OLD AGE PENSIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11372, 15 May 1900, Page 3

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

TO THE EDITOR. -In your issue of the 27th .utt. there appears a very short paragraph ffi oW J 1 * 0 pensions, which affords food for rcflccion. It appears wo have 10.000 . old mo pensioners rinonff the Ei.r6pc.ans,, and 1000 S the Maoris, and this at a cos more than double what Mr, Melon's estimatei was. Ho' said £90.000, and it is now over .W9U.UUU. Now, Mr. Editor, would you bo kind enough to inform mo what is the number of fami in Now Zealand, and then we will see what number have an old ago pensioner to support. I think it will pan out to about one pensioner for every 12 families. This is, a yoke too grievous to be borne. Then our Civil Service loads us with another incubus to every 12 families, and we all know what Government billet" means. Our Customs taxation beats all creation except West Australia, Doing about £17 por family. Our whole population is about equal to that of a secondrate city, such as Glasgow. Manchester, or Calcutta, and yet we have 11,000 old age pensioners, and more than that of other pensioners How many in the colony are in Government pay? Please, Mr. Editor, allow mo Jo make a 'suggestion. Your paper is already a mine of information, but could you not Jet us have a column or two headed " lho Economist," where wo would get statistics, lectures, articles, and letters on our political economy (?) or, rather, extravagance? Wo would like to know where,the money goes, and we have not almanacs, year-books, and blue books at hand, so wo look to you for information. As we have 11,000 old ago pensioners, and I fancy far more than that in Government pay. besides the groat contingent of Government lessees and loancc.s, it is no longer strange to behold the great Government majority. At last election the political cry hero was: " Where will we be if wo don't vote for him?"— am, etc., Unionist Fabueb Gisborne, May 9, 1900.