ENCOURAGING THE MAN WITH THE FAMILY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 131, 20 February 1918, Page 3

ENCOURAGING THE MAN WITH THE FAMILY

Sir,— llecently I have noticed in your columns correspondence relating to taxation winch directly oppresses the man with tho large family. It is, a great pity that tho legislators of this country have not seen fit in the past to legislate in order to encourage tho raising oB largo families, for after all our future depends on population, and not on labour and capital, beyond which many of our representatives have no thought. The Government of this country practically made a mandate that no family should exceed five, benoo the allowance for only five children under the income tax legulationa. Why should the provisions of the National Endowment Fund bo open to oniy a certain section of the community? Surely all taxpayers should bo allowed the benefits of this fund, and so make secure for the time of old age. If this were done, I believe there would bo a direct increase in many families, because the future could be assured. At present the prospect of leaving a widow and a large family to exist on the State bounty tf £6 per annum for each individual does not induce many men to bp responsible for large families. The military census of married men bears this out, and should be a guide as to what is Mccessary it we want to see this country populated with people of our own race, and not with thoso of other countries. Further, with regard to the income tax, why did the Government of this country not follow the English procedure and allow a man's wife, for tho sake of income tax reductions, to count as a.child? This is another way of giv- , ing us the bachelors' tax, which should have been in foveo years ago.—-I am, etC '' _ POPULATION. I'atea, rebniftry 15.