1940.

VICTORIA.

REPORT

OF THE

SEI_.~ECT COMMITTEE

ON

CHILD ENDOWMENT;

TOG:BTHER WITR THE

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.

Ordered by the Legislative Assembly to be printed, 27th November, 1940.

~~ 6\nthlmtl : U. E. DA W, GOVERNMENT PliJNTER, MELBOURNE.

D-:-lio. 1~--{ .]-1314:2/40 ..

EXTRACTED FROM THE VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

WEDNESDAY, 1sT MAY, 1940.

24. CHILD ENDOWMENT CoMMITTEE.-Motion made, by leave, and question-That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into and report upon-(a) the question of the establishment in Victoria of a scheme of Child Endowment; (b) the benefits to be derived from such a scheme; and (c) the estimated cost of such a scheme; such Committee to consist of Mr. Bennett, Mr. Cremean, Mr. Dunstone, Mr. Ellis, Mr. Holland, and Mr. Zwar, with power to send for persons, papers, and records, to sit on days on which the House does not meet, to move from place to place, and to report the minutes of evidence from time to time ; three to be the quorum ; and that the minutes of evidence taken before the Select Committees appointed in the First and Second Sessions 1937 and Session 1939 on the same question be referred to the said CJmmittee (Mr. Dunstan)-put and agreed to.

REPORT.

The Select: Committee of the Legislative Assembly appointed to inquire into and report upon the question of the establishment of a scheme of Child Endowment in the State of Victoria has the honour to report to your Honorable House as follows:-

INTRODUCTION.

1. Your Committee was appointed on 1st May, 1940, in pursuance of a resolution which stated as follows :-

"That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into and report upon-(a) the question of the establishment in Victoria of a scheme of Child Endowment ; (b) the benefits to be derived from such a scheme; and (c) the estimated cost of such a scheme; such Committee to consist of Mr. Bennett, Mr. Cremean, :Nir. Dunstone, :Nir. Ellis, Mr. Holland, and Mr. Zwar, with power to send for persons, papers and records, to sit on days on which the House does not meet, to move from place to place, and to report the minutes of evidence from time to time ; three to be the quorum ; and that the minutes of evidence taken before the Select Committees appointed in the First and Second Sessions 1937 and Session 1939 on the same question be referred to the said Committee."

As will be inferred from the text of this resolution, your Committee is substantially the same Committee which had been appointed during the sessions held in the last few years for the purpose of examining the position in Victoria in regard to Child Endowment. It is necessary that the history of the inquiry should be briefly stated, so that honorable :Niembers may be better acquainted with, not merely the difficulties confronting such a Committee which are created by the nature of the problem to be investigated, but also by the restrictions on time and convenience occasioned by the fact that select committees can function only when Parliament is in session, at the close of which their investigations, no matter what stage has been reached, must be suspended until re-appointed during the next session.

2. It will be remembered that a Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly was. appointed early in Session 1936 to inve&tigate the subjects of-

(a) Widows' Pensions ; and (b) Child Endowment.

At the end of that session this Committee had completed its inquiries into the position concerning widows' pensions, and an interim report was presented, which made certain recommendations. In consequence, a scheme of allowances to widows was created about twelve months later. That Committee, however, did not have sufficient time to carry out the investigation into the other problem committed to its care, viz. :-Child Endowment, and honorable Members decided, by resolution, to enable it to continue its task by re-appointing the Select Committee on 5th August, 1937. The House was dissolved in September of that year, and a General Election was held. Because, of course, of the dissolution the Committee had to be re-appointed on 28th October, 1937; but as Parliament completed its short session on 17th December, 1937, little opportunity was given to members of the Committee to adequately pursue their inquiries. Again on 6th July, 1939, the Legislative Assembly resolved to re-appoint a Select Committee to investigate Child Endowment, but, again, at the end of the session in December the inquiry had not been completed. The work of your Committee in this session was adversely affected by two interruptions in the session caused by adjournments of the Legislative Assembly-the first from 8th September to 3rd October, and the second from 1st to 14th November. The resolution under which the present Committee was appointed permitted the Committee to take into consideration the minutes of evidence dealt with previously, and this has been done in the compilation of this Report.

4

3. In the course of the investigationB made by the Committee during the several sessions referred to most extensive and penetrating inquiries have been carried out, involving visits to various State and private institutions devoted to the care of the young, the perusal of a very large number of documents, manuscripts, and publications of various kinds, and the hearing of evidence from 44 witnesses (see p. 43). In addition, in order to obtain first-hand information of the position in other parts of the world, contact was made with Consuls, Consular Agents, Trade Commissioners, and other representatives of various nations having their quarters in Melbourne, and a questionnaire which was later the subject of lengthy replies was submitted. The witnesses heard by the Committee included representatives of the medical profession and of various social and child welfare associations. The Committee also heard witnesses from industrial and commercial organizations and Taxpayers and Public Service Associations, together with many officers from State Departments dealing with features which were thought worthy of inquiry. This long list of witnesses, together with the other matters mentioned, enabled the members of the Committee to exhaustively analyse the position.

4. Your Committee considers it necessary to present a comprehensive Report, mentioning certain features of the evidence submitted, since much of this evidence, besides being informative to members of the Committee, will be useful to those who peruse this Report ; and, although a great deal of detail has been omitted, it was thought necessary to include a number of detailed statements. In an endeavour to achieve clarity the main portion of the Report has been divided into the following parts :-

Part I.-The \Vage Problem in Victoria (p. 4). , H.-The Position of Families with Low Incomes (p. 10). , III.-The Birth Rate in Victoria (p. 17). , IV.-Child Endowment in Foreign Countries (p. 19). , V.-Child Endowment in the British Commonwealth of Nations (p. 32). , VL--Child Endowment in Australia (p. 37). , VII.-Conclusions drawn by the Committee (p. 39). , VIII.-Recommendations (p. 41). , IX.-General (p. 41).

PART I.-THE WAGE PROBLEM IN VICTORIA.

Wage Fixation Systems. . 5. It is obvious that wage standards may receive statutory recognition in several

different ways : Firstly, by legislation, that is, through Parliament fixing standards; secondly, by the decision of Arbitration Courts, or Commissions, or Boards, where the principal authority is exercised by a Judge or Judges or a President after hearing the parties concerned in a similar manner to that in which litigants are heard in the ordinary Courts of Justice; thirdly, by the meeting of equal numbers of employers and employees at a conference table under the chairmanship of an independent citizen in the constitution of what is known as a ·wages Board ; and, fourthly, by legal agreement between those affected. A fifth method has marked the regime of the Roosevelt Administration in the United States of America, known as the Code System. This system is a product of the American National Industrial Recovery Act, and, in essence, is a combination of the third and fourth methods; but, because of the vagaries of the American Constitution, the Code System has had a rather chequered career.

One of the most serious obstacles to the fixation of a general family wage in Australia has been the fact that the second, third, and fourth of the method<; mentioned above have all been in use, and are still in use in this country, thus providing confusion and overlapping. The best example of this lies in the differing wage standards which have been fixed in the various States by comparison with Commonwealth Arbitration Court Awards, and the differing family units upon which these wage standards have been founded.

5

The following table offers a comparison which is self-explanatory, showing, as it does, the position in various States as between wages fixed by local authorities and those fixed by the Commonwealth Arbitration Court at the dates mentioned :-

I Local Authority. Commonwealth Arbitration Court. i Date of

st.ate. Operation. Family Unit-- Wage for Supposed Family Wage. Man, Wife, and- Capital Cities, Unit-Man, Wife,

1.12.39. and-

New South Wales . . . . . . 1.12.39 82s. One child . . 82s . Three children Victoria . . . . . . . . 1.12.39 80s. Three children 80s .

" " Queensland . . . . . . . . 7.8.39 84s. " "

76s . " " South Australia . . . . . . 5 .1.39 78s.

" " · 77s .

" " Western Australia . . . . . . 24.4.39 82s. 2d. Two children 77s . " " Tasmania . . . . . . . . 1.12.39 77s. Three children 77s . " " I

The varwus authorities are as follows:-

New South Wales Victoria

Queensland South Australia

Western Australia Tasmania ..

Commonwealth

An Industrial Commission of four Judges. A Wages Board System. There is a right of appeal from

the determinations of Wages Boards to a Court of Industrial Appeals.

An Industrial Court consisting of three Judges. An Industrial Court consisting of one President; and a

Deputy President may be appointed. A Court of Arbitration consisting of three members. A Wages Board System of the same type as in Victoria,

except that there is no special Appeal Court, but appeals against determinations may be made to the Supreme Court.

An Arbitration Co~t consisting of three Judges.

Wages Boards in Victoria.

6. The first wage-fixing authority appointed in Australia was that of Victoria. In 1896, following upon extensive investigations into sweating practices, a Factories and Shops Act was passed by the State Parliament, which constituted a Wages Board upon application by aggrieved workers and assent by the Governor in Council. The Governmental inquiry conducted into the workings of some of the industries in the State at this time revealed conditions which were comparable only with the conditions in existence in England in the early years of the nineteenth century, and the principal intention of the the Factories and Shops Act was not so much to fix regulation wages as to fix conditions of employment which would assist to stamp out the evil of sweating. Actual wage regulation was only incidental, and the Wages Boards of Victoria have never maintained a uniform basic wage, although they have always fixed minimum wages for particular industries.

Amending legislation passed in 1936 considerably widened the powers of the Boards, and, as a matter of fact, clothed these tribunals with authority similar to that exercised by the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, except in the matter of preferential employment.

These powers are contained in section 147 of the Factories and Shops Act 1928, No. 3677, as amended by section five of the Factories and Shops Act 1936, No. 4461, and which reads as follows :-

" In addition to or in lieu of the powers and duties conferred upon Wages Boards by this Act any Wages Board shall have power to determine any industrial matter whatsoever in .relation to any trade or branch or branches of trade or any group or groups of trade for which such Board has been appointed and in particular, without affecting the generality of the foregoing, to determine all matters relating to-

(a) work and days and hours of work; (b) pay wages and reward ; (c) privileges, rights and duties of employers and employes;

6

(d) the mode terms and conditions of employment or non-employment; (e) the relations of employers and employes; (j) the employment or non-employment of persons of any particular sex or age; (g) the demarcation of functions of any employes or class of employes ; and (h) all questions of what is fair and right in relation to any industrial matter

having regard to the interests of the persons immediately concerned and of society as a whole :

Provided that nothing in this section shall enable any Wages Board to determine any matter relating to the preferential employment or dismissal of persons as being or as not being members of any organization association or body."

The 1936 Act also made it mandatory for a Wages Board in any trade covered by a Commonwealth award to embody the provisions of such award in its determination. This compulsory provision is contained in section 23 of Act No. 4275, as amended by section 5 (2) of Act No. 4461, and reads:-

"Where under any Commonwealth Act the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration or a Conciliation Commissioner makes or has made an award with respect to employers and employes in any industry, the Wages Board for every trade concerned as soon as may be shall, so far as the provisions of such award are provisions which that Wages Board is under the Factories and Shops Acts empowered to include in its determination, incorporate such provisions, as varied from time to time, in any determination of that Wages Board, and thereupon the provisions so incorporated shall be deemed to apply as if they were included in a determination of that Wages Board made in accordance with the provisions (other than this section) of the Factories and Shops Acts.''

Each Wages Board, therefore, is empowered to fix wages, hours, and conditions in the trade covered by its charter, and in the exercise of such power is restricted only in the case where a trade is subject to a Commonwealth award.

In the fixation of wages to be paid, Wages Boards during recent years have acted largely on what are popularly known as the " Cost of Living Figures " issued by the Commonwealth Statistician. As these figures form the basis of the Arbitration Court's findings, it follows that they also form the basis of the determination of any Board compulsorily required by the said section 23 to follow the appropriate award. In actual practice, however, it has been found that those Boards, which are free to act on their own initiative, generally speaking, have also religiously followed the Statistician's figures when fixing wages.

At 31st December, 1939, there were no fewer than 193 Wages Boards, including a General Wages Board covering 33 trades, operating in the State and affecting about 252,000 employees. Of the determinations made 24 constituted a minimum wage at a lesser rate than that of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court for Victoria, and the others, that is, an overwhelming number of the determinations, constituted minimum wages equal to, or in excess of, the Commonwealth rate. The tendency in this direction is evidenced by the following comparison:-

WAGES BOARDS DETERMINATIONS .

