THE DECLINING BIRTH RATE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12215, 3 August 1910, Page 5

THE DECLINING BIRTH RATE.

OMINOUS SIGNS OF TfiK TIMES. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. ''What attention do we give to the consideration of vital questions?" asked Mr Laurenson of the House last night. ''Take the declining birth-rate. It is one of the most ominous signs. When Rome began to decline, there Mere several signs, the drift of population from the country to the towns, the tremerfdous aggregation of wealth and land into a feM' hands M-hen most of the people M*ere- steeped m poverty, an inordinate . love of pleasure, and a persistent and tremendous fall m the birthrate. 1 will give you a few figures to show t,hat the same thing is at work m New.Zenland. The birth-rate m26 years has fallen from 40.3 to every 1000 of the population to 27.4. The birth-rate has fallen so greatly that had the birthrate of 20 years ago been maintained, tliere would to-day have been 96,000 more children attending our public schools. „ The House," he added, 'never addressed, itself to the consideration of such distinct signs of a decline m the life of the country as small families, increase of unfertile marriages, and decay of children's teeth, but rather content themselves with contentious frivolities. Just as Nero fiddled whilst Rome burned so this House wrangles about party questions arid party cries while these ominous facts are nefore us."