The subject of suitable provision for old age, other than the workhouse, has been exercising the minds of both men and women for many years. Just lately a Sclect Committee of the House of Commons has been appointed to consider the matter and they parental their report few days ago. Their idea appears to be that, at sixty-five, a man is entitled to consider himself too old for work and that he should be entitled to pension if he is in possession of less than 10s. a week income and is "deserving," that is to say, he (or she, as the scheme applies equally to men and women) must never have been in receipt of parish relief (medical excepted), must never have been in prison and must be able to give some evidence of thrift. The relief can be withdrawn at any time for any good reason shown, and it is proposed that it shall be paid through the post office. It is a gigantic scheme and would, it is estimated, cost something like ten millions sterling per annum, half of which it is proposed should be provided from the Imperial Exchequer and the remainder out of the rates, the maximum paid to be'seyen shillings, and the minimum five shillings a week. Of course, it is estimated that there would be a liberal reduction in the present poor law relief fund; still, this would be but a drop in the ocean' of new expense, and the question is, What will the ratepayers say 7 A letter signed Agricola" written to the D.T. suggests raising the sum by a tax on imported corn and, in answer to the cry that it would be raised by "taxing the food of the people," urges that, in this case, it would be' "the people" who would gain the whole advantage and only bear very small portion of the burden. To me, the population of England seems al-cther too vast for the scheme to be aboli feasible, but the problem is one which must be worked out in some way, and the sooner the better.
4th August.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.