Minimum Wage fixed-

Above Commonwealth Arbitration Court basic wage . Below Commonwealth Arbitration Court basic wage Equal to Commonwealth Arbitration Court basic wage

----------~------

. .

1930.

88 82 8

1936.

132 23 25

1939.

139 24 50

Of the determinations fixing wages below the Arbitration Court rate in the last year shown, fourteen are out of use for various reasons, the principal one being the absorption of the relative employees by Commonwealth awards, while the average difference of those fixed above the Commonwealth basic rate is so small as to justify including most of them amongst the number equal to the Commonwealth rate.

7

The Wages Board system is strongly supported by many trade unionists because it functions much more quickly than the Court, and because the expense of obtaining a deter.mination is infinitesimal when compared with the expense of obtaining an award.

The number of representatives on a Wages Board varies between four and ten with a chairman nominated by the Board. The Secretary of the Labour Department has the power to adjust wages in accordance with retail price index numbers without the Board being called together. An appeal against a determination may be made by either party to the Court of Industrial Appeals, which consists of a representative of the employees and a representative of the employers, with a Supreme Court Judge as chairman or president.

Commonwealth .Arbitration Court-Its History and Influence on Wages in Victoria.

7. When the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia was agreed to at the beginning of this century paragraph xxxv. of section 51 of Part V. gave the new Federal Parliament power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to " conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State." Because of this, a Commonwealth Arbitration Court was established in 1905 and empowered to make awards governing wages and conditions of the members of Trade Unions only in industries where, in the terms of the Constitution, a dispute was shown to exist.

In 1907 a dispute involving a Victorian firm-H. V. McKay's Sunshine Harvester Works-occasioned what is probably one of the most momentous declarations ever made by a wage-fixing authority. This was the famous "Harvester Judgment" of ~fr. Justice Higgins, the President of the Court, who, after some inquiry, fixed a basic wage of 7s. per day, or £2 2s. per week, for Melbourne, as being the amount necessary, in his opinion, to maintain a " family of about five persons " in reasonable comfort.. This wage was ba.sed upon the expenditure of £1 5s. 5d. for food, 7s. for rent, and 9s. 7d. for all other items.

In 1911 the Commonwealth Statistician compiled a list of retail price index numbers covering food, groceries, and rent for the 30 most important towns in Australia. These index numbers showed that there had been considerable decreases in household expenditure since the fixation of the basic wage (they had been taken back as far as 1901), and also differences in purchasing power in the towns mentioned, and in 1913 the Court officially recognized these figures by altering its basic wage in accordance with them. Since that date the basic wage has always been fixed after reference to these index numbers, although the method of assessing the numbers is now on a slightly different basis.

In 1922 Mr. Justice Powers added 3s. as a general loading to the basic wage, so that the real effect of the " Harvester " wage would not be lost by a period of rising prices ; and variations of purchasing power, as shown by the index numbers, were further recognized by the Court when it decided, in the same year, to make regular quarterly adjustments to the wage. The "Harvester" standard has always been the subject of criticism, and in his book, .A New Province of Law and Order, Mr. Justice Higgins, after his resignation of the presidency of the Court, joined in the criticism of his own judgment, but little change has been made in the standard in the years that have followed. ·This general criticism was largely responsible for the creation of a Royal Commission by the Federal Government in 1920 to inquire into the basic wage, and to more exactly ascertain the amount necessary to maintain a man, wife, and three children under 14 years of age at a reasonable standard of comfort. After lengthy sittings the Royal Commission reported that a very much higher wage than that being paid was necessary. It considered that the basic wage for Melbourne should be £5 16s. 6d. per week. At the time the actual amount being paid in Melbourne was about £4, and the Commission's recommendation was not given effect to because the opinion was held that industry would not be able to pay such a rate as that recommended.

Mr. A. B. Piddington, K.C., the chairman of the Commission, interestingly assesses this position in his book, The Next Step, in which, in reply ·to assertions made by Sir George Knibbs, the then Commonwealth Statistician, he insists that the finances of industry would not be dislocated if a form of Child Endowment was paid in accordance with the report. It is u~eful ,to recall that the report, plus this suggestion, was largely responsible for the inkoduction by the Hughes Federal Government in 1920 of the scheme of Child Endowment which at present exists in the Commonwealth Public Service, and to which reference is made in Part VI. of this Report.

8

With the exception of the .quarterly adjustments in keeping with the cost-of-living figures, no radical change was made in the methods employed in fixing the basic wage until February, 1931, when, following upon representations by the employers, a general reduction of 10 per cent. was ordered. The ruling wage in Melbourne at this time was £3 16s. The Court considered this reduction necessary because of the depressed state of industry and the reduction of the spending power of the community, caused by the cessation of borrowing on the part of the Governments.

On 31st May, 1934, the Court made another substantial alteration, after inquiry, by deleting the " Powers 3s. " from the wage, and cancelling the 10 per cent. reduction, at the same time transferring the method of computation from what was known as the "A" series to the " C " series of index numbers, which were regarded as more comprehensive.

On 23rd June, 1937, on the application of the unions, and after a four weeks hearing, the Court again altered the basic wage by adding " loadings " to the existing rates. For instance, in Victoria the then wage of £3 9s. was loaded to the extent of 6s., making a total basic wage of £3 15s.

Because of further increases in the cost of living, the basic wage for Victoria, as fixed by the Court, is £4 4s. per week at present. As is emphasized later, however, whatever changes have occurred in methods of assessing the wage, in effect it bears a very close resemblance to that fixed in 1907 by Mr. Justice Higgins, as sufficient to provide for the maintenance of a family of about five persons in reasonable comfort.

There has been at times conflict between awards of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court and determinations of State Wages Boards; but when an employer is subject to an award it takes precedence over a determination. Most Commonwealth awards apply only to members of unions in the employ of an employer who is cited as a respondent in a plaint before the Court, but ·wages Board determinations apply to all persons working in the industry which is thus covered. As a rule, where an employer has both unionists and non-unionists working for him and there i'3 conflict between the authorities, the unionists must be paid in accordance with the award, and all others in accordance with the determination.

Some awards of the Court, notably those of the clothing and metal trades, are applicable to unionists and non-unionists alike. Employers, therefore, with the qualification shown, who are cited under an award are outside the jurisdiction of a determination. It is very difficult to properly ascertain the number of persons covered by awards of the Court ; but some indication is given by the fact that at the end of 1938 the Labour and Industrial Branch of the Commonwealth Statistician's Office estimated that there were 215,021 members of trade unions m Victoria, and the vast majority of these would certainly be covered.

Controversy has frequently occurred over the relative wage position of the workers whose wages are fixed by awards, and the following table is almost self-explanatory:-·

INDEx NuMBERS FOR VICTORIA ONLY (Adult Males).

Real Wage. Year. Nominal Wage.

44 A , Series. "c" Series.

1914 .. .. .. . . . . .. 1062 961 954 1921 .. .. .. . . . . . . 1803 1038 1084 1929 .. .. . . . . .. . . 1964 1084 1164 1932 .. . . . . . . .. . . 1552 1126 1150 1933 . . . . . . . . . . .. 1502 1139 1147 1934 . . . . . . . . . . .. 1523 1114 1146 1935 . . . . . . -. . . .. 1550 1092 1134 1936 . . .. . . . . . . 1583 1075 1131 1937 . . .. . . .. . . . . . 1665 1099 1155 1938 . . . . . . . . . . .. 1755 . . 1180

~o that: in the period sh01wn, while n?minal wages have increased by 65 per oent., taking the senes of mdex numbers at. present bemg used by the Court as a guide, rea! ()r effective wages have increased only by :about 24 per cent.

9

Persons not covered by Wages Boards or Arbitration Court.

8. Apart from the large number of persons in receipt of incomes determined in the manner indicated by the preceding paragraphs, there is, of course, in this State a large number of persons in receipt of small incomes who are not concerned, except perhaps indirectly, with either authority.

These persons are probably all included in the following classes :­

(a) Pensioners drawing various types of pensions.

(b) Small shopkeepers and owners of small businesses.

(c) Persons engaged in professions, &c., where the opportunities are limited.

(d) Small farmers.

(e) Workers employed in rural industries which are not covered by determinatious or awards.

(f) Unemployed men in receipt of certain types of sustenance.

(g) Females in any of the above classes not specifically included.

Those in class (a) would include, not merely the recipients of old-age and invalid pensions, but also of war pensions and superannuation payments and others of a similar nature. Only a small minority of these persons would be supporting families of young children; and in many of these cases allowances would also be received from the Children's Welfare Department. Class (b) comprises that numerous body of people who have little relationship with wage-fixation systems, and who earn a livelihood, often precarious, in some small business or other. Class (c) is similar to the previous class, and consists of those engaged in certain of the " white collar " occupations and professions. There is no means of determining the number of persons in this class or most other classes; but probably the numbers would not be unduly large in class (c).

Classes (d) and (e) are, of course, associated. Again it is difficult to discover the precise numbers in each class; but the Commonwealth Year Book records the following figures, showing employment in Victoria in the industries mentioned :-

Agriculture. Dairying.

1913-14 51,932 males 45,283 males and females

1937-38 35,592 "

49,284 " "

These figures refer to the owners, occupiers, or managers, members of a farmer's family, and other employees who are permanently engaged throughout the year in the work of a farm. Casual labour, such as harvesters and fruit-pickers, is excluded, as are females, in the figures relating to agriculture because of the impossibility of ascertaining whether female employment was domestic or rural. It is further pointed out that the area under crop has expanded considerably during the period under review ; the big decrease in the numbers employed being due to the increased use of machinery in the cultivation of the soil and in the harvesting of crops.

· The small ~increase in the number employed in the dairying industry is striking also, since the number of dairy cattle has increased by 50 per cent. since the first year mentioned, while the estimated population of the State increased from 1,421,000 to 1,861,000 between the two dates. Most of the casual labour mentioned is catered for by Arbitration Court awards; but for such occupations as farm labourer there is no wage regulation whatsoever except that created by the law of supply and demand.

In the case of persons receiving sustenance indicated in class (/), that is, those who receive what is known as the " benevolent " rate, the amount is fixed by the Sustenance Department.

Persons working for sustenance or on relief works receive wages which are fixed by determinations or awards applicable to the job being performed, the hours worked for sustenance being regulated so that not more than the following amounts may be received :-Single unemployed employable adult male, 17s. 6d. per week ; ma.rried man, 30s. 6d. per week for man and wife, plus 5s. per week for each male dependant under 21 years of age and each female dependant irrespective of age. The total value of sustenance must not exceed £3 17s. 6d. per week. This system of making different payments in accordance with the number of children in each family provides, in itself, an abridged scheme of Child Endowment

10

The grouping into family units of those registered for sustenance at 30th August, 1939, was-Single men, 33 per cent. ; married men without children, 15 per cent. ; married men \vith children-(a) 1 child, 16 per cent. ; (b) 2 children, 14 per cent. ; (c) 3 children, 7 per cent. ; (d) 4 children, 6 · 5 per cent. ; (e) 5 children, 4 per cent. ; (f) 6 children, 2 per cent.; (g) 7 children, 1·5 per cent.; and (h) 8 or more children, 1 per cent. At the same date 17,400 men were registered for sustenance, and 3,000 for work only, while another 5,000 were working on relief jobs. The percentage for each family nnit is discounted by the preponderance of single men amongst those registered.

In addition to the actual money payments made for sustenance there are other amenities made available in selected cases, such as the supply of firewood, clothing, footwear, leather, school books, babies' foods, milk for school children, and travelling facilities for hospital attendance.

PART II.-THE POSITION OF FAMILIES 1VITH LOW INCOMES.

The Family Breadwinn.er.

9. A very large proportion of the witnesses heard by the Committee gave evidence concerning the position of families where only a small income is being received, and complaints were frequently made by witnesses as to the inadequacy of the wages fixed by the methods described in Part I. where more than two children had to be supported on the wage prescribed, particularly if this was the basic wage or one which was not much higher. It was asserted that no consideration is given by our wages systems to the obviously difficult position of a breadwinner who is endeavouring to care for the needs of a young and growing family. But perhaps the position may here be explained by an example:-

A young man upon reaching the age of 21 years becomes entitled to and receives the basic wage, say, of £4 4s. per week; that is, if he is employed in an industry, the wage which is fixed by statutory authority.

