THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1883. PANACEAS FOR PAUPERISM.

Manawatu Times, Volume VIII, Issue 233, 11 April 1883, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1883. PANACEAS FOR PAUPERISM.

'• Words arc tiling, and a drop of ink falling lika clew upon a thouirlifc, produces thnt whicli xsakes thousands, uevhaps uiiilions thjnt '

The other day Mr M. TV. Greon published a copy of a letter sent by him to Major Atkinson m winch he gently hinted to the Apostle of Stato Insurance that his scheme for the; extinction, of pauperism was impracticable, and that he, the said M.W. G. had an infinitely better one elaborated from his own brains Thich ho would submit to an expectant public a few dajs later. He broke the news to tho Major tenderly, as it were, that there was another tuo'.mond m the field, and gave him ample time to v c >ver Urom the shock. When we reiaorabei'ed that the* scheme Major Atkinson has adopted was first propounded by a roverend gentlemen, and that this identical Green is not unknown m the pulpit, we' were led to expect something which, m theory at least, would provide for tho extinguishment of pauperism. As we have nointed out m previous articles, the M t jor's scheme is impracticable enough, but its rival completely out-Hcrods it m this respect, and, even if it were possible to carry it out, the desired end would be further off tfyau ever. It is the verdant scheme of a man verdant by name aud nature, as witness his efforts at legislation last session, and its proposition infers a lamentable ignorance of the relation between cause aud effect, on the part of a member of the House. In -its details it is mo © like a schoolboy's essaj — and a poor one at that—than the outcome of deep thought and earuoat investigation of causes. The basis of Mr Green's scheme is that the money now f-pant < n drink should go to tifie sappjiv; of the aged, infirm and helpless. Because a certain largo sum is annually spent on liquor he proposes to closo all public houses, at present m existence, and allow only une for every LSOO of the population, which would mean about 333 for the whole of New Zealaud. Ho may well term, his scheme a *' triple " one, but drink is the Beast ma. temperance sense, and he has only halved its correct num» her her<). Does he really believe that lessening the number of public houses would materially decrease the quantity of drink consumed? Would it not rather tend to the wholesale vendirg of poisons by sly grog- tellers? Experience m ail loj calties where prohibition has been tried, plainly shows that improvement m tho drinking habits of tie people must be effected by education apd not by force. Mr Green might as well' ground his scheme upon the statement that because a certain amount of money is annually spent m the support of churches ' and preachers, thflt amount should be devoted to hospitals and charitable ■ aid, and only one church should be allowed by law to every 1500 of the population. But we believe few would agree with him m this, though the reasoning is the same m both .instances. It may havo been Mr Green's . intention to strike terror into the heart of the Colonial Trias surer, for he omits to toll us how he proposes to provide for the deficiency m the. revenue which wouM bo j caused were his scheme carried out, presuming that its object was gained and less drink was consumed. Considering that the drinkers at present contribute the bulk of the revenue, this would be likely to plunge any Colonial Treasurer into perplexity. Mr Green's idea of the local bodies

placing " some trustworthy persons " m charge of these 333 houses pei*mitted under the scheme, the said persons to be allowed a salary and the profit on the sale of temperance drinks only, is altogether too good for this world. Evidently Mr Green is not a frequenter of the average hotel, and his ideal publican is a man who forces overproof spirits down the throats of Ins customers, But the real living specimen is not at all like the creation of Mr Groen's fancy. It would be interesting to know liow -the " trushvorthy.person" would manage to accurately calculate hisj profit on the teinperanceeiement m a " brandy- . and-soda," or any other beverage m which the. opposing forces mingle. But this is a mere matter of detail. [ Mr Green goes on to say "Intoxicating liquoi should be sold under certain conditions, and out of the proceeds of this sale the local body should pay ail 'expenses connected with the house, appropriating a fair ' sum for rent and £50 as a license foe. These should go to the ox-dinary revenue of the city, but all further profits should bo set apart ~huohitcly as a permanent' fund for the support of the aged widows and orphans and other destitute people, and £oy- the support of the hospitals." I£ the profits are to be disposed of thus, why should Mr Green propose to lessen the benefits of his scheme by decreasing the number of public houses. According to him, the more houses there are the rno,re drink is there consumed, and the greater the quantity the more the profit for- the aged widows and orphans. We respect Mr Green's tenderness for the " aged widows," but should thin.k the "aged orphans" could shift for themselves. Seri. i*dy, hwever if Mr Green wishes to relieve his scheme of a glaring contradiction, bo shoxxld aim at increasing the number of houses,, and bo render unnecessaiy his suggestion that " deficiencies m the fund sbonld be made up from the estates of persona dying intestate/ The profits m the one case would be always up to a cer-tiin average, while m the other the colony might have to wait a long time before it cai, c 'n for a fat legacy. We have known numbers of individuals spend many years of fruitless expectation waiting for the latter, and the <:!ia>nce3 of the State woukl bo fa.r less than those of its parts, tbe individuals. Another of Mr Green's ideas is that when tbe labor market is overstocked, all that is necessary is for Government to order- the manufacture of 3, few iocoinitives. That is his • idea, solemnly ' stated to a Dunedin audience. He haa reached a respectable age, but -has not yet learnt . that m £h ijs . sen so the .Government and the people are one and the same t£.ing. ; The third section of his scheme proposes that Government should resume all land lying idle, and put the poorer classes 011 it, to form village settlements. The word " settlements" must be a misprint for " cemetei-icF," for putting our paupers into the unoccupied land is about the only method of extinguishing pauperism by direct contact of the helpless poor with the uncultivated soil. Taken altogether the rival scliem. s force outsiders to the enqnh'y "liow long is it before an M H.R. becomes mad ? Major Atkinson has served many sessions, aud Mr Green has only struggled thx'ough one, and we are therefore forced to the conclusion that though lunacy is an inevitable result of parliamentary debate, it may be accelerated by a combination of temperance oratory and lengthy sermons.