General Duties of the Government.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIX, Issue 43, 31 July 1891, Page 7

General Duties of the Government.

Whenever the gcncial interest or any particular class suffers, or is threatened with evils which can in no other way be met, the public authority must step in to meet them. Now, among the interests of the public, as of private individuals, are these : that peace and good order should be maintained ; that family life should be carried on in accordance with God's laws and those of nature; that religion should be reverenced and obeyed;

»■ 2a 2.r Q. l\i. Art 1 and 2. t St. Thomas of Aquiu. he Regimine Principum,

that a high standard of morality should prevail in public and private life; that the sanctity of justice should be respected, and that no one should injure another with impunity; that the members of the commonwealth should grow up to man's estate strong and robust, and capable, if need be, of guarding and defending their country. If by a strike, or other combination of workmen, there should be imminent danger of disturbance to the public peace ; or if circumstances were such that among the labouring population the ties of family life were relaxed; if Religion were found to suffer through the workmen not having time and opportunity to practise it ; if in workshops and factories there were danger of morals through the mixing of the sexes or from any occasion of evil ; or if employers laid burdens upon the workmen which were unjust, or degraded them with conditions that were repugnant to their dignity as human beings; finally, if health were endangered by excessive labour, or by work unsuited to sex or age — in these cases, there can be no question that, within certain limits, it would be right to call in the help and authority of the law. The limits must be determined by the nature of the occasion which calls for the law's interference— the principle being this : that the law must not undertake more, or go further, than is required for the remedy of the evil or the removal of the danger. Rights must be religiously respected wherever they are found; and it is the duty of the public authority to prevent and punish injury, and to protect each one in the possession of his own. Still, when there is a question of protecting the rights of individuals, the poor and helpless have a claim to special consideration. The richer population have many ways of protecting themselves, and stand less in need of help from the State; those who are badly off have no resources of their own to fall back upon, and must chiefly rely upon the assistance of the State. And it is for this reason that wage-earners, who are undoubtedly among the weak and necessitous, should be specially cared for and protected by the commonwealth.