If he is a person whose income is not determined by a Wages Board or the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, viz., in one of the special classes mentioned in the preceding Part, then probably he will not receive such a wage, but one very much less.

If he receives the basic wage, as a single man, he will possibly find tha.t, after providing for ordinary living expenses, he has a margin left out of his wage which he may use in various ways. He may indulge in a favourite hobby, or he may spend the margin on amusements or in some frivolous manner. If he is more practical he will use the margin in an attempt to better equip himself for the battle of life by, perhaps, attending a technical school or adopting some other form of education ; or, he will save in order to provide capital upon which, later, he may be married and acquire a home. The margin is, of course dependent upon a number of factors. It is dependent upon full-time employment, that is, his employment must not be subject to seasonal or other fluctuations. Neither should he have to make what might be called "more than the usual" provision for the upkeep of other members of his family, say, for an invalid father or mother or brother or sister ; nor provision for illness-for which there js no workers' compensation payable-nor accident, even one for which compensation is payable. Therefore, granted that these factors are not present, he may have a rmu:gin for use as inferred. In due course he marries, and if he is not in the skilled labour class, always with the exception of an increase granted because of an increase in the cost of living, he finds that h.e has to maintain two persons upon the £4 4s. per week, which formerly sufficed for one, and the margin, if any, disappears. A child comes, and the process of " making both ends of the income meet " becomes a matter for careful consideration. Another child arrives, and if he is still lacking a marginal wage, or still receiving th.e basic wage, the real economic struggle commences. And so, if other children are born, with each. it beoomes increasingly difficult to carry on, because, with an i11come which doos not expand, each additional ehiki! means fewer clothes and less food and house room for thO!!Ie a.h:ea.d y -comprising the fa.zuily. If there is ill-health in the family, or the br.eadwinner's ..employment is only intermittent_ the difficulty is accentuated!

11

It is suggested by various writers that the problem created by the situation we ha1te thus outlined is, in the light of world history, a comparatively recent one. Thorold Rogers in his Six Centuries of Wm·k and Wages states that in mediaeval times and onwards to the dawn of the " industrial revolution," from the time that a child learnerl to walk he also learned to work, and that children of the most tender years assisted to supplement the family budget, so that each additional child in a family was not, in an economic sense, a liability, but an asset. Even in

• the early days of the "industrial revolution " the same position obtained. According to contemporary writers, young children worked the looms, or, unfortunately, performed heavy tasks in the mines with consequent financial gain to their parents, and when legislation made this no longer possible, since no compensation was made to parents, the problem referred to by witnesses was created. And, a..<; was further stated, our Victorian wage-fixing syatem dot>.s nothing to assist its solution, but rather the reverse. Expert evidence showed that the Wages Boards generally fixed a minimum or basic wage, believing that it would be sufficient to provide for the reasonable needs of a man, his wife, and three children. In doing this the Boards followed what was thought to be the practice of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court. Since 1934, however, this C-ourt, whatever it did before, has been understood to fix a basic wage which is not completely associated with the personal responsihilities of the wage-earner.

Whether this is so or not the basi(~ wage at present fixed by the Court bears an undoubted similarity in fact (excepting that, as shown, its real value is less) to the ba.sic wage which was formerly acknowledged as being appropriate to the requirements of about five persons. The judgment of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court in the Basic Wage Inquiry, delivered on 17th April, 1934, actually contains references which lead to the conclusion that, although not identifying its new wage with a specific family unit, it was arrived at partly because, in the opinion of the Court, the material before it suggested that the amount granted would be sufficient for the needs of a four-unit family. At the time it was shown that the average family responsi­bility of the adult married worker was a wife and two children, a limit to which reference will be made later in this Report. ·with regard to the Court's former basic wage, some most interesting comments have been made, notably one by Mr. Justice Powers, a former President of the Court. The occasion was the case of the Austmlian Workers' Union v. New South Wales Phosphates Go. and Others, and the remarks appear on page 572, Vol. 13, C.A.R., and because of this application to the subject under discussion we quote them in full:-

" I think it right again to draw attention to the men who have families of more than three children who are not allowed by this Court a living wage because it is not right to make their extra children a charge on the employers who happen to employ them.

As the -employers cannot fairly be asked to pay more than the va]ue of the work done-estimated on a basis recognized throughout the world as fair-and it is also dear that the employees cannot on existing rates or rates fixed by the Court keep a larger family than three children in anything 1ike reasonable comfort, it appears to me that, in the interests of humanity and of the very young children affected and to be affected, the Commonwealth and State Governments should consider whether they ought not to help the men who work all the year and eannot keep more than three children in reasonable comfort on their wages, by paying to men who are dependent on the basic wage a sum of at least £6 a year for each child over three under the age of fourteen years. Provision is alrea.dy made for an amount sufficient to maintain five children-not three only-of dependants on soldiers.

The amount necessary to be contributed by the Governments would not be anything like the sum one would at first assume. The limit of the assistance to the children of men on the basic wage with more than three children under fourteen would limit very greatly the number to be assisted. Whatever the cost would be the neeessity to enable very young children to be properly clothed and fed would, I think, justify the expenditure by any Government recognizing its duty to the people. This specially applies to the Commonwealth, which pays a bonus for every child born whether its parents are rich or poor."

If these remarks were true in 1920, when they were written, it is not incorrect to state toot they apply with even greater foree to-day.

'

Figures presented to your Committee show that at the Census of 30th June, 19.'33, 28 per cent. of employees (including unemployed persons) in Victoria had three children or more, while

'13 per cent. had families of four children or more. In this State at that date the total number of chil<hen under the age of sixteen years dependent upon employed and unemployed persons was 312,830. Of these, 149,'966 comprised families of one or two children; 162.,864 .comprised

n

12

families of three or more children; 96,042 comprised families of four children or more. It is, therefore, fair to assume that for a very large percentage of those family breadwinners employed under determinations and awards no provision is made for the upkeep of their children o'ther than two or three. In an endeavour to ascertain the accuracy or otherwise of statements made to this effect your Committee has exhaustively investigated the position. The inquiries were, naturally, difficult to pursue and, in order to avoid the extremely lengthy process involved in checking over a large number of individual cases, your Committee concentrated on the general position of _ families in the community with low incomes. Many social workers and medical witnesses were examined, and each went to very great trouble to satisfy requests of members of the Committee for information on various points. The perusal of such documentary evidence also enabled your Committee to assess the situation and some of the principal features are presented under suitable headings.

Housing.

10. Although it is often asserted that slum houses are the product of slum-minded people, the records of the Housing Commission go far to disprove this theory in its general application. It is probably true that certain types amongst our citizens have so little regard for their homes, or are so incurably lazy, that they will never attempt to maintain them in a reasonable state of repair or provide them with the usual amenities of civilization, and so they may create slums. But the information available to the Committee shows that the cause to which most of the slum dwellings can be attributed is inability to pay the higher rents which would be demanded for reasonably decent homes.

The first (Progress) Report of the Housing Investigation and Slum Abolition Board established in Victoria by the Government in 1936 stated on page 27 that the average (total) income of the families inhabiting 2,525 insanitary houses in certain industrial suburbs of Melbourne was £2 10s. 4d. per week.

The average rental charged in all of these houses was lis. 2d. per week, or 22 per cent. of the average family income, i.e., of all earning members of the family.

In 5,742 houses of all types inspected by the Board the average weekly income per house was £2 8s. 7d. for 904 homes in Fitzroy to £3 7s. lid. for 1,080 homes in Richmond, or £3 Is. 9d. per family unit (over all).

In the twelve months prior to August, 1939, the Housing Commission inspected about 3,000 houses in South Melbourne and Port Melbourne. Of these, 1,421 from a structural and a sanitary point of view were very much below the standard set by the Commission. Occupying 502 such homes were families with three or more children, i.e., more than one-third of the worst houses in these two suburbs were occupied by large families. Of the 502 families 296 breadwinners earned less than the basic wage ; 25 earned the basic wage ; and 181 earned more than the basic wage. The total family income in 225 cases was less than the basic wage ; in 260 cases it was more than the basic wage ; and in 17 cases it was equal to the basic wage. Your Committee was informed that, generally, the amount received in excess of the basic· wage would be no more than a few shillings. The majority of the other houses were occupied by men doing intermittent work and about 240 were occupied by pensioners.

These sub-standard houses are frequently without baths and coppers and very badly ventilated, and these things, together with the overcrowding, have a deleterious effect upon the health of the inmates. It is a rarity to go into a particularly poor home and find that not one member of the family is attending hospital.

Comparisons between the large and small families showed that the former possessed less and poorer furniture than the latter. In these houses the larger families are continually on the downward grade, since goods, such as furniture, are frequently pawned or sold in order that necessaries may be provided, and these losses are never made up. The experience seems to be that, once started on the downward grade, the process is hard to stop. It seems, too, that rent is the first item met out of the family income, and that, because of the payment of rent, there is often a shortage of food and clothing.

Nutrition. 11. During the last two or three years there have been several investigations by

different authorities into nutrition problems, and the results were made available to your Committee.

In 1937--38 an inquiry was conducted in Victoria by the medical officers of the Education Department into the nutrition of elementary school children, and the children examined were. divided into three classes-Class A, including those above and those of normal standard nutrition; Class B, those showing some lowering of general standard; Class C, those showing definite subnutrition.

I

'' • a; "ament . 01 V;ctorJa 13

This division was made, not only on the height and weight, but on the clinical assessment of each child, and the 6,708 children examined were classified in this manner.

The average percentages (girls and boys combined) were :-Class A, 63 · 8 ; Class B, 32·4; and Class C, 3·8.

If the schools are taken according to groups the average percentages are

Group. Number Class A. Class B. Clti.SIIC. Exa.mined.

Group 1-0uter suburban . . .. 2,457 68•4 27•9 3•7 Group 2-Industrial .. . . . . .. 2,594 64·7 31•6 3·7 Group 3--Inner industrial . . . . .. 1,657 58·4 37•7 3·9

Although six medical officers were engaged in the work of examining these schools and personal standards might differ slightly the results are remarkably consistent, the percentage finding in the C class varying only between 3 · 7 and 3 · 9 in the averages for district groups, while individual schools ranged between 5 · 6 and I· 4 per cent.

In the A and B classes, however, a striking difference is noted-the outer suburban showing a high proportion of A class children (68 · 4 per cent.) with a relatively low number of B's. (27·9 per cent.); that is, in the proportion of 5 : 2, while in the industrial and inner industrial groups the classes have much the same percentage and are in the proportion of 3: 2.

The officer compiling this statement considers that these figures show that, whatever the district, the amount of malnutrition in the school population is about the same in amount, and that environment is not the only factor in its production.

However, it was maintained by one highly-regarded medical witness that these divisions, considered in the light of Sir John Orr's definition of malnutrition, i.e., that, if a person's health can be improved by altering his diet that person is malnourished, showed that about 36 per cent .. of the children examined were suffering from malnutrition. But this and many other statements concerning malnutrition might denote a lack of quality but not necessarily an insufficient quantity of food.

It was also repeatedly asserted by authoritative witnesses that in a large number- of cases malnutrition was produced by a combined lack of quality and quantity, by a lack of sufficient food only, by over-crowding and poor housing conditions, or other factors produced by attempts to cater for the needs of a large family when only an inadequate income is available.

But other matters have emerged from this report of the medical officers of the Education Department which appear to be significant. Of 247 children examined in the C malnutrition group 181 were from families of three children or more, and 66 from families of one or two children. So that children of large families were most affected, and that this was not the result ·of lack of income created by unemployment or some similar cause was disclosed by an analysis of the source of income of the families concerned. This analysis showed that 92 per cent. of the fathers of these children were alive-76 per cent. were working in regular employment, and the balance was classified as follows :-

8 · 5 per cent. in irregular work or on sustenance ;

3 · 2 per cent. unemployed ;

2 · 0 per cent. incapacitated ;

1 · 6 per cent. deserters ;

5 · 2 per cent. deceased ;

2 · 7 per cent. no record ;

· 8 per cent. (State wards.)

