FIRST CONTRIBUTOR.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 50, 1 March 1911, Page 6

FIRST CONTRIBUTOR.

NATIONAL PROViOENT FUND. FORMAL INAUGURATION TO-DAY. MAKING PROVISION FOR THE FUTURE. The National Provident scheme, fo* which provision was mad« by an Act passed last session, was formally inaugurated to-day by\ Sir Joseph Ward, ia the presence of Uie Board constituted t<n control the fund (Messrs. J. W. Poynton, Secretary to the Treasury j G. F, C Campbell, Commissioner of Taxes ; R. E. Hayes, Registrar of Friendly^ Societies ; and Dr. Hay, Inspector oj Prisons), and the staff of the Depart-, nient. Mr. Hayes said, in order to furnish a practical example to parents and guardians, the Prime Minister, with his wellknown interest in any movement of a humanitarian nature, had attended in order to enrol the first contributor to the fund. He hoped that the contribution he was about to pay wtfild ba the nucleus of a fund that would in, time run into millions. The formalities were then gona through of enrolling Mr. Gladstone Ward, a son of~ the Prim© Minister, aa the first contributor to the fund, and a photograph, was taken of Sir Joseph Ward receiving the receipt book from, Mr. Hayes, in order to preserve a permanent record of what was regarded as a historic occasion. Addressing the gathering, Sir Joseph, Ward expressed his pleasure at beiEg present in* order to give a start to the. fund. It must-, he said, be a soorce of satisfaction to the people of the Dominbn to know that New Zealand was the first country in the world which, had put into operation a system with such advantages as were contained in the Act passed last session. He recog-. nised that others, as well as himself, had done a great deal towards establishing a system on such a broad and humanitarian basis. The late Prime Minister, Mr. Seddon, had advocated a system on similar lines, but, as tha result of careful examination and investigation, the present system was much wider and more effective and more valuable than had previously been contemplated. He hoped that the publio of New > Zealand would recognise what •a magnificent system was available foi\ them to make provisiofc ior troubles that might be anticipated. It insured! a man against accident, made provision, for his widow and children in the event! of death, and provided valuable assistaiice—bo the extent of £6— in the case of maternity. He was of opinion that the country could well afford to pay what it was proposing to pay towarda the fund^ Those who had gone into, the question assessed the value to the State of a man at the age. of twenty-one, years at about £300, and' he urged that! ifj by such a scheme, lives of children could be saved to the State, the money, devoted to that purpose would bo well spent. IMMIGRATION AND THE BIRTH, ' RATE. A lot of money had from time to timo been spent in inducing the proper claea of people to settle in A T ew Zealand, but, it would be of much greater value if as the re6ult of the assistance provided by the fund, the birth-rate of the coun. try was maintained at a proper average,. Ho looked forward with a great deal o$ hope to finding that a large number of* people would take advantage of tha scheme and make provision for their oldi age and for sickneee and for their wives and families in the event of death which could be done at a very low ratei of contribution. Hie son was not in receipt of an income of £200 a year, andj was therefore eligible to become a con-, tributor to the fund, and he (Sir Joseph, Ward) had ta,ken that opportunity, by( insuring hie son under the scheme, im order to inculcate into the youth of New, Zealand tho importance of making provision for the future — in order to en-* dorse what he had always advocated namely, the education of young people nil the matter of providence, and he truetedj that his action in that respect would ba followed by other parents and guardians throughout the Dominion in statftina their children or dependents on the roadi of self-help and thrift. ENCOURAGING THRIFT. He had lately read some words of thai iato Hon. W. E. Gladstone on the thrifts question. They were weighty words,, and might well be quoted on isuch am occasion. He said : "It is eelf-help, which makes the man, and man-making] is the aim which tie Almighty has everywhere impressed upon creation. It| is thrift by which self-help for the mass-* es dependent upon labour is principally] made effective. To them thrift is tha symbol and the instrument of independ-^ ence arid liberty, indispensable condi-» tione of permanent- good." The fund, h« added, offered such conditions that no young person in the Dominion should mks the chance of making provision fori aickness and old age, and it was pleasing to note that already a great many peopl« had displayed a very considerable interest in the 6cheine. He believed th«( fund would prove to be a source of lielpj to the maeses of the people of New Zea* land, and he- wished the new venture! every success. (Applause.)