NATIONAL PENSIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13160, 25 April 1906, Page 6

NATIONAL PENSIONS.

PREMIER EL AbO RATING HIS SCHEME. [or telegraph.OWN corrkspondent.] W £ LI. TO , Tuesday. Furthku reference to the scheme of national j pens-ions was made by the Premier in open- j ing the Sol way Old Men's Home at Master- i toil yesterday. Mr. Seddon prefaced his j remarks by stating that the amount paid in j pensions during the past financial year was j £254,367, and abo repeated the arguments j which hate on many, occasions been brought, forward by Ministers in favour of a change j in the system- of representation of the general body of the taxpayers on charitable aid and hospital boards. "He wished.'' he said, "to place the recipients of pension* beyond the reach of criticism.'' The scheme with regard to national pensions was not original Germany and Belgium were doing something in the matterbut in the British Empire he wished New Zealand to lead. His scheme was that anyone should he able to deposit a certain sum monthly, say. at the post office, and that, the amount would l.<subsidised by the Government in proportion to the means of the depositor. A poor person's deposit, he proposed, should lie subsidised to the extent of 25 per cent., and tinsubsidy would be decreased to fen per cent, in proportion to the means of the depositor. Interest and compound interest would be paid on the deposit, and the whole amount would provide an annuity for old age. If the husband paid in something he would not. l>e allowed to touch it without, the consent of his wife, and a wife making a deposit would not be allowed to touch it without the consent of her husband. He honestly believed that 90 per cent, of th** people of the colony would take advantage of this method of providing for their old age. If such a scheme was established, there would bo less required foi old age pensions and < for charitable aid, and after all the public purse was the purse of the people. He hoped the scheme would lie participated in by all classes of the community, old and young, married and single. All his spare moments were 1 icing devoted to an elaboration of the scheme, so as to make the legislation as perfect as possible.