LORD MILNER AND OLD-AGE PENSIONS. [To rag EDITOR OF THE
.SPZOTATOR."] SIR,—The article headed "Mr. Balfour and the Unionist Party " in your issue of January 5th appears to me mislead- ing as to Lord Milner's attitude towards old-age pensions. It says "he [Mr. Balfour] allowed Lord Milner to declare himself in favour of old•age pensions without a word of protest." I presume the writer refers to what Lord Milner said about old-age pensions at Wolverhampton on December 18th, 1906. I quote from the Times what Lord Milner did say :— "There are other forms of expenditure [other, that is, than expenditure on education, &c.] which are much more question- able. Take such a thing, for instance, as old-age pensions. They may be a necessity, but they are a deplorable necessity. The case for them rests on the fact that, owing to low wages and irregular employment, so many people really are unable to make provision for old age. I believe that is true, and that, being true, it is not only more humane, it is, from a national point of view, more politic, not to condemn innocent poverty to the workhouse. But every wise man would rather strike at the causes of low wages and irregular employment than merely mitigate its effects. The necessity of old-age pensions is a con- fession of national failure. It is due in part, at least in great part, to the immense output of unskilled labour, boys and girls thrown on the world to pick up a few shillings by casual work, without any special training or aptitude for anything. And is it not due also in great part to the want of protection—in the
broadest sense of the word—of great national industries? . . . It is surely better to pay a little more for your goods and keep thousands of people in productive work than to pay a little less for your goods and have ultimately to devote what you have saved in that way to the relief of pauperism due to want of employment."
This appears to me to be a deprecation of old-age pensions rather than a declaration in their favonr.—I am, Sir, &c., HENRY BILKINGTON.
[We cannot agree with our correspondent's interpretation. It seems to us that what Lord Milner meant to say was that he felt bound to support the proposal for old-age pensions, though he deplored the necessity.—En. Spectator.]
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