SOCIAL PAUPERISM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4949, 1 February 1877, Page 3

SOCIAL PAUPERISM.

If ever rich people, wore poor—to put it paradoxically—they are so at this present moment. The usual large ; mass of floating social pauperism, always a heavy drag,upon. those who have 'money, presses with almost unbearable weight at a time when even ducal houses feel the stagnation of trade. Iron mines and coal mines have a princely sound—“my colliery” or “hiy furnaces” comes, 1 trippingly off the tongue; but suppose the furnaces blown, out and the colliery at a standstill? Even those who think themselves safe in the possession'of. inalienable land begin to! find some, difficulty I,in'collecting their_rents. I But the social paupers must be kept all the same. You, may, see, them clad in purple and fine \mea {Anylicij Ulster coats and ■ lovely hats) at the autumn race meetings,; with ivoryllorgnettes, champagne, blood horses, the : trno aristocratic, fia.uleur, and liveried attendants. You may see them at the seaside, on ( the mountain and the moor ; abroad, sailing their yachts,,-running their horses, betting their hundreds, handling their chokebores, catching their'salmon and trout. ‘Sober stay-at-home folk,/rising early :and working, day by j day. steadily making money, look on in amazement, i and .remark, as the. drag goes by. -with its fashionable... load, half regretfully, ; half satirically, “ We,’ cannot 'do these things; wo cannot afford ' them.” Yet the setni-starved wretcheß_“ Bnoppsng’’ stones in the workhouses are “not'more truly paupers than the gilded who roll past in splendor. . Somebody "must Keep.these'social and that “somebody” begins to take an unwonted into-

rest in ttose dry-looking red-edged little books iu which are contained “juy-'accounts.” ■ •- ■ “ Without.visible-means; of support”—such is. the.’'succinct-legal-definition_of a pauper; follow these well-bred ' people; home, and where are their “ visible means V Of course here and there one, with a shrewd knowledge or horseflesh and a keen power of calculation, may really keep himself ;. butr just look round the circle, and how few there are'who, in this time of : catting competition,’ are clever enough to live on their wits ! If a kind of herald's visitation were held to-day, and the private affairs of the highest nobleman and the richest millionaires were exposed, I what a roll- of pauperism and semi-pauperisih would stand out before the astonished working classes, who fancy ■ they ‘ have all the poverty to themselves ! Take 'an ancient house : it is the peculiarity .. of old families with .branches , all .over, the country to; have .whole companies of cadets, men .and women, who, for the honor of their name, must be provided' for,, or at least;.kept,from, absolute starvation. It is; easy to say, “O, send him into the army or the navy, or make a clergyman or a professor of him but to become an officer.;or a cleric ;a prescribed and not inexpensive , course of study must be . gone through. And how many officers can live upon their pay when at last the - pay comes ? Here is a demand .for an, enormous amount ,pf aristocratic out-door relief.; Sinecure offices are becoming rarer since public,competition has become the order of the day. 'As for the .girls, their, case is harder still. - It is easy to say, “Educate them, -give: them' accomplish-' ments, dress them well, take them into'society, and marry them .off ;” .but this constitutes a costly programme ; meantime they > must eat and drink ;: and when all has been done, they do not always marry. Not from any-deficiency of admirers, not because men do not love sincerely now, but simply because those, ioligi ble in' every other respect are themselves semi-paupers. Here is a drain upon the income of the head or heads of the family ‘; and , when that., income shrinks, as it has . done lately through the operation of causes! over which they have ho control, then this social pauperism becomes.a.very serious -problem. Whether heads of' families .-will be able to stand the pressure or not' is ;a : question ; if not, what is to become of those who cannot earn their own livelihood ?

Take the case of a well-to-do family moving. in good society, but a degree or so lower, iu the scale, whose head is a banker, or merchant, or “something- on ’Change.” He may be, in the receipt of an income as large or larger than the ancient house just mentioned; but he is surrounded by a small army of paupers. Of his own offspring perhaps two sons may be partners, and nominally independent, although one moderately wellpaid clerk could fill their places very well, and much more cheaply ; but the others are non-producers, and, whether at College or elsewhere, are expensive luxuries. Of the daughters nothing, need be said, it is not their fault that they are girls ; but go just one step outside the home circle. There is sure to be an unmarried sister or an aunt, who either lives at free quarters in the house or is supported in her “ cottage.” Brothers also there are, who, whether in business themselves or working as clerks, upon every important event in their lives come to the head of the family for a cheque. When they marry, wheu a child is born, when the eldest son goes to school, when the daughter wants a piano, or the wife falls ill, they rush as a matter of course to the rich man for assistance. Then, in a Widening circle, cousins, second cousins, and still more distant and merely nominal relations apply to him upon every conceivable occasion, till the reputation of wealth becomes a burden. This is a serious matter at all times; but when trade is dull and the future, with its rumors of wars, looks duller, when the expenditure continues the same and the receipts dwindle, then the giving of this outdoor relief seems like the last straw on the camel’s back.

So much for the “relieving officer’s” view of the matter. But. think, then, of that vast crowd of men and women, some young, some old, belonging to the middle-class, who are anxious-for employment, but cannot get it .; and in ■ the present condition of business see ho chance of getting .it. .. These, all kept, or partially kept by their friends and relations, are paupers practically, abominable as that term may be to them.- Education and certain feelings .of refinement prevent them from descending- to/ the - more menial offices, where, by, the .bye, there., is. not such a demand as has been said; even navvies .cannot; always' get,; work. The gover-ness--market-is over - stocked ; and-.as; for the 'efforts to find work' for 'young 'ladies in telegraph and printing offices, and as short-hand-writers, they are but as drops in; the ocean,—English paper. 1