MONDAY, MAY 13, 1912. PENSIONS ALL ROUND.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXII, 13 May 1912, Page 4

MONDAY, MAY 13, 1912. PENSIONS ALL ROUND.

The idea of pensions for the old is no new thing. It is at least a hundred and six years since Austria, as a nation, established a system of old-age pensions, and these have been paid during the whole of the intervening time. Den r mark, too, has had an old age pension scheme for nearly three-quarters of a century. New Zealand was, therefore, in no sense, first in the field in this matter, but literally late in the day. To begin with, too, old age pensions in New Zealand were advocated by journalists, and not by politicians; and the-first leading public man to propose systematic provision for the old in this country was Sir Harry Atkinson. He did not suggest national old age pensions, as we now have them, but the scheme known as that of the Rev. Thomas Blackley. However, it was his advocacy of that scheme which first brought the subject definitely into the arena of practical politics, and, as Sir Harry spoke in almost every town in the country on the proposal, and was then in the front rank of New Zealand statesmen, the prominence he gave it had the effect of co-ordinating the sentiment and the opinions which had been forming with respect to national old age pensions. Refore that, in the very earliest stage of the movement, there was practically only one public man who stood jby and for the proposal, and he was Dr Samuel Hodgkinson, a singularly humane- and enlightened man, who had become a member of the Provincial Council of Southland in 1865, and entered Parliament in 1876. In the main, however, journalists were the first to advocate old age pensions in this country, and some of those who did so not only pointed to the examples set by Austria and Denmark, but also, in addition to the obvious humanistic reasons, justified their advocacy on the principle that a working-man was not only ethically, but economically, entitled to a pension, inasmuch as, during his working years, he contributed much more to the taxable wealth of the country than he ever received in wages. Mr Ballance was, if we remember rightly, the only Liberal politician who saw this strong point; but in one way or other —chiefly on sentimental grounds—the movement continued till it reached the statute-book. However, the great economic principle to which we have referred —that those who receive wages or salaries contribute to accumulated and taxable wealth much more than they receive in pay —still holds good, and it is quite as applicable to claims on private fortunes as on public funds. Yet even this is not new, for evidence of the recognition and of the practical acknowledgment of the principle is to be found ia the annals of past times. It was almost universally acted on under the feudal system with respect to workers on baronial estates, and even since then it has been no uncommon thing for the owners of land in Britain. to , pension working-men in their old age, if not in actual cash, then by means of cottages to live in, and by liberal and regular'supplies•■ of wholesome food, with fuel, and .pasture, and provender for a cow or two. In other ways, the owners of large businesses have—-not, as a matter of course, nor very generally, but still to a noticeable extent—off and on, for many generations in the Old Country, made liberal old age . provision for employees; and latterly there has been a growing feeling that this should be done universally, on the grounds of economic as well as of moral justice. This feeling is on the increase also in New. Zealand. Not long since, a large employer in Hawera itself admitted to the writer of this article that the principle of adequately providing for the old age of employees was just with respect to private businesses, and that the day of its practical operation was coming nearer and nearer, and should come soon as a matter of social justice. Then, quite recently in Christchurch, the subject has been publicly discussed in connection with the resignation of Professor Haslam, of Canterbury CoE lege. It has been proposed, and quite riahtlv sp. we think, that he should receive for the remainder of his life an arnual allowance of £250 a year. Naturally enough, though, the proposal ha^ been seized on as giving occasion foconsidering the question on genera! grounds, and a correspondent of the Lyttelton Times suggests that all firmand places of business i should be called upon by, the .-.■ law. to provide retiring allowances for. their employees. The writer thinks, however, that the em-

Sloyees'should, week by week, contriute a small sum to the creation of the fund, which would be.necessary to provide for the retiring allowances. This is one of the features of'the Rev. Thomas BlackJey's scheme, and there can be no objection to it on principle. It is, however, only a detail, and. for the present the really important thing is the public discussion of private pensions to employees, on the same broad economical and moral grounds as national old age pensions are given by the State.