VIRILE HUMANITY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1125, 12 May 1911, Page 6

VIRILE HUMANITY.

THE AIMS OF EUGENICS. A NEW SOCIETY. A meeting of those interested in the study of eugenics was held in No. 1 Committee Room, Town Kail, last evening, for the purpose of forming a eugenics education society. There were about thirty present at the meeting, which was presided over by Dr. J. M. Mason. In the course of a short address, the chairman said that they could not but admit that thero were features in their body-weal that should give them all srrave cause, for reflection. There was no blinking the fact that all was not well with the world. Thero was one feature about such a. society as was proposed to be formed, that was that men and women of all sorts and conditions of opinions might join hands if they but believed that it was s wise thing for them to do as every good business man did in his trade—take stock of the situation; Crime and Disease, Through the conjoint work of the lawyer and the.medical man, the whole conception of responsibility in criminal matters was being changed, and crime was coming to be regarded more and more as an evidence of disease. The. AttorneyGeneral, with the help of such men as Dr. Hay, had, given evidence of this change in the recent, laws which had been placed on Ihe Statute Book. The proposed "provident legislation" foreshadowed by Mr. Lloyd-George showed clearly how tho tide was'now running. They, in their own little, if soinowhii satisfied country of New Zealand, could do much to place upon a clear and logical basis the value or otherwise of these social and economic problems. A careful medical inspection of the school children would lay the sure ' foundation of data whicii would be of incalculable value to the eugenist of the future who tried to assess the influence of the better climatic and easier economic conditions which obtained here upon tho growth and development of .this section of the Anglo-Saxon race..' Tho work douo by Mr. Empson, of Wauganui College, Hiss Mar-chant;; of Duuedin, and Dr. Ogston was deserving of high praise in that respect. The work of Dr. King in the conservation of child-life had been magnificent, and one did not need to agree with all that had been done by him to restrict one's admiration. Jlorafs, as Kipling had said, was often a matter of longitude, but whether they were guided in these matters by Christian teaching, or.by humanitarian edicts of Buddha of Mohammed, they did know that there was a general code to which they must all subscribe as soon as they became a unit in any country. These, concluded the speaker, were some of the problems they would have to tackle, but if one did no more than send valuable data to that great Clearing House set up in London by tho munificence of that great pioneer, Golton, thu society would deserve well of its time and generation.

Scope of the Society. Professor Kirk said that the subject of eugenics had been more or less prominently before the public some time ago, particularly in Wellington, where a stimulus had been given the movement by an article which had appeared in The Dominion. The scope of such a society, broadly speaking, included every condition of society which either influenced the development and improvement of. its members as- human beings, or threatened to deteriorate them. As an example ho quoted the indeterminate sentence which had found a consistent advocate in Sir Robert Stout. The ideas which, constituted tho basis of eugenics were really alive in New-Zea-land. Questions relating to the fertility of tho unfit, the collection of statistics, and the examination of pedigrees" in their relatioii'to the influence of heredity—there were many-interesting cases now awaitim; investigation, which could with profit t.u the community receive attention by the society.'"''''!!! conclusion, he .. earnestly pleaded for a'policy of restraint in speech and propaganda, and the avoidance of extravagant expressions and unwarrantable conclusions. Mr. T. King then moved that the Wellington Eugenics Education Society be formed, and affiliated with tho London society. ' Mrs. A. R. Atkinson seconded the motion. Collection of Data. . Mr. R! A. Wright, M.P., said that such a society would be of valuableassistonce to members of Parliament in collecting important data for the enlightenment of the people and tho guidance of the Legislature. Nearly everyone had noted, in his own experience, instances of the calamitous consequences of ignorance of the simplest principles of eugenics. He hoped that the society would grow and prosper, and become a strong educative influence on public opinion. . ~ Dr. Cameron, speaking as a city councillor, assured the meeting of his _ sympathy and support. The extinction of slum areas, public Tccreation, and open place l : were determining questions in eugenics, and urgent questions in civic government. In the past the City Council had not. given sufficient attention to these matters. . The motion was then put and earned. It wa= further resolved that the objects and methods of the Eugenics Society of New Zealand (founded in Dunedin), which was affiliated with the London Eugenics Education Society, should bo adopted for the Wellington Society. Committee Elected. The following committee was elected:— Dr. Elizabeth Plaits-Mills, Mrs. A. R, •Ukiuson, Miss Richmond. Sir Robert Stout, Professor H. B. Kirk, Professor Mackenzie, Drs. Mason, HanhvickeSmith, Hav, Bcgg, and Cameron, the Rev. W. \. Evans, and Messrs. R. A. AY right, MP, T. M. AVilford, M.P., G. Hogben, AVm. Grav, F. Stuckey, A. H. Hindmarsh, T. King, and A. .T. Hamilton. The matter of electing honorary officers was left in the hands of tho committee, as also was the task of drafting by-laws. Miss At. England, of 125 Molesworfh Street, will act as secretary in the meantime, aud receive subscriptions (the fee - is 55.). .