In other words, more than three out of four breadwinners were in receipt of regular incomes ; and since the survey was made solely in schools in the metropolitan area it is apparent that only in exceptional circumstances would the income be less than the basic wage.

14

About three years ago the Federal Government constituted a very representative Advisory Council on Nutrition, which investigated the position in every State of· the Commonwealth, and presented its final report on 21st July, 1938. In this very informative report, although qualifications similar to those already referred to appear, statements are made as follows :-

It appears, in respect of these faulty diets, that one important factor enforcing these inadequate diets iJ lack of money with which to purchase food.

The other important factor iB that those families with insufficient income tend to satisfy their hunger with the carbohydrate!! (bread, cereals, &c.), which are cheaper than the meats, fish, fats, milk, and eggs, and so produce an undt>sirahle lack of balance in their food.

The excessive consumption of carbohydrates, especially in the form of sweets and other sugar preparations, brings to the individual much ill-health.

Quantity and quality are both lacking in many instances and, where quantity is nearly adequate, quality ~for the same reason of financial stringency-suffers.

But at this point the principal issue is the lack of purchasing power revealed even in this series of families in which, as already stated, no special contact with "dole " families or the declared poor was made.

Jt will be observed that in the familiefl of one child the figures obtained in this survey reach this new lower standard, and that in the larger families in capital cities the figures are considerably below this standard. In other words, the milk consumption of families of one child is apparently adequate, but becomes increasingly inadequate as the number of the children in the family increases, and amounts to less than 50 per cent. of the selected requirements in families of six children.

In general, it is possible to summarize the consumption of protective foods as follows :-In small families of one, two, and sometimes three children in all capital cities of Australia the

consumption of protective foods reaches a satisfactory standard ; but in larger families of four, five, and six children the consumption is below the selected standards.

Very direct evidence was forthcoming from tables kept at the Children's Hospital, Carlton. The observations taken included 2,883 families who sought medical relief for their children and extended over a period of four and a half months.

'fhese tables showed that 56 per cent. of the families attending the hospital consisted of three or more children ; and that 78 per cent. of the children attending came from these families.

In this connexion it is worthy of note that a census taken of friendly society members in 1938 showed that only 22 per cent. had fami1ies of three or more children; so that it is apparent that large families in the metropolitan area are more inclined to seek hospital treatment than to join friendly societies-that is, those families 'vith incomes within the general friendly society limit of £500 per annum.

An actual statement of this position is as follows :-

MALES WITH DEPENDENT CmLDREN.

Samples from Vlctorl4\n Friendly Societies' Returns. Children's Hospital, Melbou.rne.

Number of Children. Percentage of Population.

Number of Percentalle of Number of Peroontage of ~'amilles. FamU!es. Families. Families.

1 . . . . . . .. 38·11 1,966 45·01 636 22·4 2 . . . . .. . . 28·98 1,457 33·36 618 21·4 3 . . . . .. . . 16·36 579 13·26 559 19·3 4 . . . . . . .. 8·63 214 4·90 399 13•8 5 . . . . . . .. 4•31 76 1·74 223 7•7 6 . . . . . . .. 2•15 43 ·98 188 6·5 7 . . . . . . .. ·93 24 ·55 103 3•5 8 . . . . . . .. ·36 6 ·14 59 2•0 9 . . . . .. . . ·12 2 ·04 53 1·8

10 .. ·o5 1 •02 17

wo·oo 4,368 100·00 2,855* 99·0t

"' Excluding families of 11, 12, and 13 ohildren.-fOne per cent. of the families has more than 10 children, a-ggregating more than two and one-half per cent. of the children.

. The Dietitian Sister at the hospital set out a diet satisfactory in quantity and quality for a typical family of five persons-father, mother, and three children of 10, 6, and 2 years.

The cost of providing such a diet was established by pricing of commodities to be purchased in small quantities in the month of July, 1938, in the suburbs of South Melbourne Port Melbourne, Brunswick, and Richmond. The cost per family amounted to 33s. 2d. per week.

•

15

This amount of 33s. 2d. was divided by five. Where the income remaining, after rent had been deducted, amounted to less than 33s. 2d. divided by five, i.e., 6s. 8d. per person, the family was regarded as living below subsistence level. On this basis 54 per cent. of the children attending the hospital were absolutely below subsistence level, and many of the remaining 46 per cent. were likewise under privileged.

On page 37 of the report of the First Biennial Conference of the Australian Association for Pre-School Child Development a member of the Nutrition Committee of the Medical Research Council gave the cost of providing an adequate diet at about 7s. 6d. per week. She said:­"The weekly cost of the three-year-old diet, using average prices for 1938, was about 7s. 6d. per week, and for a five-year-old diet, Ss. 6d. per week, or Is. 3d. per day." If this estimate be accepted, instead of 33s. 2d. being the average amount necessary for the subsistence of five persons in a family, it would be about £2 2s. 6d. In that case about 90 per cent. of the children attending the Children's Hospital were actually below subsistence level.

It should be emphasized that these amounts do not refer to rent, clothes, boots or shoes, fuel, fares, or other necessary items of household expenditure not associated directly with diet. They refer to diets, which are merely meant to maintain the nutrition of the individual, and do not permit any luxuries. There is, therefore, good reason to believe that a large proportion of children attending the Outpatients' Department of the Children's Hospital with complaints of such a nature as general ill-health, failure to thrive, lack of energy, failure to grow and gain weight normally, and frequent colds and coughs are afflicted with malnutrition. Complaints of this nature are uncommon among children who are well fed, well housed, and well cared for.

There are certain specific complaints, such as rheumatic fever, rickets, &c., which are definitely attributable to malnutrition. As distinct from the general position mentioned, an analysis of diets of children afflicted with rheumatic fever who have been admitted to the hospital during the year 1938-39 shows that only 18 per cent. are adequate in order to maintain normal health, 45 per cent. are mildly deficient in factors necessary for health, and the remaining 37 per cent. are grossly deficient.

Rheumatic fever is one of the most serious diseases with which medical science has to contend. It causes a considerable amount of ill-health-frequently of a permanent nature. Rheumatism is the commonest cause of heart disease. According to a medical witness statistical analysis of all cases of heart disease in adults would show that nearly 40 per cent. were due to rheumatic fever, almost all of which had been contracted in childhood. This complaint and rickets are much too prevalent in the community to-day.

Medical officers attached to the clinics controlled by the Melbourne City Council said that there were about 5,000 pre-school children in the city area, and about 40 per cent. of these either attended the clinics or were under observation in other ways. A card system had been instituted, enabling a close study of these children,· with illuminating results.

Pre-school children are regarded as those between the ages of two and six. The cards of these children were analysed, and an interesting fact was shown that, as the child grew, practically all the defects increa.ged. For instance, in the two to three age group, only 20 per cent. were recorded as suffering from malnutrition, whereas in the five to six age group there was 30 per cent. suffering from malnutrition. Amongst the whole of the children whose cases were recorded there were only 18 · 8 per cent. who were regarded as being quite perfect and without any defect. Much of the medical evidence went to prove that most babies were born healthy, regardless of the mothers' physical condition, but, as the months passed, the prejudicial influence of bad or insufficient food or poor housing made itself felt and the child's general condition deteriorated. This is particularly so in the case of a large family. As one witness said :-" Children, after the third child, decline progressively in health until the youngest child in, say, a family of ten, is in a poor state of health. The family increases without the income increasing, and this invariably leads to malnutrition."

A survey of the children aged between two years and six years attending the clinics was conducted in order to ascertain the average height and weight of the first, second, third, fourth, and later children of families.

All of these children were from poor homes, and altogether no fewer than 5,253 obser­vations were made of 2,701 children. The survey disclosed that the average height of the first child was 39·38 inches, and of the fourth child 38·66 inches. The average weights were­first child, 35 lb. 11 oz., and fourth child, 34 lb. 3 oz. The graphs shown on page 16 are better illustrations.

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2701 CHILDREN 5253 OBSERVATIONS.

Average Weights 45. Average Heights

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Years -and Months Years and Months 1111

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17

So that in the poorer homes of Melbourne at least the fourth and later children of families • a.re neither as heavy nor as tall at a given age as the children preceding them.

At least one witness also drew attention to the difference between the deaths under one year per 1,000 births as between seven inner industrial municipalities, viz., Melbourne, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Port Melbourne, Prahran, Richmond, and South Melbourne, and the rest of the metro­politan area. In 1937, when the lowest death rate in the history of Victoria was recorded, the rate for these municipalities averaged 45· 26 per 1,000, as against 37 ·13 for the Greater Melbourne area, including all municipalities.

PART 111.-THE BIRTH RATE IN VICTORIA.

12. Many publicists are of the opinion that a scheme of family allowances would considerably improve the birth rate of the country concerned. As a matter of fact, in certain of the countries mentioned in Part IV., schemes have been commenced largely for this purpose. In order to clarify the position your Committee paid some attention to this aspect of the problem, and a comparison was made of the birth rate in New South Wales with that of Victoria for each of the years between 1927 and 1938. As will be shown in Part VI., New South Wales has had a scheme of Child Endowment since the former year ; and in consequence it was felt that such a comparison would be effective. The figures show the following :-

CRUDE BIRTH RATES.

Number of births per 1,000 of the mean population.

Year. New South Walee. VIctoria. A. verage for J.uetralta.

1927 .. . . . . . . .. 22·40 20•30 21•62 1928 .. . . . . . . .. 22•27 19·69 21•27 1929 .. . . . . . . .. 21•04 18·98 20•25 1930 .. . . - .. . . 20·59 18·55 19•86 1931 . . . . . . .. . . 18·67 16·86 18•16 1932 •• . . . . . . .. 17•40 15·19 16·86 1933 •. .. . . . . . . 16·99 15•60 16•78 1934 .. . . . . . . . . 16•52 15·20 16·39 1935 .. .. . . . . . . 16•89 15•16 16·55 1936 .. . . . . . . . . 17•31 15·63 17•13 1937 .. . . . . . . . . 17·63 16•02 17·43 1938 .. .. . . .. . . 17·39 16•25 17·46

It will be seen from this table that the birth rate in New South Wales has always been higher than that in Victoria, and, with the exception of 1938, has always been higher than the general average for Australia. There has been no appreciable difference in the rate since the scheme of Child Endowment was instituted in New South Wales, except that the trend, in common with that of Victoria, has generally been downward. It is noticeable in each group of figures that the "depression period" from 1931 onwards for the next few years saw these rates reach their lowest levels ; but, as the economic position of the country improved, there was a slight improvement in the rates.

The New South Wales scheme provides payments for children under the age of fourteen years, and its qualifications are considered in Part VI. According to the census taken in 1933 the number of children under the age of sixteen years dependent upon the wage or salary-earning group of both males and females totalled 282,862, after excluding from consideration the first child of each family, as does the local scheme. The total number of children dependent upon persons of all grades of occupation was 772,593. So that, even if the former figure is discounted by making allowance for the number of children included who were between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years, it is apparent that the New South Wales scheme does not provide assistance for a sufficiently large percentage of the child population for a beneficial effect on the birth rate to be apparent, if such a benefit follows upon the institution of the soh em e.

1314.2/~.-1.

18

The Commonwealth Public Service scheme of Child Endowment, also referred to in .Part VI., makes allowances to officers in receipt of less than £500 per annum. Your Committee ... was unable to ascertain the general position of the birth rate amongst officers affected, but obtained a statement demonstrating this position in regard to ex-Commonwealth officers who were taken over by the State· Taxation Office on the amalgamation of State and Federal offices in 1924. These public servants are included in the Commonwealth Government's Child Endowment scheme. The statement presented to your Committee showed that in the financial year 1924-25 there were 58 officers drawing Child Endowment for 89 dependent children under the age of fourteen years, while in the financial year 1936-37, 64 officers were drawing Child Endowment for 114 such children. Whether this was an indication or not of the position obtaining generally throughout the Commonwealth Public Service your Committee was unable to ascertain.

In regard to the birth rate in Victoria and the comparison made with New South Wales, expert evidence pointed out a number of matters which it was thought necessary to include in this Report.

The estimated population of New South Wales at 31st December, 1938, was 2,735,695, and of Victoria 1,873,760, so that, broadly, the ratio of population would be as 3 is to 2.

