A SOCIAL PROBLEM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12195, 20 February 1903, Page 4

A SOCIAL PROBLEM.

The same problem, which is exercising the minds of Australian and New Zealand statesmen is (also roausing serious anxiety to the more thoughtful Americans. We refer to the declining birth-rate, which our own registrargeneral and the New South AVales Statistician, 'Mr Coghlari, have recently so pointedly drawn attention to. President Roosevelt, in his New England tour last summer, said " tjhat the first duty of a good citizen ' "w"as * ' to be a good father, alluding to the fact that the natural increase' of . the population in the United States is nothing like sufficient to secure the progress of the Union in the same ratio as that of other Powers. History, says a writer in the Nineteenth Century, may be searched in vain to find a parallel for a country dependent on foreigners for its vital strengthAmerica is' dependent 'on ' Europe *" for the very .mainspring of its existence, and were it not for immigration- the population of the United States would decline. As long ago as 18S7 Dr.^ Jesse Pickering arrived at the conclusion that there was no material increase in the strictly American population, and from that time onwards" the foreign birthrate has gained on the American birth-rate in New England, until it is now four to one. But, it ra pointed out, there is ■ another side to the danger. During the greater part of the nineteenth century the bulk of American immigratloiTcaWe'fronrWestern "Europe, but since 1893 it has come from Eastern Europe, and instead of Teutonic blood, they are now getting an inferior mixture from Southern and Eastern Europe. This, coupled with the declining birth-rate among the ' pure Americans, will have the effect of lowering the standard in the States. In Ne,w Zealand we have not, that feature 1 of the problem to contend with, for our gain v of , population by immigration is very small and moreover is made up almost exclusively of our own race. • ' __

§oe \Tor3y and Moore's block prices in top corner of; this issue. < ,The Public Works Department invite tondera for the erection of platelayer's cottage at Skinner road and Toko* The cbileren attending the Inglewoo«l, Norfolk Road, and Lincoln Road School* were picnicking at the harbour, to day. Mr Seddon kept the Rotorua train 19' minutes at Auckland station on Wednesday morning, to the great indignation of ; a large number of passengers. . Mr Newton King will sell by auction ;]tfie;jß^clj^ni; ]tfie;jß^clj^ni of the Moturoa Milk Supplying Company, at present carried on by Mr T. Thrown. Noticie is gwen ln^f he: .'Gafcitte -of the' taking of lardior a road.' through section 45J block VflEy'in <the SWaitara 'Survey District. Captain Edwin telegraphed, .to-day :-*- Moderate southerly winds ;, glass farther rise ; sea, j&ift^tid/ea^mcreSßihg:; /expect cold night: . . !":-'.-, y - ?.<,.;? .< ,.; i? <The appointment^ of Edgar Thompsonasm cadet in the New Plymouth Magis ; triteVConrt is gazetted,'^as a * so tba fc of] Dr ; TMcClelandftfs f&ealtV officer f of [ this port. '\ ; : X v ■ *_ -, ,-,;<. v . j * v \- / > In ope of the cases' 1 "heard at the Wlaitara court on Thursday, plaintiff said thkt tbie defendant admitted the claim, and htfd gone to the races at Hawera ti endeavour to r make . en^ti^^ Satisfy jcMgmentir w"w "' ;:CKi ' s '' :: v -* t " *** |The, Waima.te^itness haiLb.een .jghown ' a Sunflower, wlipsa circumference, it says, 1 isJsevehteßn'inchesj'flnd w,hio)i| it thinks, must be a' record for the 'colony. We can grow' tTiem up heVe "with a diameter ofjl seventeen inches or more. |lhe Public Trustee has. undertaken the administration of ibe estates of Joseph Hewitt, of Whangamomona,^!!© i died on January 25th, and of J. T. ' Hjutclrins, who died at Moki Road Urenui, on December 30tfn — Neither left any kAown relatives. '• ■■'»'" jThe Health Department reported to j the Wellington City Council that a hotel inj Willis street and another in Manners- ! street in Wellington are unfit for public ) accommodation. The Council has in 1 structed its officers to give effect to the rebort. r.;, '-n-~;. ' . ,' ' ! '•' ' ; i a meeting on Thursday of the com-. 1 mittee of the Jgalrneracon^Northr District 1 High School, it waft; decided to promote ' a kill with the object of changing th« I status of the sckool to a high school 'prbper. Messrs Wood," M.H.R., F-IPa-ani' and W. Rutherford we're ap i pointed to draft' 'HheXßiUt Q' Mr W. Hughes,., draper and outfitter, Devon- stredt',' inHhe advorfcWrog columns direct 3 the attention of town and country customers, to the last ten days of hip Summer bargain sale, when the balance ofj his assorted stock will be offered at stjill further reductions. All lovers of economy 'should visit the sale. ~■ ■ !At last meeting of the Land Board a word of warnipg went out to th«t iocal bodies with regard to "the expenditure * of thirds and fourths of rentals in terms of the Land Act. The point arose in con nection with the Clifton County Council's proposal to spond thirds from back block sections, situated on side roads in the Tbngaporutti district, on metalling some 36 chains of the New Plymouth-Te Kuiti road, noar CTruti. The ' Commissioner remarked that it was time enough to take the thirds for metalling the main arterial roads when all the settlers had a caf-t road' ! to. \their ( holdings; many of them co uld barely get a pack horse to their sections. The Board concurred in this view, and the pen- went throbgh all the proposals 1 , except, of course, for the sections directly interested, the Commissioner even demurring to this, on tho ground that the thirds were never intended for metalling main roads. f

, In the Police Gourt this morning two prohibition orders were issued by con-j sent. J. Douglas was remanded for a week for medical treatment. C. Ander sonrtt-cotamereml-tr-avellcr,- wa* liaedX3and 7s costs for using insulting language to Porter Simmons', of the local railway <taff. The defendant wrote from Wellington, practically admitting the charge, I'he complainant, gavo evidence as to the ' circumstances and the language used. I Messrs Wml, bock and .Co., through Mr T. Avery, us the .1 anuary number of the Windsor Magazine. Thei leading contributors this month are S. R. Cro.kctt, Sir "Edwin Arnold', la:i Maclaren, K. F. Benson, Fletcher R« binson, Andrew LsCng, and' Ernest" E; Willian.s. Sir Edwin Arnold's contribution is an rixtremely interesting one upon the Vice ftegal rule of India, and is illustrated with portraits of Lord Cfive, Hastings, the Marquess o£ CofnWallis, ieorge Caiining, and other vice regal rulers. The illustrations throughout are of a high class.