THE DECREASING BIRTH RATE: THE BEST REMEDY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12524, 17 March 1904, Page 6

THE DECREASING BIRTH RATE: THE BEST REMEDY.

TO THE EDITOR.. Sir,—l have read with deep interest your summary oi the report of the New South Wales Boyal Commission on the above painful subject, and also the letters of your .correspondents, r y Scotia" ' and "L.G.W.," and others. ■:■.■'■,■•.,'■'" '~ ■ . : ;Forty years ago I did some little work among the poorest of the populations of london ■■; and '; Manchester, and I know what poverty means. I have been back in this country for more than 30 years, but the memory of what I saw in the old home haunts me to this day. : : ,1 think of the little starving children I have seen clinging to the ragged skirts of their mothers. ; I have "handed them a biscuit; it would go with a snap to the little mouth, and would be as quickly drawn out again, and held up to the mother, for the little one knew that she, too, was hungry. ;. It ia only those who have actually been amonjj these scenes who can have any idea of the inconceivable horror of extreme poverty. God grant that it may not reach this country. I think of these things and ask myself the question, Which is the greatest crimeto bring children Into the world under such pitiable conditions or to use the means complained of? Ido not pretend to give the answer. I notice with pleasure the conclusion of the New South Wales Royal Commission's report. It suggests "a combined crusade by the Churches, the settlement of the people on the land, in order to check the tendency to the concentration of the population in the towns, with its many evil results, and a vigorous policy of encouraging immigration." In the second clause of this paragraph we have the real solution pointed out, and in my opinion the only way in which the evil complained of can be mitigated. We must make the conditions of life easier for the great mass of mankind, and especially of womankind. By this Ido not mean placing them in a position to live on less work, but giving them opportunities for doing more work, and with better results to themselves. This report speaks of the concentration of the people in the towns, "with its many evil results." All who have "studied these things know this. When working in London I saw clearly that if we could only place the mass of workers on small pieces of land that extreme poverty need • not exist; indeed, that real poverty would be confined to the idle and the vicious. I could not then find the means of doing this, but it has since been my happiness to have done so, and I have worked at it with all my might, and have spared neither myself nor my money, but so far with little beneficial result to this country.

Do my fellow citizens believe that I would have made the earnest effort I have to reform our transit system if I did not know that it meant much more than £ s d? Money would not have tempted me to undertake the -task. ■■■It. is'the social effect that has been my goal. Imagine the position of a woman who has to work for a living shut up in a- narrow street and with a family of eight or 10 children to look after. . What is she to do with them? Where are they to play and amuse themselves? The street is the only possibility, and we know what that leads to. Can wo wonder if a woman so placed instructs her daughters to limit their families? How different would be her position if she was on only half-an-aore, of land. Her children would soon learn how to cultivate the garden, and they would grow up in habits of industry instead of idleness. Yes, if we want to improve our social conditions we must first perfect our transit system. It is the foundation of everything in social life. _ If the evil complained ofand it is a terrible evil—is ever to be effectually dealt with it will not be by preaching nor by "'vigorously encouraging immigration." The only way in which it can be done is by the public insisting on much greater facilities being afford-ed-the people for settling on the land and profitably using it. All students of the subject are now agreed on this point. Why, then, are the present conditions allowed to exist, and who is to blame? First, I blame the general public for the appalling apathy exhibited on every great public question; it seems impossible to rouse any general publio interest in anything. " Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die," appears to be the maxim acted on. Next, I blame the Church—and I blame it greatly. /.; Most of the ministers of its various sections seem to consider that the only social question they have a right to deal with is prohibition. The far greater question of settling people on the land - and providing them with \ suitable; homes they: will not touch. ■ I must, however, here make exceptions. I remember with deep gratitude the able assistance rendered me by the late Bishop Cowie and the Yen. Archdeacon Willis, also the "Rev. Mr. Latter,: and a few others. If the Church would exert itself it could have a mighty influence on this matter. ;:' ■

But, chief of all, 1 blame the Government of the country, and mostly the present Government. I say this because no previous Government has had the proof by actual trial, in other countries that the stage system of dealing with our railways would give good financial result?, but since Mr. Seddon came into power the proof has been indisputable. .Your issue of this _ morning reports the Right Hon. the Premier, when speaking at Lawrence on the declining birth rate, as saying: "Above all things, make the country prosperous, give opportunities to the people, and at once an increase will be noticed in both the marriage and the birth rates, so the sovereign remedy is to put people on the land. It is wonderful what a number of children the farmers have. Marriage is not a failure in the country districts of New Zealand."

This is the statement of our Premier, and yet he uses all the power of his party to prevent a trial of the only transit system which will render settlement in the country possible to everybody who wishes to go there. But there is no man so much to blame as the Minister for Railways (Sir Joseph Ward). Ho has repeatedly stated in the House that the introduction of the stage system would lead to such an enormous increase of traffic that the Department would not be able to find rolling stock to compete with it. In other words, he says that we have here the means of finding employment for thousands more men, yet he uses all his influence to prevent the new system being tried. Why? What are the interests that stand in,the way? Clearly neither he nor the Premier are acting: in the publio interests.—l am, etc "-> , -. Samuel Vaile. Auckland, March 12, 1904.