DEPENDENCE OF THE STATE.
WARNING by lord grey
DANGEROUS POSITION IN NEW ZEALAND. LPR:BBS ASSOCIATION TEUEGEAI43 -■ WELLINGTON, March 11. The danger of 'too great, dependence on the State, winch lie saw at•least in an incipient form in New Zealand was condemned by Earl Grey in a speech delivered yesterday at a luncheon tendered to him by the New Zealand Club and the Wellington Branch of the Royal Colonial Institute.
Earl Grey had been saying a great manv things laudatory of New Zealand and its peo-le. but the concluding sentence:, of b:;. speech were in the nature of a warn.ug. "Having, I hope, proved to pou that I have a great affection for New Zealand and a great belief in ite future.” he said, “may I go oil to say one word of possible warning. There is one fact in your national life which I have only just discovered and it has caused me to experience a positive shiver or apprehension, and it is that one-eighth of your population are directly dependent upon the State In Ireland on-twelfth of the population are directly dependent upon the State, and we in the United Kingdom consider that to be a very dangerous proportion. May I, with the greatest respect, say that I do not believe it is possible for any nation which encourages its people to lie down upon the State to win either greatness or prosperity—(applause). I hope you have not. got to that state in New Zealand, but you are in a. dangerous position or you may be soon if you do not take care. “Wherever you find the people lying down on the State you will find an” all-pervading influence which (is seriously detrimental to the national character. You will find a poison which saps the energy, impairs the efficiency, and impoverishes alTd pauperises and degrades the character of the people. “Take care,” I would add, “that you do not make the dependents of the State the masters of the State. High wages, I admit, may be stimulated for a time by borrowed money, but there ie only one source, and one source only, from which can be permanently derived the greatness, and prosperity of tire State and that is the high average output of the individual workers and the wealth developed by the primary producers.’ ’ '
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVIII, 12 March 1914, Page 5
Word Count
386DEPENDENCE OF THE STATE. Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVIII, 12 March 1914, Page 5
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