The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1892.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4049, 27 February 1892, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1892.

The problem of poverty in old countries has been so much discussed lately, that it may be worth considering what it is and how it is likely to affect us, In the first place, when wo talk of poverty as a problem, we do not mean mere lack of riohes. It would probably be possible to find in Scotland, labourers who have next to no money, but who get their fill of oatmeal, and are physically strong. The poverty we think of now is that of those who do have money, but still present the appearance of destitution. In the great cities of Europe are found perfect armies of people whose wages are puffioient to keep them in. robust health; yet (hey ara badly lodged", sickly, olad in rags, and They are a great danger to the State, fliey feel tjja.t tji,ejr wages do not give them a-fair s|iara in all the good; things going, and are always feadyi for revolt, If it is asked, why, whop j competition is free, a man does noti get a fair wage, the answer is difficult, because it is quite impossible to define" what a fair wage is, Speakinggenerally, wo may say that in most indivictual cases, povonyis to be ascribed] to want of self-control and stability. We see families side by side, One thriving and the other in rags. Prob ably even in London, few families aw jn ft state of helpless squalor, except by their own. fault. But now m come to tjje really interesting part of the question. Suppose all llio seething pes of misery that now exists in London were in some way transformed, and started being clean, sober, and thrifty. TJjey would still want to know why jlfi not get more- than a bar's sji&W'ft J#*T for ' lneir lalw. ?% wau : J?j ty .«#«.« of their new habits, he able a hearing. No government would remain in power a month that did not make some attempt to better them. The first thing to do would bo tp enquire nhat prevents the masses from the benefit of modern discoveries. Machinery has enormously cheapened production! Who has gained by this ? No one doubts.tb.at tho poorer- classes have gained to (he amount of, Bay, from ten fco tfyenty-five per cent; hut why have they not gaip.ed more 9 There are several answers to this, but'all resolve themselves into one; That no matter ho<r much you cheapen pro* duction, population increases in proportion. Tbia is the root of the evil. It lies behind everything else, It must be carefully noted that population increases in particular countries by immigration as well as by natural increase. We may enumerate the causes of poverty, as commonly understood : Theymcludesanitarymeasures which'lower our.'death rate; the drink traffic, which impoverishes

families; bad systems of oommerce, wherein the middleman absorbs (be profits; a low standard of education, | which renders labour ineilective. But sweep all these away, and (he increase of population would still keep average .wages low.

It is absolutely useless to urge, with Mill and others, that each man should refrain from marriage until he "seeshis'way" to keep a family, That would mean that the more prudent would remain single, and the reckless would multiply. Probably all that can be said at present is tbat legislators should try to remove the minor onuses (drink, ignorance, etc) and prevent pauper immigration. They might. also attempt an exhaustive enquiry into the population,, which is desirable in any country,',in order that the labouring classes may obtain a maximum wage. Beyond this there is at present little light, To induce the reckless and improvident to abstain from marriage, and to thus keep down the population, seems beyond the power of legislation. Yet it seems possible that the day will come when we shall produce more commodities than we do now, with less labour, and also share more equally among all. Tbat is tl:e goal, so fur as material things go, Having attained that, the real object of life, happiness, will probably be just as enigmatical and unattainable as it is at present, In iSlew Zealand we are every day more and more in danger of a huge wave of pauper im? migration, and that is perhaps more to be guarded against than anything else.