160 HEREDITY AND SOCIETY 



to make for each child an allowance which rose in pro- 

 portion to the income of the parents till a limit was 

 reached depending on the amount reasonably to be 

 spent on the maintenance and education of children in 

 the upper classes. 



A precedent already exists in the allowance now 

 given for money spent on life insurance. On this 

 money the tax is remitted up to an amount not exceed- 

 ing one-sixth of the total income. So in the other case 

 money spent in the maintenance and education of 

 children should be exempted altogether from income 

 tax, provided it does not exceed, let us say, one-half of 

 the parent's income, or exceed the natural maximum 

 we have indicated above. 



Moreover, in schemes of graduation, such as are 

 now in force both at the upper and lower ends of the 

 scale of incomes, it should not be forgotten that when 

 a man has to support a wife and family the total 

 income is really divided among many individuals. The 

 higher scales of payment should be applicable only 

 when the income per individual exceeds the limit, and 

 should not be determined by the total income as it 

 rightly is in the case of a single man or woman. 



In a previous chapter we have given some account 

 of the legislative action taken in ancient Rome and 

 modern France to deal with the evils of the declining 

 population. Coercion certainly proved useless, and 

 would as inevitably fail, should it again be attempted. 

 The principle which seems to define the sphere of 

 legislation in matters affecting morals, is that a man can 

 frequently be prevented from doing wrong, but he can- 



