carrington hopes the “Back Britain" campaign will encourage consumers to "buy British.” "I’m sure we can encourage a better standard in our goods by buying Brit-

ish and insisting on getting the quality we want,” she said.

Lady Carrington blames the reported lack of patriotism In Britain today on the “many articulate people who are writing and saying that we are now a second-rate nation and going downhill. "Young people are still thoroughly pro-British but it’s difficult for them to know what to be proud of and what are the important things to stand up for,” she said. “Certainly we can no longer say half the map’s pink; but we are still a leading nation in many fields.”