The census disclosed that in New South Wales after excluding three children under the age of sixteen years the wage or salary-earning group had 65,37 4 children, while in Victoria the same group had 35,802 children after the exclusion of the first three. Mter excluding the first four children the figures became worse from Victoria's point of view, since they were­New South Wales 28,907 children, Victoria 15,722 children. In a discussion of these figures expert evidence said that, after allowing for various differences, the family situation is worse in Victoria than it is in New South Wales. In Victoria family groups are smaller, and there is a bigger proportion of old people than in the sister State. For instance, if the population ratio was maintained in the family groups, the number of children in Victoria at that time in the wage or salary-earning group, after excluding the first three, would be about 44,000 instead of 35,802. This may be largely accounted for by the fact that in Victoria about 55 per cent. of the total population lives in the metropolitan area, while in New South Wales the proportion is about 48 per cent. The influence of the concentration of a large percentage of the population in the metropolitan area was suggested by a survey of tables which your Committee examined, in which the popula~ion and birth rates for Victoria were broken up into various divisions, viz. :-

" A "-Six " inner " industrial cities of Melbourne. "B "-Eight "outer" industrial cities of Melbourne and the shire of Braybrook. " C "-The remaining cities of Melbourne. . . " D "-Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong with associated towns. "E "-Twenty-two other rural towns. "F "-The shires of the State, excluding Braybrook.

The number of children in these groups per 1,000 men with dependent children was as follows :-

Number of Children aftel' excluding-Division.

1. 2. s. 4.

"A" .. . . . . . . 1,060 503 229 96 "B" . . . . .. . . 1,052 475 204 85 "C" . . . . .. . . 905 366 142 53 "D"' .. . . . . . . 1,202 592 281 124 "E" .. . . . . . . 1,292 660 315 141 "F" .. . . . . . . 1,436 776 392 186

Total . . .. 1,182 581 272 121

. The most striking feature of ~his. table is the big difference ~etween the family groups m Melbourne and those of the provmmal and country areas, droppmg as low as 53 children per 1,000 m~n w~th dependent children (after .e~cluding. four from. the calculation) in the so-called residential areas of Melbourne, and nsmg as high as 186 m the definitely· country areas. of the State. Because of its low b~th rate, '!hich in 1938 was 14·48. per thousand, and Its consequent number of small families, the City of Melbourne, comprismg much more

• '•;;;;! l..J'b rary o _, I Dr!lal'h

19 ent otv,· tctorll!f

than half the population of the State, is no longer reproducing itself; and unless there is some alteration it will only maintain its population in the future by immigration. When certain of the cities in the metropolitan area have birth rates as low as 11 per 1,000, obviously it is quite impossible for those cities to maintain the population. As one witness said :-" Either they are cities where nobody goes to live until they are old and have already had their children elsewhere, or else there are very few babies being born there to the young people."

Although it is not the fnnction of this Committee to investigate the birth rate further than is necessary to assist the main purpose for which the Committee was appointed, nevertheless, your Committee is so impressed by the direful story told by an inspection of figures similar to those mentioned that it was felt that public attention should again be drawn to them.

Your Committee also had calculations made of the approximate number of children in Victoria on 30th June, 1939.

During the sixteen years preceding the census which was taken on 30th June, 1933, 539,429 children were born in Victoria. The number of children under sixteen years of age recorded at the census was 503,025 ; and this figure shows a reasonable relationship to the births of the preceding sixteen years.

During the sixteen years preceding 30th June, 1939, 508,022 children were born in Victoria; and if the 1933 ratio still held, 473,739 children under sixteen years of age would have been recorded if a census had been taken on 30th June, 1939. These figures show a fall of 5·8 per cent. in six years.

The corresponding figures for children under the age of fourteen years are :-Births, fourteen years to 30th June, 1933, 475,499; recorded under fourteen at 30th June 1933, 442,686. Births, fourteen years to 30th June, 1939, 435,984; estimated under fourteen as at 30th June, 1939, 405,900. In this case the fall in numbers is about 8 · 3 per cent.

PART IV.-CHILD ENDOWMENT IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

Values of Foreign Coinage.

13. In the following statements, before a proper estimate of the worth of the schemes mentioned can be assessed, attention must, of course, be paid to the values of the foreign coinage referred to.

These values on the 19th November, 1939, were as follows :-£1 sterling equals-24· 60 Belgian francs; 177·00 French francs; 77·50 Italian lire; 16·90 Swedish kronen; 4·47 Canadian dollars ; 4 · 04 American dollars ; 7 ·58 Dutch florin ; or 11 · 75* German reichmarks.

(*This was the rate at 25th August, 1939.)

A reduction of 25 per cent. in the above values gives the equivalent to £1 Australian.

FRANCE.

N aiure of Scheme.

14. Family allowances were first made a compulsory charge on employers in industry, commerce, the liberal professions, and agriculture in France on 11th March, 1932. For many ·years previously, according to the International Survey of Social Services (1933) of the International Labour Office of the League of Nations, family allowance schemes have operated.

They were first adopted by public administrations, railway companies, and mining under­takings. When the practice of equalization became more general the scheme spread rapidly to various branches of trade and industry.

. The first equalization funds were set up in 1918. In 1921, when they already numbered more than 60, they were grouped together to form a central committee for family allowances.

In 1923 it was made compulsory for State, departmental, and communal public works contractors to belong to an equalization fund approved by .the Minister of Labour.

11

Finally, an Act of 11th March, 1932, generalized the system offamily allowances by requiring all persons employing workers or salaried employees in industry, commerce, agriculture, and the liberal professions to belong to an equalization fund or a similar institution approved by the Ministry of Labour. By way of exception, an employer who has organized a special scheme of family allowances for his staff may on certain conditions be exempted and his scheme approved on the same footing as a collective fund. Public administrations are governed by special legis­lation concerning family allowances, and are not covered by the Act.

The application of the Act to industrial, commercial, and liberal occupations is governed by public administrative regulations dated 14th March, 1933. In pursuance of a decree of 12th August, 1933, the Act came into force on 1st October, 1933, for the following industries :­Mining, metallurgy, building and public works, textile industry, and chemical industry. Since then the application of the Act has been extended by stages to other industries.

Basis of Scheme.

15. The decree law of the 20th July, 1939, published in the Journal Ojficiel de la Republique Francaise of the 30th July, 1939, No. 178, constitutes a "code de la familee" (family code).

The aim of this decree is to increase the French birth rate by giving help to large families. It makes provision for various measures, viz. :-

(1) Bonuses on the birth of the first child if it is born within two years after celebration of the marriage.

(2) Child endowments for salary earners, for functionaires as well as for independent workers, and for the liberal, industrial, commercial, and agricultural professions, for metayers, &c.

(3) Loans for the settlement of young couples engaged in agricultural work (maximum 20,000 francs, approximately £A143), so that agricultural material or livestock can be acquired.

( 4) Aid for the family in the form of special endowments granted to the head of the family responsible for one or several children if he has not sufficient means to bring them up.

(5) A special endowment called "de la mere au foyer" (the mother at home). (6) A severe repression of' the offence of abortion, supervision of midwifery estab­

lishments, measures to bring about a decrease in infant mortality, reform of the legislation relative to adoptive legitimation.

(7) A more severe repression of offences against decency (manufacture, detention, sale, exhibition, &c. of all writings, drawings, posters, pictures, &c., of a pornographic character).

(8) More severe repression of the traffic in poisonous substances (stupefactives). (9) Organization of the teaching of demographic problems in all the schools.

(10) Fiscal provisions tending to reduce and, in some cases, suppress duties on inheri­tance and direct taxation for the benefit of large families.

(11) The increase of these same taxes in the case of bachelors, divorced persons, and widowers without children.

Finance.

16. The allowances are payable by the employers, whoever they may be-private individuals, firms, public services, municipalities, departments, State, &c. For the non-salaried the allowances are paid by the State.

In practice those who pay out allowances become affiliated to "Caisses de Compensation Agrees" (official compensation fund bureaux), to which they pay their contributions. The payment of allowances is made from these funds on behalf of the employer.

A national compensation fund is created, administered by a " Commission Superieurs a la Caisse Depots et Consignations" (a superior commission at the Government office where trust monies or funds are deposited for safe keeping). The common departments and the public, departmental, and communal offices must affiliate with the national compensation fund.

Any deficit in the national fund, as well as the financing of the measures provided for in the preceding paragraph, are met by the general resources of the State budget by means of different fiscal and other measures.

21

Period in Operation.

17. The foregoing provisions came into force in part on the 1st October, 1939, whilst the remainder will take effect as from the 1st January, 1940. Nothing can yet be said, therefore, about results.

Beneficiaries.

18. The following are eligible for Child Endowment :-Salaried persons, whatever their professions, functionaires, public service officials, independent employers, workers of the industrial, commercial, liberal, and agricultural professions, and metayers, as well as all those whose principal means of existence comes from their professional activity. Domestic staffs also benefit by the endowment.

Conditions of Payment.

19. Allowances become due from the birth of the second child (there is no allowance for a single child), and are paid : In direct line, to the father or mother, or failing them to the ascendant (male or female). In collateral line, to the brother or sister, uncle or aunt, to the adoptive parent or husband or wife of the said parent, to the persons who are in effective permanent charge of the legitimized child.

Allowances are payable for children below the age of compulsory school attendance (13 years). They are due until the child is 17 years of age if the child continues his studies, is placed in apprenticeship, or is ascertained to be incapable of doing any salaried work by reason of infirmity or chronic illness.

Allowances are a supplement to salary and are paid at the same time as the latter. They are paid to adoptive parents and to natural parents, and' therefore even to the unmarried mother if she fulfils certain conditions.

Rates of Allowances.

20. As previously stated, the allowance is due only on the birth of the second child.

The minimum rate of child endowment cannot be less than 10 per cent. of the average monthly wage in the department of an adult salaried person for the second dependent child, and 20 per cent. for the third child and each of the following children, viz. :-10 per cent. for two dependent children, and 30 per cent. for three dependent children with an increase of 20 per cent. per child after the third. For example :-If in a department the average wage is 1,000 francs, in the former case (two children) the allowance will be 100 francs (total wage 1,100 francs), and in the latter case (three children) the allowance will be 300 francs (total wage 1,300 francs).

Department in this connexion is equivalent to an English county or other geographical unit.

The figure of the average wage is fixed in each department either by the local commission on Child Endowments in the case of cities of more than 2,000 inhabitants, or by the departmental committee on Child Endowment in the case of localities numbering less than 2,000 inhabitants.

Wage Fixation.

21. It is obvious from the preceding that it is difficult to give the amount of an average salary in France. By way of indication the commencing salary in the public services in Paris for the subordinate staff (typists, office boys, customs employees) is 10,500 francs (£A75) per year. The commencing salary in Paris for a clerk in the :Ministry (public servant with University training and recruited by competition) is 14,000 francs (£A100) per year.

· The salaries of high officials of the Central Administrations, of the first President of the Court of Cassation, of the Attorney-General of that Court, of the Prefect of Police in Paris, of Ambassadors, &c., are at the most 150,000 francs (£A1,070) per year. To these basic salaries may be added various indemnities, fees for representation, &c.

Wages of public servants are fixed by the State.

In the case of companies subsidized by the Government wages are specifically fixed.

In industry, commerce, and agriculture salaries are fixed by collective contracts.

There is no wage fixation similar to the Wages Board system in Victoria. In practice collective contracts determine a. minimum or basic wage for either male or female workers.

n

22

Payment of Allowances. 22. Payme~ts are made through a compensation fund and a national compensation fund

which are supplied by those liable to the payment of allowances (employers), and in the last place, if necessary, by the resources of the State budget. ·

The share which it is estimated will fall to the State for the first year during which the new system will function is 1,450,000,000 francs (£Al0,300,000). The necessary funds will be provided by-(1) a special surtax for the heir who is aged at least 30 years, and has no children at the time that he inherits ; (2) a family compensation tax payable by bachelors of more than 30 years of age and childless couples ; and (3) an increase of the duties on the hecto-litre of pure alcohol used in the manufacture of liquor.

There is no income limit for any class of wage or salary earners. Professions not included in the scheme can contribute to the existing compensation fund or form special sections or special funds, as is the case for independent workers.

