THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9220, 24 November 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW.

The most important articles in the Westminster Review for October are on the following topics:—"Poverty," "International Migration and Political Economy," and "Elementary Education : Payment by Results." The article on Poverty shows how that is being treated as the great modern problem, and how everybody is endeavouring to find how it can be obviated. The writer of the article shows how it is mainly the fault of individuals themselves. He says:—

There is nothing mysterious or inexplicable about the origin of the material miseries which form such a heavy drag upon the world's progress. They arise 'in the main from causes of a simply character, but, for all that, the prospect of their general abatement is still very limited. If the failings which constitute the causes are clear and unmistakable, they are so widely spread as to be practically universal, and it is this fact whicn constitutes the real barrier to improvement. They consist almost exclusively in a iericiency o' foresight and of self-control, and these defects are so general that their proper condemnation is at present impossible. In some of their phases they are regarded as estimable traits of character rather than as faults ; in others they are classed as failings to be mildly regretted ; but seldom are they neld to call for anything like serious moral censure. Provided a man does not break any of the written laws of society, he may lead what is really nothing more than a .and of animal life of self-indulgence, bringing himself and those dependent upon him into a condition of misery and destitution, and ft till be looked upon by society generally as a victim of mere thoughtlessness. He will receive more sympathy than reproach. Yet, if he were judged according to the consequences of his failings, he would have to take rank among the worst of moral offenders. Poverty may well be termed the mother of vice ; and the question whether it is a crime, so often asked with indignation by those who profess to espouse the cause of its victims, aught, in large number of instances, to be answered in the affirmative.

This is a kind of tnlk which is much wanted in these timfjs. The individual .last oe responsible for his actions, and he must be taught when he feels the pinch of poverty that the fault lies, not in the wrong constitution of society, but in himself. We make another exbvact to show the tone of t.ie article:—

The widely-. and deeply-rooted character of the failings which constitute she predisposing causes of the material sufferings endured by so large a proportion of the inhabitants of almost all civilised countries does not, however, form the only barrier to ;heir amendment. There are certain consideration's incidental to their opposing virtues which also assist very materially in lernetUcUing their existence. Imprudence mcl the insufficient exercise of self-control iro doubtless the chief sources of the great social ills at present endured, but it must be admitted that the moral qualities which form .lie opposites of these characteristics are to '•"me extent deservedly held in disrepute, .labits of imprudence are often found in coniunction with peculiarities by no means deserving of esteem, whilst their absence is not (infrequently compensated by traits of character which are decidedly agreeable to contemnlate. Hence it is that thrift, for example, '3 sometimes described as a selfish virtue, ind that it has come to be regarded by many lersons nth tacit mistrust.

The article 011 " Migration and Political Economy " deals with the migrations of the present day, which it contends must be taken cognisance of by political economists ,0 a greater extent 'than hitherto. The •vriter concludes as follows :—

It remains to note some of the uoniconomic objections against unrestricted :'oreigu immigration—simply to mark them is non-economic. There is,' first, the timelonourcd argument against the admixture of habits and ideas. This was a common one with ancient Greek writers; and, •vith their small military States and fixitv of actional type, it was not wholly unjustified. That the commerce which produces such ' confusion of type" is the most potent means of civilisation is a wholly modern idea, but one which we are hardly likely to ibandon; at any rate, only the extremest supporters of the idea of nationalism —which, liter all, is largely a figment of poets and professors seriously maintain it now. Then there is the argument as to the danger >f intermixture of distinct races. Someone —it may be Bagehot—has compared South America to a vast sociological laboratory, in which experiments are constantly being made in the production of new racial compounds. But laboratories are not at best pleasant or healthy places of residence, and sociological laboratories least of all. The .nixed races, as Bagehot has said in " Physics and Politics," are often not merely something between races, but between moralities, and a nation may fairly object to such physical admixture of type as produces some of the South American results. There is the argument from " apprehended disorders " in the preamble ol the new AmericanChinese LYeaty, now very naturally rejected by the Chinese Government, from patriotic motives rather than economic. There are sanitary reasons, the fear of increasing pauperism, and the like, which are only indirectly economic. With all these we are not here concerned. Economically speaking, increase of productive power is the main end ; and anything—be it machine, Polish Jew, or Chinaman —which tends to increase it permanently is so far good. This good may be neutralised in practice by non-economic'con-siderations ; but science— Sir W. Hamiton used to say— always with the universal and necessary, and the practical applications of the doctrines of economics are for the statesman rather than the economist.

" Elementary Education: Payment by Results," is a denunciation of the present system of education, very much in the strain which we have had common here lately. It, traces the growth of the system in England. Here is what the writer says of its effects upon the female population :—

In the present day, when the female population preponderates over the male to such an extent that three million out of every six million women work for a living, we should imagine that there would be no difficulty in securi good domestic servants. Yet all household matrons of any experience complain bitterly of the lack of good servants. .Surely this ought not to be. Women are eminently fitted for domestic duties, and can it be that an acquaintance with the rudiments of education can unfit a girl for household duties ? A girl of thirteen from a good Board school who has passed her sixth or seventh standard is fairly intelligent. She can read fluently, write neatly and accurately, work fractions, decimals, and interest, parse and analyse ; she has some slight knowledge of literature, and probably has gone through a play or two of Shakspere s. She can darn, knit, patch, stitch, and work buttonholes ; she can cut out a garment, she has attended cookery lessons, and has studied the theory of domestic economy so far as it relates to ventilation, cooking, clothing, and health. Every good Board school turns out a dozen such annually, though by far the greater number never reach this stage of proficiency, and drop off in lower standards as soon as they can escape. One would Conclude that an intelligent girl of thirteen who has profited by her school training would be eminently fitted for service, and, if education unfits them for it, it is a fact to be deplored. But matrons say the market is thronged with lady-helps, and ladies' companions, and in efficient nursery governesses, who will accept situations for merely a home, so that they may be genteel. These pauper young ladies disdain service.

Here is another paragraph as to the effects of the system of education upon men :—

Business men c-mplain that boys as apprentices, errand bovs, and young clerks lack intelligence. By elaborate processes they can work out elaborate arithmetical problems, but they fail in reasoning out easy practical ones. Board school boys in many cases eschew trades, and throng to become teachers and clerks; skilled craftsmen are rare. Workmen are discontented with their condition. They grumble at the wage and grumble at the hours ; strikes are common. The market i* glutted with schoolmasters and clerks, thousands are out of employment: and many duly qualified college - trained young schoolmasters, after months of weary waiting for situations, enlist as private soldiers. With all our State educational machinery we, as a nation, are far behind our German neighbours.

He concludes " The present age is an age of examinations, and one day history will record the hollowness and artificiality of our system." •