Dr. Newman at Petone.

Manawatu Herald, 11 May 1893, Page 3

Dr. Newman at Petone.

On Monday night daring his address to the electors Dr Newman referred to Social legislation. He said : —All Parliaments all over the world ■wereiprepared to gmpple with, the Booial .problem* and he believed that x more and more Parliament would devote itself to easing the troubles that affect the various sections of. society. As an example he mentioned the Half Holiday Bill, remarking that it jkU the. shop assistants, civil servants warehousemen, &0., had half- holidays every human being was entitled to th,e, same, privilege. He thought the Half Holiday Bill of last year was certainly a step in the right direotion, and another question to be considered in the future by Parliament waj3 that of pensions for old (.age. T^at subject was now, being considered everywhere, and he be . .lieyed a^proper solution of the dim* - oulty would be arrived at in time. . .The scheme he believed in was that a man could insure against 1 three things— sickness, a pension for old age, and payment at his death. They had various charitable institutions in New Zealand, and he believed that by grafting and adding _ to these institutions the proper scheme would be found for the pro vision pf old ; age. ■ Then there was the question of boy labour; and he remarked that people were trying to > Jjut/, a,, stop, tp. ; this by not having ' children. He quoted from, the reS)rt of the Registrar General of New eriwd^whwb- showed that '^While New Zealand was growing bigger : the, birth rate -was getting smaller, and that 1600 fewer children: were hor&'in the country last year than

t'h&r'e were nine years ago. As long as Parliament introduced measures which relieved misery and trouble they would be doing right, and it was the tendency of the legislatures of the world to legislate for the good of the people a8 a whole.