Objects and Results. 23. The decree, of the provisions of which a summary has just been given, is too recent

to permit of its results being appraised. A great number of its provisions, moreover, came into force only on the 1st February, 1940.

However, we can say that it was promulgated with a view to increasing the French birth­rate which, during the last 50 years, has decreased by half, particularly since the war of 1914-1918, which cost the life or health of millions of men. The public authorities, in full accord with the high Committee for Population, thought it indispensable to help large families from the material point of view and to protect the family unit from the moral point of view.

The application of the legislation relative to Child Endowment for the few years it has been operating has given satisfactory results to salaried persons in commerce and industry.

The decree of 20th July, 1939, essentially aims at extending the application of Child Endowment to the agricultural professions. It maintains in existence the compensation funds already functioning for Child Endowment, and, if necessary, allows for new ones.

The amount of the allowance is progressive ; it increases in proportion to the number of children. The amount of the contributions is fixed by the Compensations Funds Bureaux in proportion to the expenses borne by them in respect of the allowances which they pay.

lT.ALY.

Family Allowances. 24. Family allowances were first introduced into Italy in 1934. The creation of the

"National Institute for Family Allowances to Industrial Workers" followed the effect of the introduction of the 40-hour week in industry.

This Institute was financed equally by the employees and employers (1 per cent. of wages received by the employees and 1 per cent. of wages paid by the employer) for a 40-hour week, and 5 per cent. each for longer hours.

In 1936 the then family allowance was restricted to industrial workers, excluding artisans, and the 40-hour week provision was withdrawn. Furthermore, this new law affirmed the social interest of the State by contributing 0· 50 lire for every allowance paid by the workers.

The contributory basis was altered so that the employers paid 2· 5 per cent. whilst the employee's contribution of 1 per cent. remained unaltered.

Then followed in 1937 the establishment of the " National Institute for Family Allowances to Commercial Workers"; and later allowances were authorized to those engaged in banking and insurance.

In July, 1937, in accordance with the decision of the Fascist Grand Council of March, 1937, dealing with the question of demographic increment, provision for family allowances was generalized to include all groups of workers, including agriculture, home workers, domestic servants, wife, parents, and relatives to the third degree of workers, peasants, share farmers, &c., excluding private clerks earning a salary superior to 2,000 lire per month.

The rate of contribution and the form of administration of the fund was again modified by law on 17th June, 1937. .

23

The amount of family allowance is so regulated that it increases for every child according to the number of children that the beneficiary has. According to this graduation the weekly allowance paid to industrial workers is as follows :-For first child, 3 · 60 lire; second child, 4· 80 lire; third child, 6 lire, and the same amount for any other to follow. For clerks working in an industrial or agricultural concern-For first child, 4 · 80 lire ; second child, 6 lire; third child, 7·20 lire. For agricultural workers-For first child, 2·40 lire ; second child, 3 · 60 lire ; third child, 4 · 80 lire.

For commercial workers, insurance employees, dependants of professional and artist bodies the amount of the allowance is established by the collective agreement made by each group. The family allowance is not transferable or seizable except for payment of food-stuffs. The payments are made out of the funds created by the contributions of workers 1 per cent., owners 3 · 5 per cent. and the State flat rate of 0·10 lire for every daily allowance paid.

Agricultural employers contribute 0·40 lire per day of work for daily and seasonal workers; 10 lire for every permanent worker and share farmer ; 3 ·50 per cent. of salary paid to every employed clerk, and the State contribution is as mentioned before, O· 50 lire.

For other employees, banking and insurance, professional and artist bodies the contributory amount is fixed by the respective collective agreement of each group.

The family allowances have no relation to the fixing of wages, and are paid over and above the wage itself. The family allowance is paid to the head of the family, but the worker who has adopted children is also eligible for this benefit. The allowance is also paid to workers who have dependants-mother, sister, nephew--on account of death or abandonment by the parent or for permanent inability to work on the part of the father.

The children and dependants of employees already described, in order to obtain the family allowance, must not be over 18 years of age in case of a clerk, or over 14 years of age in other cases. This last age limit may be raised to sixteen years if the child is unable to work through infirmity, or if he or she is attending a professional school or an intermediate school of first grade.

The administration and payment of the allowance is centralized in the National Fascist Institute of Social Providence, which deals separately with the workers of industry, agriculture, and so on.

The disputes that may arise over the contributions and payment of allowances are dealt with by a special committee, and the decision of this committee may be opposed by appealing to the Ministry of Corporations and lastly to the Tribunal of Work.

to:-During the financial year ended 31st December, 1938, the family allowances paid amounted

Industry-686,100,810 lire (about £Al0,000,000). Agriculture-137,429,061 lire (about £A2,000,000). Commerce-65,830,000 lire (about £A950,000}. Banking and Insurance-35,000,000 lire (about £A500,000).

Child Endowment and Marriage Bonus for Workers in Private Concerns.

25. Child and marriage bonus~s were first instituted for the Government servants and dependants of semi-governmental institutions, and consist of a bonus in cash paid to official, clerical workers and manual workers when they marry and when a child is born. Later such benefits were extended by due provision in the respective collective agreements to the employees in banking, insurance, industry, and commerce, and are as follows:-

26. Banking and lnsurance.-All those workers are entitled to the marriage and child bonus who, at the date of marriage or birth of child, have seniority of service of at least three months with concerns duly represented by the Confederation of Banking and Insurance. The amount of such bonus is determined year by year by the banking and insurance se.ction of the Committee for Family Allowance.

This bonus is financed by the contributions of the employee to the family allowance, while the contribution of the employer to the same fund is used only to pay the family allowance.

The marriage bonus and the child bonus for every child born are paid either to one or both the parties to marriage if entitled as· workers in employment.

27. Industry.-Men and women workers in industrial concerns, artisans and co-operative workers when marrying are entitled to a period of eight day8 leave, and during that time receive a compensation equal to 80 hours of their hourly wages. The amount of such compensation is taken from the Family Allowance Fund. If, however, no funds are available for such a purpo~e the extra expense must be met by the employers.

The matrimonial leave cannot be considered as, or detracted from, the annual paid holiday to .which every worker is entitled, nor can it be taken as period notice for dismissal.

In the case of the birth of a child the woman worker has a right to leave work for six months, and during that time her position must be kept for her and will count for seniority rights as if she had been working all the time.

28. Oommerce.-A child bonus for the birth of a child is established for the workers of commerce. The amount is fixed every year by the Confederation of Workers and Owners, regard being taken of the available fund of the family allowance of commercial workers from which the bonus is paid.

For the year 1939 the amount was fixed at 300 lire per child born, and is payable for every child legally recognized. Male and female employees are entitled to the bonus if at the time of the birth of the child they have been employed by a concern for a continuous period of at least one month within the three months preceding the birth of the child. Shift workers, seasonal workers, apprentices, and daily workers are entitled to the bonus when it can be proved that they have worked in all at least 45 days in commercial concerns during the nine months preceding the birth of the child. The widow of an employee who died during the nine months preceding the birth of the child is also entitled to the bonus, provided he had at the time of death acquired the right to it as stated above.

BELGIUM.

Basis of Scheme. 29. The basis of the Belgian system is regulated by the law of 4th August, 1930, modified

and completed by Royal decree of 30th March, 1936. This decree provides that, with one exception, the voluntary compensation funds, the special funds, and the auxiliary fund provided by law will ensure that parents of children of school age will receive a daily allowance based on a rising scale as follows :-For first child, 40 centimes ; second child, 50 centimes ; third child 1 franc 25 centimes ; fourth child, 2 francs 60 centimes ; fifth and each subsequent child, 3 francs 80 centimes.

In the event of a rise in the general price index of retail prices for the whole country these minimum rates may be increased. For instance, if the index figure exceeds 700 the first three groups of children may be increased by 10 centimes each, and the remainder by 5 centimes. By providing similar rising scales it is possible, when the index figure exceeds 800, for the group to reach 60 centimes, 80 centimes, 1 franc 60 centimes, 2 francs 80 centimes, and 4 francs.

The law also provides for quarterly adjustments of allowances in much the same way as wages are adjusted here in Australia.

If in the course of a month a person works for at least 23 days the daily allowance is replaced by a monthly one, in the following manner :-For first child, 10 francs· second child, 12 francs 50 centimes ; third child, 32 francs ; fourth child, 65 francs ; fifth ~nd each subsequent child 95 francs.

There is a similar provision for cost-of-living increases as in the daily scale, the comparative figures being when the index figure stands at more than 800, 15 francs, 20 francs, 40 francs 70 francs, and 100 francs respectively. '

There is a Family Allowance Commission, and in certain circumstances its opinion is sought by the Government on certain of the foregoing increases. The opinion of the most representative organizations of employers and workers is also sought in some circumstances as well as the opinion of a body that has no counterpart-as yet, at all events-in any portio~ of the British Empire, viz., the Belgian League of Large Families.

Finance. 30. The necessary funds are furnished by-

(1) subscriptions according to the bases defined in the law; (2) a State contribution varying from 5 to 25 millions of francs · and (3) the product of the increase of 1 per cent. applied to the purch~e price of certain

goods originating in countries where the directors of concerns are not bound in execution of a law or of an Act, by some competent public authority to pay family allowances to members of their staff.

The articles governing the financial provisions are stated more fully in the regulations made under the law. -

I

25

Beneficiaries.

31. The children of all persons of Belgian nationality employed at any kind of work are subject to the law. It would appear that the children of persons not employed, unless incapacitated by accident or illness, are not eligible for benefits. The expression "day of work effectively performed " apparently excludes unemployed persons. In certain cases workers of foreign nationality can be treated as Belgians.

Conditions of Payment.

32. The allowance is payable on account of each child under fourteen years of age, but may be continued under certain conditions up to the age of eighteen years in favour of children who, whilst not engaged in any kind of lucrative work, regularly attend courses of professional or general instruction given during the day, as well as for the benefit of adolescents who are bound to their employers by an apprenticeship contract controlled by the Government.

Children who, in consequence of their physical or mental state, are incapable of following any profession can continue to benefit by family allowances without age limit while they are principally or exclusively dependent upon a person working for an employer subject to the law.

Allowances are payable to the worker concerned without any regard to his income. They are usually paid, however, by the compensation funds to the mother of the children or to the person actually in charge of them.

Allowances are paid separately and by the compensation fund. They are not supplementary to salaries or wages. They can be paid to a foster-father or to an unmarried mother if the child

. has been recognized by the foster-father.

Aim and Results. 33. The principal aim of the legislation has been to procure for the worker with a family

a.n addition to his wages to permit him to bring up his children so that, from the point of view of "standard of living," he will not be in an inferior position compared with those who have no children.

In this respect the benefits of the law are very perceptible for salary and wage earners, and particularly for those with large families, the ratio of allowances being progressive according to the number of children in each family.

Furthermore, it has been hoped that Parliament, by means of this social reform, would provide against a falling birth rate.

For the moment there are no statistics available which would permit the results obtained in this respect to be examined.

Statistical Information.

34. Latest available information at the end of the financial year 1936 is as follows :­(a) Number of workers (men and women) engaged by employers

affiliated with compensation funds . . . . . . 1,483,027 (b) Number of workers benefiting by family allowances 549,514 (c) Number of workers not receiving family allowances Unknowr.~. (d) Amount of family allowances liquidated . . . . 233,792,723 fr. 1~c. (e) Percentage of family allowances on the amount of wages paid 3 · 20 per cent.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

. 35. No system of Child Endowment or family allowances has been adopted by any State , Government in the United States. Under the influence of the "New Deal" propaganda a · .. quickening of public opinion in favour of remedial social and industrial legislation has been a

notable feature of American public life. The dynamic force has, undoubtedly, been the vigorous personality of President Roosevelt. fl_,ongress has implemented many of his schemes for social

·. · . the most notable of which is the Social Security Act 1935.

In its third Annual Report the Social Security Board recorded last year a notable development in both the extent and the effectiveness of its programme. The constitutionality of the Act was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in May, 1937. The report says that ".its scope relates to urgent needs of the nation as a· whole and of millions of its individual households ; and that the measures pro.vided by the Congress a:re basically sound and workable."

