MR. JAMES GRAY'S PAPER 125 



effort that is not usually made, appreciated, or tasteful. 

 It is comparatively easy to devise means to avert the 

 evil that arises from our misdeeds, but to cease to do 

 evil is another matter and yet that is the way of 

 deliverance. We may patch up the weakling, but 

 he is still a weakling, But to become ourselves 

 brave, strong and virtuous, to ourselves be what we 

 want our progeny to be ; to teach the nation to be a 

 self-denying, continent, free from sexual vices ; to 

 teach the rich to be ready to sacrifice personal ease 

 and comfort, idleness and dissipation, in order to 

 bring up larger families of goodly children, to teach 

 the middle classes that to ape the rich and neglect 

 their own health and their own families is folly as well 

 as wickedness ; to so deal with the poor and ignorant 

 as to enable them to live and to bring up healthy 

 children ; to teach them how to see that they in their 

 folly do not neglect their parental duties ; to kindly 

 and yet firmly do these these things is hard, and yet 

 it is the only really effective way of "preventing 

 infant mortality." 



It is all very well for a nation frightened at its 

 own decay to say we will save the children, but no 

 nation can raise or even hold its own by any means 

 other than living the life that constitutes national 

 honour, and leads to national prosperity. The 

 beginning of this paper shows what is being done 

 to stem the tide of decay in one corner of the Empire. 

 What is being done is having some effect, but it is 

 not making weaklings strong, although it no doubt 

 saves many children who would otherwise die, and 

 some of whom are worth saving. The last few 

 sentences however, touch the real point. It remains 

 to be seen if (as may it be) our nation shall rise to its 

 privileges and with one voice declare " we will qualify 

 ourselves to be the parents of children who will 

 need only a fair chance to lead the world." 



In conclusion, it may be well to say that in South 



