THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1894.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9492, 23 April 1894, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1894.

A question has been put by the Wellington Trades and Labour Council to the Premier on the subject of old-age pensions, and his reply is that a Parliamentary committee will be set up next session to inquire into the whole matter. It will therefore be a foremost topic of discussion, and its accomplishment will probably be advanced a stage, although it is not likely that a scheme will be passed into law. The question is still being discussed in England, the latest contribution being a paper by Mrs. M. J. Farrelly, of the Inner Temple, in the International Journal of Ethics. Mr. Farrelly's contention is, that the State ought to aid and establish such pensions as a mere act of justice, seeing that it allowed the misappropriation of the lands of the monasteries, which were largely devoted to the poor, that it abrogated family rights by the introduction of primogeniture, and allowed creditors to seize the family land. The establishment of old age pensions is therefore, according to this writer, simply an act of reparation. It is unnecessary to ransack history for a justification of old age pensions. Everyone admits that it would be one of the greatest benefits to society if it could be assured that no person, after he or she had reached the age when labour was a sore burden, should be in want of the necessaries of life. But very great care would be requisite in carrying out the scheme. It would need to apply to every person, so that it should not be the means of making a huge distinction in society. If a man did not need it, if he had a competency without it, good and well ; but still he ought to come under the operation of the scheme, so that there should be no separation. The affluent and the poor should be treated precisely in the same manner. Precautions should also be taken that the security of an old-age pension should not be the means of fostering extravagance, and this would undoubtedly be a considerable difficulty. Society could not allow to starve even those persons who had evaded the laws and regulations, and had made no provision for old age. But in such instances society might justifiably be somewhat severe, and might treat such individuals as persons who had offended against the State. A system of old-age pensions has been for some time in operation in Germany, and although there are some complaints respecting the working of the system there is no chance of it being abandoned. There are at present before the British public some dozen schemes for securing the object, beginning with that of Canon Blackley, which was promulgated in 1878. Since then we have had schemes from the National Provident League, from Mr. Chamberlain, from Mr. Charles Booth, from the Poor Law Reform Association, and from several other social reformers. In Denmark a system is in operation. It provides that at 60 years of age every Danish subject shall have a right to a pension, except those who have been convicted of crime, those who have fraudulently

transferred their property to relations and others, and such persons as have become distressed by extravagance or evil living, or, have during the preceding ten years received poor law relief, or who have been convicted of mendicity. In other States of the Continent the subject has been much discussed, and various schemes have been propounded. The chief difficulty everywhere seems to be, that exceptions have to be made of those who have become distressed by evil living or extravagance, and those are, in most cases, precisely the persons who in old age require assistance to be given them at all. In the colonies there would be many special difficulties, such as the tendency of large numbers of the working class to change from place to place and from colony to colony in search of work. But still, all these might be overcome. It would be incumbent on the Government to seek the co-operation of the Friendly Societies, and not to endeavour to crush them, The prime object, indeed, to be kept in view ought to be that the State should aid all persons through life to make provision for themselves, so that they may have support in old age from their own savings. If the State does more then it becomes simply an extravagant poor law system. It will merely, in that case, be throwing the burden of the improvident more heavily upon the provident, and of this we have far too much already.