MR JAMES PLATT'S NEW BOOK.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1953, 13 January 1885, Page 2

MR JAMES PLATT'S NEW BOOK.

[s his new w oik, '"Poverty" (iMinpkin, Marshall and Company), Mr James Platt (jondoinns every approach towards socialism, whether it be in the advanced form advocated by Mr Henry George or the most limited system of State aid i gees tod by moderate politicians. Supjosiug it possible to organise society slh •ne united family--" each producing to the best of the abilities God has given him, for the benefit of all ; the more >ifted content to receive the samp reward is their less gifted brethern ' — the ex,)Ciiment, it is uiged, would Ih> fatal to ill pi ogress, by neutralising and paralysing individual effort. "The distance oetween man and man is of Divine, mgin," says tho author, " but if proper lotion be taken the distance may be gradually lessened, and that we are by (iod's law of evolution, slowly but surely approaching the human millennium of which the enthusiast in all ages hai dreamt. No special or convincing reasons are given tor holding this optimist view, but iv a subsequent chapter we find an array of figures set forth to controvert the assertion that in the England of to-day the rich are growing uclier and the poor poorer. The very opposite is declared to be the case, for whereas "each family amongst the poorer classes had in 1543 about £40 a year, in 1851 it had £58, and at the present time has between £85 and £100." Poveity is ascribed to known causes. We have our hcreditiry pa-ipeis as well as our hereditary peers In other words, those who need "help" arc summed up in the mass as the product of " drunken, profligite, or lazy habi's." Our Poor law sy stem is condemned because it .s destructive of the self-resp< ct of the poor; it takes away the in<enti\e to thrift ; it tells the poor, " Heie is a refuge ; when unfit for work the law compels householders to keep yon." Pauperism, in fact, is rrgauled as a disease, which needs to be stamped out like any other epidemic ; the true tonic being work that will give men an object in life, and thus lead them to sti ive after independence. Another branch of the subject relates to the division of the profits of labour, Mr Platt holding that the working classes get their full share, and exalting the claims of the mere traders and middlemen by ranking them with inventors and the real benefactors of the wot Id. The view is signally unjust and narrow, since it practically makes success the sole test of merit. Though the poor are sternly judged, howev er, the advice given to them is excellent, and gams in force by the practical wisdom with which it ia passed upon their attention. We do not share Mr Platt's belief in our approaching a human millennium, but none the less shall be glad to see the young taught to labour with moie energy and persistency than is now common, and t> find every benevolent agency stiiving to inculcate principals of reliance and self-help in all classes of labourers. The more hopeful the influence which can be brought to bear upon thuir lives the better w ill it be, since there is no greater incentive to progress than the consciousness that industry and merit arc ">ure of recognition and reward. Proverty is a wide tliemr, and presents ramification! which cannot be investigated in any single volume ; but the present volume xtnkes at the root of many evils, aud is fir more likely to do real good than any number of sentimental cues or sensational pictures of the miseries of the very poor. — Mercantile Register.

TiiFhK three tilings — smoke, raining into the house, and a scolding wife — will make a man run out of doors. Tub Dkvuly Tk\i\)t. — " While good temperance people ate decrying liquor," bays 11 leading Amerie.ni physician, •• they seldom atop to think how much harm is being done by an abuse of a heverace t° which many of them are devoted. I just came fioni attending a ease of a five-year-old baby who is ruined for life by its pareuts indulging m teadrinking. The child became very nervous and dyspeptic, nnd they sent for me. I asked them how much tea the child drank ' About two cups at each meal, and several between meals,' was the reply. You sac," the physician continued, " they let the teapot stand on the stove all day. Thus the tannic acid is extracted, which serves to turn the linings of the stomach inro leather, and and brings on dyspepsia and kindred diseasa. Ye 1 , y< u will find hundreds of women, young girls and age women, and occasionally a man, who have completely ruined their nervous system by the excessive use of common tea. It would he a blessing to mankind when a temperance crusa le can spare wind enough from its attack on alcohol to assail tea." Messrs YV. J. Hunter and Co. will sell at Oliaupo to-day, cattle of all sorts, fat sheep, horses, Sec. The settlers of Cambridpc, Mornnsville, Te Awnmutu, and llic surrounding districts, are m- \ it'd t>> peruse ibe auctioneer's no ice by Mr John Knox id connection with Tits auction sale of M. Moses drapery stock on Friday and Saturday ne*t Wisl For ly.— " For ten years niy wife was confined to her bed with such a complication of .ulments that no doctor could tell what was the in itter or cure her, and I used up a small fertunc in humbug stuff. Six months ago I saw an \merican fiaer with Hop Hitters on it, and I thought I would be a fool once more. I tried it but niv folly proved to be wisdom. Two bottles cured her, she is now as well and strong as any man's wife, and it cost me only two dollars."— H. W., Detroit, Mich. Read