Hill. — National Pensions. 699' 



The proposal for the aged of New Zealand is a liberal one, 

 but it lacks what appears to me as the essential element in 

 all government — viz., self-rehauce. The men are to receive 

 a pension because they have lived in the colony for a period 

 of twenty years. The various duties proposed to meet the 

 cost of the scheme barely affect the majority of those who 

 would most likely become participants ; besides, the age is 

 fixed at sixty-five. No provision is made for sickness or for 

 cases where physical infirmity compels the retirement of 

 persons from labour at an earlier period. The aim of any 

 scheme that may be adopted should be to destroy all charity 

 organizations such as now exist : they are a blot upon our 

 modern civilisation, more particularly so v/hen the civilisation 

 is based upon democratic forms of Government such as the 

 colonies possess. This may readily be done by requiring 

 every individual, whether male or female, working for wages, 

 to set aside from the day he begins to labour at remunerative 

 employment a small amount daily. This amount should be 

 deducted by the employer and paid into a Government sick 

 and pension fund account at stated periods. Every worker 

 should be provided with a check-ticket that should be entered 

 monthly by the employer, and removal from one district to 

 another should make no difference to the worker. The 

 amount to be deducted should not exceed Id. daily, or 

 £1 6s. Id. in a period of 313 working-days. This, of course, 

 would be the maximum amount payable. When not em- 

 ployed no payment would be made, as it is manifestly unfair 

 to ask those who are earning nothing to pay the same dues 

 as those who are earning wages. This system might not 

 produce an amount sufficient to provide all that would be 

 wanted for sick and pension benefits, but, at any rate, it is a 

 self-reliant scheme, and one which recognises to the full 

 mutual support, mutual protection, and mutual responsibility. 



And now let us see how such a scheme would be likely 

 to work. The population of the colony over fifteen years 

 and under sixty years of age, in April, 1896, was 409,829 

 — viz., 218,769 men and 191,060 women ; between the 

 ages of sixty and sixty-five years there were 16,782 persons 

 — viz., 10,504 men and 6,278 women; and over the age 

 of sixty-five there were 20,756 persons — viz., 12,503 men 

 and 8,253 women. In other words, 8-3 per cent, of the 

 population over the age of fifteen years, or 1 in 12, were over 

 sixty years of age; 4-6 per cent., or, say, 1 in 22, were over 

 sixty-five years ; and 3"7 per cent., or 1 in 27, were between 

 sixty and sixty-five years of age. I do not suppose that at 

 any time or period one-half of the men and women over the 

 age of sixty are incapable of pursuing their accustomed call- 

 ing. But for the sake of an illustration let it be assumed 



