OUR BABIS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14281, 1 August 1908, Page 5

OUR BABIS.

Br Htgeia. It is wiser to put up a fence a' the top of a precipice than" to maintain i]ii ambulance at the bottom. THE WASTAGE OF CHILD LIFE AXD HEALTH. By Benjamin Bkoadbent, B.A. (Continued.) I have Hesitated whether I should or should not probe more deeply and try to find tho root cause of tills modem indifference to Iho welfare, of the mother and tho babe. It is not easy to speak at all dogmatically on the question whether the attitude of tho modern mind has changed towards the idea of motherhood. It is, however, of vital importance to this whole question whether or no we honour and respect, the status of motherhood as did our forefathers.

I fear there is some tendency to lessen tho honour of motherhood. I can hardlv doubt that certain now movements of thought tend in this direction. The movement which used to bo called the emancipa*'°a of women has some effect. There has been' a widening of tho possibilities of a woman's life and of a woman's work. One branch of tho movement which is altogether admirable, that of giving to •women all the education, all the facilities, which have been so absurdly arrogated to men, has, however,.' at ite'present stage of development tended in the same direction. So long as it was regarded as the solo end of women to got married and have children, there was a sort of unconscious training for tho life that was expected to bo lived. But new that thore aro such •varieties of choico open to women, motherhood has lost its position of advantage; it no longer holds the place of being the only career, and because it is not the only career for a full life there is the danger that it should' bo regarded as rivalled, in work ;tnd dignity and true value, by other possi'ffo careers. THE GLORY OF MOTHERHOOD. Surely the proposition /needs only to lie stated to win assent, that motherhood is infinitely the highest honour that a woman can have, and the training of children infinitely her best work, but it is somo derogation from tho indubiefcy of the propositon .that it should bo even necessary to state it. It seems to me impossible to have our children what they should be if wo do not honour tho mothers. It is a very sacred subject, and I fear to make any attempt to handle it lest I should be presumptious. In the cottage homes that I'have visited recently I have eceu some lovely pictures. I have seen more than onoe the maUr contentissima; if I wero an artist, that should bo my next picture. If 1 1 were a poet I could not but write a poem about her. Tho baby on her knee, in tho chair before the fire, a face of absolute content and peace, with just tho beauty of a mother's love shining out of it. Dress, features, not to be noticed at all, motherhood in perfect and conscious happiness with the child. A holy family.* I merelv indicate some of the emotion that lias been aroused in me. If I could only commnioate a senso of it to you, I should not need to say another word to make you resolve that, were the obstacles mountains high, they should not stop you in your endeavour to restore to its full dignity tho glory of motherhood. Then you will.have gone far to make it certain that no baby shall die. The mother's own belief in her motherhood is the best guarantee for her care of her child. And she needs all help and encouragement in her work. 1 should imagine that there comes to every mother, in tho long and weary task of bringing a baby through tho perils of its first year, some period when she almost or altogether despairs of the lifo of her child; the sword of anguish and susponso enters every mother's heart, but if she be a mother indeed, as most mothers are, she will persevere with a quiet persistence, sho will shelter the slender flame of life, and do all sho can to keep the rough blast of death from purring out the little spark of being. It is at such moments as these that there should be firmly _ implanted in the mother's mind the conviction that no baby ought to die. Once let despair assert itself, once let effort be rolaxcd, and death will seize his prey and the battle is lest. That is why 1 would-so strongly urge belief k tho probability tbat life wiU conquer, must conquer, if nature is not to Be outraged. In nearly everything that is worth doing there come those moments of crisis, of strain, and it is just at those times that wo need our faith, our strength of purpose, our confidence in principle So- in the bringing up of children there comes those .terrible momenta of. suspense and (ircad. If passed triumphantly, if is, as you know, astonishing with what amazing rapidity vitality' reasserts .itself, how quickly the energy of life heals tho wound and repairs tho damage. So I would give courage to the mothers because lifo is stronger than death. THE BABIES SHALL BK SAVED. As I Icok at tbd amount of paper I have covered with my writing 1 am almost aghast to see how little I have said and •Irow much more there is to say. But in my own thoughts I acquit myself of any real departure from my subject, for the root of the whole matter is just this: Do we really want tho babies to live? Arc we willing to make soroo 1 effort, _ to run some risks, to involve ourselves in some difficulty and expense to isave a few babies? I tell you quite candidly that unless wo really hunger for those babies' lives we shall novcr save them. They are not to lie saved by mere milk and water, good as these aro when both are good and properly mixed. It means time and trouble and "money, and some ridicule and some misrepresentation and and a good deal of not very refined inuendo and chaff. If you mean to save these babies you will have to face and kill some giants. If lam to confess. I never in rny life was nearer playing tho real coward than on this question. Why should I meddle with it'.' Why should I incur all the risks that wore apparent? If I dare have shirked, I should; but happily, the plunge once taken, everything else wa« easy. It is 6o little to havo tried. But you' see I have come to thi3 point—the very point to which I have been so laboriously, and I fear wearisomely, try, nig to bring out, the point whore you will say, as I said. "The babies can be saved, they must be saved, they shall be saved." . *N'ora bt " Htukia."—After all, Mr Broadbeut is merely sketching- a picture by Faed or Burns, or Swinburne's "Any B"abo on Any Mother's Knee." As a woman, it strikes one as strange that a man should feel so apologetic in admitting that ho lias been personally impressed by the beauty of simple motherhood, whicii has been tho common theme of the poets and artists of all time. However, one ceases to wonder when Mr Broadbenl says later on: "If I am to confess, I never in my life was more like playing the real coward than on thb question. Why should I meddlo with it? . . , If 1 dare have shirked, I' should. . . It means some niisropresentetion and misunderstanding, and a good deal of not very refined inuendo and chaff." It is some consolation to us women to read Herbert Spencer's scathing criticism of the common altitude of men who would never condescend to waste time on tho intimate concerns of motherhood and babyhood, but who would yet consider it natural and "good form" to devote much attention to the discussing and rearing of puppies and pigs. Herbert Spencer says:—"On cross-examination, nearly every man would disclose the latent opinion that the regimen of the nursery was no concern of his. 'Oh, I leave all those things to tho women,' would probably be the reply. And in most cases tho tone of his roply would ■ convey tho implication that such cares are not consistent with masculine dignity. Regarded from any but a conventional point of view, the iact seems strange that while the raising of firstrate bullocks is an occupation on which educated men willingly bestow muoh time and thought, the bringing up of fino human beings is an occupation tacitly voted unworthy of their attention. . . Fathers read books and periodicals, attend agricultural meetings, try experiments, and engago in discussions, all with tho view of discovering how to fatten prize pigs! Had Gulliver narrated of the Laputans that the men vied with each other in learning how best to rear the offspring of other creatures, and were careless of learning how best to rear theiT own offspring, ho would havo paralleled any of the other absurdities bs ascribes to thorn. The matter is a serious one, howovcr, Ludicrous as is the antithesis, the fact it expresses is not less disastrous. As remarks a suggestive writer, the first requisite to success in life is 'to bo a good animal'; and to be a nation of good animals is the first condition to national prosperity."