The text of the Report of the Select Committee on
Old-Age Pensions was published on Tuesday. It proposes that a pension shall be granted to any person, who (1) is a British subject; (2) is sixty-five years of age; (3) has not within the last twenty years been imprisoned; (4) has not received Poor- relief other than medical relief during twenty years prior to the application for a pension; (5) is, resident within the district of the Pension Authority; (6) has not an income from any source of more than 10s. a week; and (7) has endeavoured to make provision for himself and those imme- diately dependent on him. The amount of the pensidn is to vary between 5s. and 7s., according to the coat of living in the locality. The boot is, roughly, to be paid half by the State and half by the locality, but not per capita, but by means of a grant calculated in proportion to the population. The Committee do not commit themselves to the coat of the scheme. We can only say as we said last week) that the pro- posal seems to us much too big and too costly. We adhere to our opinion that the pensions should not begin till seventy- five, should not exceed 5s. in any case, and that the burden sh',uld be equally divided between the State and the 1°01114. We regard the prospect of a vast expenditure on pensions with the utmost alarm.
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