Millions of families participated in its benefits through-(1) old-age insurance, the administrative responsibility for which is lodged in the

Federal Government alone; (2) unemployment compensation, which is paid for by both State and Federal

Governments ; and (3) public assistance, which is also a joint Federal-State responsibility to­

(a) needy persons over 65 years; (b) needy blind persons; and (c) dependent children under the age of sixteen who have been deprived

of parental support.

In brief, this legislative venture on the part of the American Congress still leaves the United States several decades in the rear of social progress in Australia. The Social Security Board, however, has power to step out further afield in its paternal endeavours to protect those United States citizens who are in need.

It is not without possibility that some scheme of family allowance will be inaugurated through the Board in the proximate future. A land where the theory of individualism held such undoubted sway until quite recently is rapidly accommodating itself to the new Qrder of the ·"New Deal."

HoLLAND.

Basis of Scheme. 36. There is no general scheme of Child Endowment or family allowances in the Nether lands.

Schemes for public and private employees are governed by special laws and regulations and, as to private enterprise, by provisions of collective agreements. The regulations for Government officials and workmen are contained in the Royal decree of 30th December, 1933. In the 1938 session of the Netherlands Parliament a Bill was submitted by the Government providing for Child Endowment for all employees; the endowment for employees of public bodies being paid for out of the funds of these bodies, for employees of private enterprises from special funds contributed to by every employer and giving the scheme the character of insurance.

Finance. 37. Child Endowment is paid for by the employer (public body or private enterprise)

individually, and in some cases by empioyers' organizations. The new Bill provides for public bodies paying Child Endowment to their employees direct, and for private employers paying a. premium in co-ordinated common funds from which distributions, according to a schedule, will be made to their employees.

Beneficiaries. 38. A Royal decree was issued on 30th December, 1933, in which the maximum child

allowance was lowered to 216 florins per year. The Bill provides for an endowment for every employee with more than two children under the age of fifteen years ; allowances under Government decree or regulations of other public bodies remaining in force if more favorable to the employees.

Period in Operation. 39. No details are available but, in general, it can be stated that most schemes came

into force after 1919. In 1923 collective agreements embracing 26 per cent. of all employees working under such agreements provided for Child Endowments ; this percentage dropped to 16 per cent. in 1930, and rose again to 25 per cent. in 1936 to show another drop to 24 per cent. in 1937.

Conditions of Payment.

40. The Bill provides for an endo:vment payable for every child un~er fifteen years of age except the first two. Employees workmg under more favorable regulations of a public body will keep their present benefits.

The endowment is payable to the employee, i.e., normally the father. If the father is a wage earner or receives an endowment under any other scheme the mother, even when earning wages, will not be entitled to endowment.

At present endowments are payable as part of the wages. The Bill provides for the possibility of endowments being paid out of the special funds to be created (see under" Payment of Allowances," page 27) either through t~e intermediary of the employer or by the administrators of the fund to the employee direct.

Data as to the present condition of foster parents or unmarried mothers are not available The Bill does not provide for their. receiving endowments. •

27 Rates of Allowances.

41. The Bill provides for the following allowances per third and further child :-

· For Employees with a Wage of not more than-A.llowance per Working Day of-

Dally. Weekly. Monthly.

0.10 B. (3s. 4d.) i 4 fl. (lls. 4d.) 24 B. (£3 Ss.) lOO B. (£14 3s. 4d.) 0.15 fl. (5s. Id.) 6 fl. (17s.)

I 36 fi. (£5 2s.) 150 fl. (£21 5s.)

0. 20 fi. (6s. 8d.) 8 fl. (£2 2s. 8d.) 48 fl. (£6 16s.) 200 fl. (£28 6s. 8d.)

And 0·25 florin (Ss. 5d.) for employees with a wage of over these last-mentioned amounts.

Wage Fixation. 42. The figures for the '' average wage" in the Netherlands are not available as wages

vary greatly according to the nature and the location of the industry.

Wages of employees of public bodies are fixed by those bodies. Sometimes a committee on which employees are represented makes recommendations.

There is no minimum or basic wage, but naturally wages are superior to unemployment . allowances which, though varying greatly according to municipality and family circumstances, are generally superior to unemployment allowances in Australia.

Collective agreements are concluded by representatives of employers and employees (unions). At present Child Endowments are fixed or agreed upon as part of the wages.

Payment of Allowances. 43. At present all child allowances are paid by the employer, either public or private.

Some employers' associations have provided common funds for the equalization of allowance~:; between themselves.

The Bill provides for the possibility of actual paying out of endowments by the employers. However, private employers will be obliged to pay a uniform premium based upon pay-rolls, and fixed for the whole State. These contributions will have to be paid either to the State Insurance Institution (founded in connexion with compulsory insurance against accidents) or to trade associations (founded in connexion with compulsory health insurance). An equali­zation fund is to be created to collect surpluses and distribute these amongst those associations of which the accounts show a deficit.

The above-mentioned trade associations are directed by equal numbers of employers' and employees' representatives under supervision of the State Insurance Institution. The scheme of organization is to be ruled by regulations drafted by the trade associations themselves under supervision of the Minister for Social Affairs.

Limitations. 44. A present there is no specific age limit for Child Endowment, this limit lying between

the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. The Bill provides for a minimum age limit of fifteen years.

There is no income limit at present, nor is there any such stipulation in the Bill.

The only other limitation in the Billis an exclusion of the mother (if a wage-earner) from child allowances whenever the father receives an allowance either as a wage-earner or as an unemployed.

Objects and Results. 45. The object of present schemes and also of the Bill is to provide a larger income for

parents with families in order that adequate provision may be made for each unit, and to prevent economic factors having an influence on the birth rate.

Data regarding the influence of child allowances are not available, and such influence could hardly be traced. The birth rate in the Netherlands shows a steady decline since 1876 but for a short rise after the 1914-18 war. Since that war the rate has only been constant from 1927 to 1930 inclusive, which should rather be ascribed to general economic conditions than to the limited influence of Child Endowments, which latter influence has worked more or less evenly Since 1919.

28

Statistical Data.

46. On 1st June, 1937, 68,675 persons were employed by 2,457 enterprises under collective agreements providing for child allowances, being 24 per cent. of all employees working under such agreements. No data are available concerning persons employed under private agreements and by Government and public bodies, nor concerning the number of persons actually receiving allowances.

The amount of expenditure for family allowances is not available, nor the percentage of the allowances of the ·wages bill of the employers.

It has been calculated that the cost of Child Endowment under the Bill will amount to about 1 per cent. of the total wages bill of all employers.

SWEDEN.

47. In Sweden, as a result of a decision of the 1937 Riksdag, an extended form of assist~ ance has been introduced on behalf of necessitous children. To orphans, fatherless children, and the children of certain types of disabled persons assistance is granted out of the public funds in the form of a children's allowance. This allowance, which is graded on a local cost-of-living basis, as in the case of national pensions, amounts to 300, 360, and 420 kronen per annum for orphans. For the other groups of children the annual allowance is 240, 300, and 360 kronen respectively, subject to a certain reduction for each child where there are two or more children entitled to allowance in one family. For children under two years of age the allowance is increased by 60 kronen. The allowance is reduced according to the income of the supporter of the family, and is not payable after the child has completed his sixteenth year. If the child has any income other than which he earns himself such income is deducted from the allowance. Matters connected with children's allowances are dealt with by the Pensions Committee and the Pensions Board. The costs of the allowances are defrayed by the State and the Communes n the same proportions as are applied in the case of supplementary pensions.

GERMANY.

Basis of Scheme.

48. The most important regulations and laws concerning grants for children and families are the following :-

I. Laws on taxation-(i) The Income Tax law of 16th October, 1934, revised by the law for

changing the Income Tax law of 1st February, 1938. (ii) The Poll Tax law of 16th October, 1934, amended by Poll Tax law

of 20th November, 1937. (iii) Property Tax law of 16th October, 1934. (iv) Legacy Tax law of 16th October, 1934.

II. Decree of 15th September, 1935 regulating the grant of children's allowances to large families with executive decrees under special consideration of No. 7 Executive Decree of 13th March, 1938.

Ill. Federal wage regulation and other wage regulations. IV. The various social insurance laws and public welfare laws. V. Stipulations of various communities regarding special allowances.

The question regarding " provision of collective agreements " has been understood to mean collective agreements within certain vocational groups. Several vocational groups have in Germany come to such agreements. These are-panel doctors, the young doctors, and the pharmacists.

When referring to " staff regulations " it has been understood to mean such family benefits that have been conferred on employees by firms in commerce and industry.

Finances.

49. The financing of the schemes is regulated according to the manifold regulations and decrees mentiOned under the heading "Basis of Scheme" above. The funds for these children's allowances are derived partly from and additional tax-levy on the income of the unmarried, as well as from the returns of the marriage loans that have been repaid and of the returns of the Unemployment Insurance Funds. Other allowances are financed by contribution of the communities or firms.

-it:..,~.-~ ....... '..-

..r_, ..:'') 29 ' ~·,~;.:.2>0

'21)1 0/

Beneficiaries. l-/ct01'~ 50. The tax reductions or exemptions for children are granted in the case of all minors i!t'

who are living in the households of taxpayers. According to the poll tax of 20th November, 1937, the taxpayer with two minor children is conceded certain exemptions. These exemptions are also conferred in the case of children of full age and under 25 years as long as they are receiving vocational training at the expense of the taxpayer. Step-children, adopted and foster-children and their offspring receive like consideration.

Regarding the tax on assets, 10,000 rm. have been exempt from it since 1st January, 1935, for husband, wife, and each minor child.

Since 1934 exemptions have also been made with regard to legacy duty amounting to 30,000 rm. in the case of each child, and 10,000 rm. for each grandchild.

There are two categories of children's allowances granted according to the before-mentioned No. 7 Executive Decree of 13th March, 1938-the non-recurring allowances and the recurring allowances. These allowances are granted on condition that the parents are-(1) of German nationality and of German blood; and (2) in possession of civic rights and judging by their demeanour can be expected to be willing and fit to serve their country faithfully ; and where, by previous way of living, reputation, and social attitude of the parents, it may be assumed that the allowances will be used to the best effect.

If the parents are either divorced or one is dead it is sufficient that the stipulations under (1) are fulfilled or would have been fulfilled. The same refers to the father or an illegitimate child if the fatherhood has been unmistakenly proven. Step and adopted children are included if the stipulations under (1) apply to their parents by birth and if the person responsible for their maintenance actually shares this responsibility. Descendants of children, step-children, adopted and foster-children, and their descendants are also included if the person responsible for the maintenance of the family has been granted exemptions i:o. regard to his income liability on their account. Step-parents, adoptive, and foster-parents are granted the same benefits as parents.

Non-recurring allowances are granted to a family in indigent circumstances with more than four children under sixteen years of age.

Recurring allowances are granted to families with five or more children under sixteen . years of age whose annual income and that of their children does not amount to more than 8,000 · rm. and whose property does not exceed 50,000 rm. For every sixth and other eligible child the stipulated property may be exceeded by 10,000 rm. The property of the fathers of illegitimate children is not taken into account. Widows, divorced, and unmarried mothers having less than five children under sixteen years of age may be granted an allowance for one child. The same refers to persons entrusted with the care of or&,han children. Soldiers and civil servants and other persons employed in the Public Administration according to the" Labour Law of 23rd March, 1934, for Regulating the Work of the Public Administration" are not eligible for recurring children's allowances, because their wages include allowances for children.

· Educational benefits are granted to children that seem deserving of special educational advancement in the shape of benefits enabling them to attend intermediary and high schools, vocational schools, colleges, and universities. These benefits are granted regardless of the extent of family income, of the source of income, and age of the child applying for the benefit. Accordingly, the income may amount to more than 8,000 rm. yearly, and the child may be older than 21 years of age. These benefits may be granted alike to labourers, clerks, civil servants, peasants, craftsmen, tradesmen, or persons of any other calling.

Extended recurrent children's allowances are granted to families having three or more children under sixteen years of age. In addition to the stipulations mentioned under " Recurring Allowances" the income of the parents or other persons responsible for the maintenance of the children in the previous year must be at least one-third derived from wages, or pensions, life annuities, or the like, orpayments by social insurance funds or other public funds.

