OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND OUTDOOR PAUPERISM.
[To THE EDITOR 07 THE "SPECTATOR."] Sra,—Mr. Lloyd George has now explained in the House of Commons that the passage quoted in my letter last week from the Prime Minister's speech at Leven has been mis- understood. It is merely " ont-door pauperism amongst the aged in England and Wales" which has been reduced by ninety-four per cent., not outdoor pauperism generally, as Mr. Asquith certainly appeared to claim. The figures given by the Chancellor show that while " there are close upon a million old-age pensioners " (I quote Mr. Asquith again) outdoor paupers over seventy are fewer by nearly a hundred and sixty thousand. To put the position in another way, the effect of the Old-Age Pensions Act has been to shift the State burden for old people from the rates to the taxes, and to increase the number of persons subsidized by some five hundred per cent.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Previous page
