DECLINING BIRTH-RATE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3770, 5 September 1907, Page 2

DECLINING BIRTH-RATE.

The Attorney-General followed in the footsteps bt. the Hon. Dr. Collins.- He said if New Zealand had its birth-rate of 1882, a thousand more infants would have been born last year. A careful examination of statistics indicated that the birth-rate per thousand married- women in New Zealand had steadily and alarmingly declined 'since 1878, when the rate was 337 per thousand, till 1901, when it had'diminished to 244 per thousand. These, he said, were particularly significant facts, and they pointed the moral that the State must inevitably set itself to do the best it could to check tbe extinction to-which modern civilisation was marching. Continuing, he stated that the Official Year-Book showed that the mortality amongst infau's between 1896 and 1905 averaged'sevbnt3*-seven per 1000. Last year there were 1506 children born in New Zealand, and of these one in every 17 of those born legitimately died within 12 months; while of those born illegitimately the proportion of deaths was one in-seven. This was due to neglect, want of nutrition, and the other causes which operated against the unfortunate illegitimate child. It could not be denied that the illegitimate child was, in most cases, or in many cases, slowly and deliberately murdered. He suggested that houses in which the little unfortunates were housed should be under the supervision of a competent and trained nurse, who had the best chance of knowing what helped the child’s life ; and he was sure-a person could be got who would' discharge this , duty faithflxlly and- well. He, deprecated The system of competition amongst ■keepers of -homes- and' said 'that ■the State should mdemnifj 7 the foster mother.. He realised they were touching one of ■ the most important, social questions with which our modern civilisation was faced. If, as was the case under our law, a child must be born alive, it should be entitled to some measure of State guarantee j that it should at least have the means of living- It was the State’s duty to .protect that .class, whose helplessness was not due to themselves, but entirely to nature or to the misconduct, it may be, of the parent. The student of history knew that many a well-intentioned State aid in this particular, direction had resulted . in the demoralisation Of whole districts in the old lands. But if-a child was born, the State’s first duty was to protect its life and health. It is. a matter for congratulation that the Government is again turning its attention to this vital question. The Hon. Dr. Findlay, At-torney-General, speaking in the Legislative Council on Tuesday on infant protection, made the following alarming statement: —Early in his professional career he had defended a woman who farmed out children, and it bad come to his knowledge professionally in that case that there was wholesale

ha chery, not by giving the children poison, hul by giving tnem such too l and in such a manner as resulted in the deaths of the chilcl-