SHOULD MARRIAGE BE COMPULSORY?

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 284, 15 June 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

SHOULD MARRIAGE BE COMPULSORY?

BUILDING UP THE EMPIRE OF THE FUTURE. By DR. C. W. SALEEBY. In many times and placed marriage has been compulsory, at least for all men. Celibate oiders of religious men and women have leen tho counterpart of this fact. The Jews practically enjoin marriage upon all men. Plainly all women cannot be compelled to marry where monogamy is the law of the land, and «no re women are largely in tho majority, as amongst ourselves. In practice, compulsorv marriage means, and had generally meant, compulsorv marriage of men. In the interests of the race, or of morality, or of both, is this now desirable? RENEWING THE RACE. To-day such a proposal is mooted for the most obvious reasons. France, Germany. and ourselves are deeply concerned with proposals for renewing ths race, cfter the losses of the war. The Germans have been extremely active, and have taken measures so thorough, ruthless, and unscrupulous that they simply cannot I>3 described here. The rulers of Germany have always fully realised the importance of numbers for Empire. The French need is greater still, for the stationary population of France, failing to increase like that of Germany, has gravely nandicapped her in h : s war, and her losses have been been fearful. "Repopulation" is thus a subject of the hour in France. WE HAVE DONE THE J,EAST.

But our own need id much the greatest, and we have done.tfifi least. Tho proportion of our Emp're to our numbers was almost in creel'bio before the war, and its now without any precedent in Irstory, unless it be the ominous one of Roniie. Little thougn wo have desired it, the war has involved us' in the most dangerous of national bargains—vast new territories and responsibilities [for brave men's lives. After the war our Empire will be perhaps a million square miles larger, and we shall have lo6t, for their maintenance, all the slplendid lives lost in gaining them. Meanwhile our birthrate is much tho lowest on record, having ffjlfen even lower in 1916 than the alarming and unheard-of figure of the year before, to which I believe I drew attention here several months ago. MARRIAGE-RATE HIGH, BIRTHRATE LOW. But to the question : "Snould Marriage be Compulsory?" —s&ich means, as we have seen, compulsory for men — 1 am very sure that only one answer can be given—n most decided negative. In the first place, when people say marriage in tiiiis connection, they desire and are assuming parenthood l for our Imperial maintenance. This is a constant confusion in eugenic discussion. Our marriage-rate, in England, ha-s risen enormously since the war, .whilst the birth-rate has so remarkably fallen. Evidently the mere prescription of marriage is'one thing, and parenthood is another. Married people, married' by tnieir own free will, remain free agents who cannot be compelled to become, parents: and tho prospect for State compulsion would therefore seem to bo poor.

THE INDIVIDUAL MDST BE FREE. The fact that ma it rage does not necessarily mean parenthood disposes of the who!;? question. But even if it did not, tho proposal is ;.n odious one for any lover of liberty and any respecter of tho individual "soul and life and happiness. ]f we are not to have -liberty m this 1 , wio give up all liberty, and reduce tho individual to the rank of a cog : n the machine, as in the utterly-accursed system which has its Seat in Prussia, and from which tho world is about to be freed. Of all spheres of life, assuredly this is that in which the individual must be free, or'life is not going to bo worth living at all. Remember that thero arc limits, in any case, to the power of the law and consider what measure of success attends our present system before you assume the compulsory marriage would work —whatever the law expected and proscribed. No indeed! The need of what Ruskin, in ;< passage c.nce laughed at, called "full-breathed, bright-eyed, happyhearted human creatures," a.s the only real wealth of nations, was never so urgent as for us to-day; and thero are, many right, and feasible, and' certain methods of attaining, this end without talk ; ng nonsense or turning back tho j clock of Freedom. GIVE THE CHILDREN A CHANCE. If it be parenhood we desire—meaning, of course, parenthood within mar-riage-let us talk about parenthood and not marriage. Let-us make parenthood feasible for all married persons of tho right kind, healthy in nimd and body, who desiro to become parents. At present wo tax, hamper, boycott, and penalise them as if they were the malicious and gratuitous crenres, and not tho makers, oi tho State. By adequate taxation of tho.-c who can afford it—tho wealthy, the childless, th© bachelors — money and means must lie tound tor the birth, tho feeding, medical care, aaul education —till e'ghteen int>te,;d of tourtoon — of tho chili den whom the State so urgently rc-quiie -. Ihe experience of tho National Birth-rate Commission proved this necessity, and some of its meihhersh ave now (won concerned in tho presentation of a memorial to die Chancellor of the Exchequer on these linei. At a great meeting on Rare Renewal, held at the Mansion House, in London, it was my privilege to Met forth the arguments some of which have hero been outlined. Wo shall win the war. but wo must win the peace, and guarantee the world's pe;r<> and freedom for ever. For these supreme ends we must spend money and labour and forethought upon the future renewal of t-lio rare of Freedom', Trustees. W■' niu-'t-nreatly relit ve parents ojf taxation. " BETTER TIMES FOR PARENTS.

Wo must to woi*k- to provide not ni.-relv houses, 1»111 homes ier the families ot the I'll tin e. where children may live, and whence 110 landlords may drive parents, as private and corporate, and municipal landlords do now. in favour of lb ■ chi!dle,sli and the iinmarr'ed. We mi - t provide geod medical and, nursing ■••are for the nation's mt therhood everywhere. No mother or ch'ld must die Hi ties wealthy land for bvk of money, whilst wo spend unprecedented sums of money 011 drink and to'a'-co. I In.-v who do no.-- help to create, our future, must pay for those who do. lor only the nation that regard , ita voting can renew it ; voetb.