BRITISH ASSOCIATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1923, Page 5

BRITISH ASSOCIATION

EMPIRE AND BIRTH CONTROL. ECONOMIST’S OPINIONS. (“Sydney Sun’’ Service.) LONDON, September 19. s At the British Association meeting >, Sir W. JI. Beveridge, Director of the London School of Economies, declared r that Britain was not over-populated. r Unemployment and over population £ were two distinct problems. He said that Germany, with its limits compressed, shipping lost, and other dis- > abilities arising out of the war, did . not suffer unemployment, yet Britain with expanded territories and the world open to her, had unprecedented unemployment. The remedy for Britain T was to recreate the world as a vast cooperative commonwealth of trade. Strongly advocating free trade. Sir W. 11. Beveridge said that lie found no basis for the belief that Britain could be self-supporting, or that the Empire was willing to become self-sufficient. . Dealing with the question of birth control, lie said that the present question was whether it would resuit in a stationary white population long before the white man’s yyorld was full. He also iiad to ask how the varying incidence of restrictions among dilfereut classes would affect the stock, and how far its unequal adoption among the different races would leave one at the mercy of another. Doctor Marie Stopes said that Sir W. H. Beveridge had ignored the existence of the unemployable and unfit. It was quality’ not quantity which counted. An increase in Britain’s birth control was necessary if the quality of the race were to be maintained, even at the present level. UNEMPLOYED STATISTICS. (Reuter.) LONDON, September 19. One million two hundred and twentytwo thousand are registered as unemployed in Britain, which is 12,000 below the previous week, compared with the maximum of 2,045,000 in June, 1921.