. Persons employed by the Public Administration, according to the "Law Regulating the Work of the Public Administration" receive extended recurring children's allowances for those children eligible for allowances on the basis of the wage scheme applicable to them.

Civil servants and employees of the Public Administration receive children's allowances .·for each child according to the "Federal Wages Regulation." These allowances are granted to all children under sixteen years and also to children over sixteen years and under 24 years of age who are undergoing vocational training. If, on account of military service or labour service, vocational training has been postponed the age limit can be extended to 26! years. These children's allowances are also granted to step-children, adopted and foster-children.

According to the wage Regulation " A " for employees of the Public Administration (in force since 1st April, 1938) children's allowances are granted, for instance, to women workers if they are solely responsible for the support of their illegitimate child, and also to male workers if their illegitimate child is a member of their household, or if in any other way they are responsible for the sole support of it. In both these latter cases, however, the worker must prove that he is the father of the child.

Social Insurance. 51. Social insurance takes the family status into consideration in granting additional

benefits as, for instance, the sick funds that grant sick relief also for the family members of the insured person without raising the scale of contributions. The workers and clerks insurance schemes grant orphan pensions and children's allowances graduated by a law of 21st December, 1937, according to the number of children. This law has also raised the age for children receiving aid during the period of education and vocational training from fifteen to eighteen years.

Public relief and unemployment insurance take cognizance of the family status by granting surplus benefits to the person on relief according to the number of children, if he is the head of the family.

Sponsorship for Large Families. 52. A number of communities assume the sponsorship for large families under certain

conditions. Berlin, for instance, sponsors families that are expecting third or fourth children if the children " are of good stock " ; and where the parents, according to all appearance and in view of the general condition of the children, are capable of the careful up-bringing of three or four children.

Period of Operation. 53. For several centuries the State had shown a tendency to take consideration of the

family status by making certain allowances. However, only since 1933 has the complete family (comprising at least four children) been given full recognition by instigating unified means of benefiting them with the aim of increasing the birth rate. The newer methods of taxation and the granting of children's allowances give proof of this.

Exact figures representing the amounts expended for this purpose cannot be stated, but · some exemplary figures can be quoted. For instance, from October to May, 1938, 560,000 families with small incomes have been granted non-recurrent allowances to the amount of 330 rm. on an average and to a total of 185,000,000 rm. Since September, 1937, recurrent children's allowances have been granted for 300,000 children; since October, 1937, for 500,000 children. Since April, 1938, recurrent allowances h\ve been granted to about 2l million children. In 1938 about 520 million rm. was expended for marriage loans, children's allowances, and educational beDefits.

Conditions of Payment. 54. The question as to whether the allowance is payable to each child below the age limit

has been already partly referred to. According to the various laws and regulations, the age limits vary. Some allowances are granted in respect of the first child, some of the second or third child. The allowances are partly granted through the revenue offices and others are paid as part of wages.

Regarding educational benefits reference is made to No. 7 Executive Decree of the law granting children's allowances. The school benefits, for all except vocational schools, are paid to the schools, and benefits granted for maintenance and school requisites are paid direct to the applicants. In the case of University students the benefits for tuition and maintenance are paid direct to them or to those responsible for the application. T]le situation with regard to foster parents and unmarried mothers has already been stated.

Rates of Allowances. 55. The rates of allowances and the different methods of payment vary according to the

several laws by which they are granted. Therefore, only certain types of allowances arc. described hereunder.

If, for instance, the monthly wage of an unmarried worker amounts to 200 rm. he would be subject to an income tax of 18·40 rm. If married and having to provide for two children his income tax would amount to 0·52 rm.

31

A married wage-earner is completely exempt from taxation if, for instance, he earns less than 260 rm. and supports four children, or if he earns less than 351 rm. and supports five children. The poll tax in Berlin for a worker, either unmarried or married without children, amounts to 42 rm. yearly. If he is married, however, and supports three children it only amounts to 14 rm. yearly. If he supports more than three children he is exempt from poll tax.

The non-recurring children's allowances that have been granted since October, 1935, amount on an average to about 320 rm. per family. Since these allowances are granted in order to improve housing and sleeping conditions they are awarded in the shape of purchase-s1ips. These may be used for buying furniture, household goods, bed-linen, and underclothing. On special application thP-y may be used also for the purpose .of settling on small holdings in the country. Ln.rge families who, in consequence of the new building projects of German cities, have the opportunity to move into larger quarters may also avail themselves of an allowance amounting to 100 rm. for each child under sixteen years of age for the purpose of furnishing the same. Credits are also provided for building homes.

The above-mentioned recurrent children's loans amount to 10 rm. monthly for every child after the fourth. This allowance may also be granted for children from the sixteenth to the twenty-first year if they are still attending school or are being trained for a paid profession, or if they are totally incapacitated and do not have an income of their own of at least 30 rm. a month.

The extended recurrent allowances amount to 10 rm. a month.

The educational benefits for high schools or intermediate schools may consist of only one or more benefits comprising tuition, benefits for maintenance of the child, or benefits to enable the purchase of school requisites. In cases of great need maintenance benefits can be granted to the maximum extent of 50 rm. a month if the child is living away from the home of the person responsible for its support on account of suitable means of education not being available in the vicinity of the home. Up to 30 rm. for the half-year may be granted for the purpose of providing school requisites. A maximum of 100 rm. for the half-year is paid towards the actual expenditure on attendance at a vocational school. In the case of university students a higher amount may be granted. Students of all these schools are granted 300 rm. for the school half-year if they are not residing in the household of the person responsible for their maintenance.

According to the federal wage regulation civil servants, salaried and wage workers employed by the Public Administration receive monthly children's benefits on the followring scale :-10 rm. for the first child, 20 rm. for the second child, 25 rm. each for the third and fourth children, and 30 rm. each for more than four children. The wage-earners employed by the Public Administration receive a recurring children's allowance to the amount of 10 rm. per month for the third and every following eligible child. The tederal wage regulation for the personnel of all banks, in force since 1st April, 1937, allows for an additional payment of 20 rm. monthly for each child under eighteen years of age.

As far as the social insurance funds (invalid and old-age insurance) are concerned, the child is taken into consideration in various ways. The yearly benefits for children, for instance, amount to 90 rm. for the first two children, and 120 rm. for every other child. The increased sum of 120 rm. continues to be granted even if the number of children falls be]ow three. The children's allowances granted by· public relief are scheduled according to the size of the community. In communities with more than 500,000 inhabitants each child receives about 12·97 rm. a month; in communities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants 10·78 rm. a month; and under 10,000 inhabitants 7·90 rm. a month.

Some cities assume the honorary patronship of the children of large families. Special allowances are granted and vary according to the communities. In Berlin, for instance, the gift amounts to 30 rm. a month during the first year of life and 20 rm. from two to fourteen years of age. Kiel, on application, grants rent benefits to eugenically healthy families. These benefits can be granted under certain conditions if there are four or more children in the family. Up to 180 rm. are granted for the fourth child, and for every other child up to 60 rm. More are granted, but in total must not exceed 480 rm. Another city grants 30 rm. as a gift of honour for the fourth child and every other child, independent of the social status of the family. ·

The collective agreement covering panel doctors, grants by means of its u family compensation fund" 50 rm. monthly for the third and every other c~ild of a member of its union as long as he is in receipt of at least 1,000 rm. a year as a panel doctor.

Children's allowances granted by various firms according to the works regulations also vary. Two examples will illustrate this fact:-

One firm grants every eugenically healthy worker the sum of 100 rm. immediately on the birth of the fourth and every subsequent child. Besides that the firm assumes the

· patronship of the child, cares for its education and training, and afterwards takes it into its employment.

Another firm pays the wife of each employee for each child born after 1st April, 1936, the sum of 100 rm. Every third and subsequent child born after 1st April, 1936, receives a savings-book, and on every birthday 50 rm. is entered. This savings fund may not be touched before the child is seventeen years of age. On the seventeenth birthday the savings-book is given to the owner or the parents according to discretion and can be disposed of at wilL

Objects and Results. 56. The aim of the financial benefits granted by state, communities, and private

enterprise is to increase the birth rate, and by means of provisions for livelihood to enable the parents to raise children.

The periodical issued by the Federal Statistical Bureau quotes the figures for births in a paper dealing with the year 1936. In Germany, including the Saar, there were 892,800 legitimate births in 1933. In 1934 there were 1,125,500; in 1935 1,195,300; and in 1936 1,210,000 births. In 1937, according to a preliminary estimate, about 1,207,000 legitimate children have been born, which is 314,000 more than in 1933.

PART V .-CHILD ENDOWMENT IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS.

NEW ZEALAND.

Nature of Scheme.

57. In the British Commonwealth of Nations New Zealand alone has a compulsory scheme of Child Endowment comparing with the European examples we have described. Australia has two partial schemes (both of which are compulsory). These are explained in Part VI. of this Report.

The New Zealand scheme was introduced by the Family Allowances Act of 1926, which operated from the 1st April, 1927, the necessary finance being obtained from the Consolidated Fund. The allowance was payable to families of three or more children, and when first introduced it was stipulated that the total of income and allowances from all sources should not be more than £4 weekly, increased by 2s. a week for each eligible child. There has not been much change in the legislation since the first enactment, except that during the depression period the exempted income was reduced, and. from the 28th April, 1931, by virtue of section 17 of the Finance Act of that year, the exemptiOn was lowered to £3 12s. weekly. A further cut was necessitated by the National Expenditure Adjustment Act of 1932 and from the 1st April, 1932, this exemption was again lowered to £3 5s. weekly.

The family Allowance Amendment Act of 1936 reinstated the former provisions from the 1st July of that year, and the exemption was placed at the original rate of £4 weekly.

33

CO'I'Ulitions prescribed by the Family Allowances Act 1926.

58. The principal conditions laid down in the Act prescribe that :-(1) the allowance may be paid in respect of a child totally incapacitated by reason

of any physical or mental defect notwithstanding that such child may have attained the age of fifteen years;

(2) the allowance may be paid in respect of any child not being a member of the applicant's family, but maintained by him as if it were a member of his family;

(3) save in exceptional cases allowances shall be paid to the wife of the applicant in respect of whose children such allowances are payable. In such exceptional cases the allowances may be paid to the applicant or to any reputable person for the benefit of the children ;

(4) no allowance shall be paid unless the applicant and, in cases where the allowance is made payable to the wife, the wife of the applicant has been permanently resident in New Zealand for not less than one year, and the children have also been resident for the same period or have been born in New Zealand;

(5) except with Ministerial approval no alien or Asiatic may be paid the allowance, and the Commissioner may, by direction of the Minister, refuse to grant an allowance to persons of notoriously bad character or to persons who have by offences or misconduct dishonoured themselves in the public esteem ;

(6) all moneys shall be expended exclusively towards the maintenance of dependent children;

(7) in no case can the allowance be assigned or charged or pass to any person by operation of the law;

(8) every person guilty of certain offences against the Act is liable to a fine of £100, or to twelve months imprisonment ;

(9) the moneys payable under the Act shall be payable out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation than the Act;

(10) the Governor-General in Council may make regulations under the Act; and (11) the allowance shall be payable at the rate of 2s. weekly for each child in excess

of two under the age of fifteen years, but illegitimate children were expressly excluded from the benefit.

The Family Allowance Act was administered by the Pensions Department, and payments were made by monthly instalments at the post offices throughout the Dominion.

Effect of Child Endowment on Family Allowances. 59. The legislation was not introduced with the specific idea of increasing the birth rate,

and was actually only intended as a means of assisting in the maintenance of the existent larger families.

There is insufficient data on which to base a reasoned opinion as to the effects of this scheme, according to the Commissioner of the Social Security Department, Wellington, and without a detailed study he could not venture an opinion as to the social or economic effect which followed the establishment of the scheme. He further states that, in view of the fact that the families affected were those on the lower wage levels, it would seem that the additional income received by way of family allowance must undoubtedly have had some effect on the health and well-being of the children by assisting in the provision of additional food and clothing which could not otherwise have been provided; but the general effect, of course, would depend on domestic arrangement~"> and the efficiency in the management of the household.

Statistical I njormation. 60. Statistical information is provided in a comparative statement showing the number

of family allowances, their annual value, and the total payments in respect of them for the years 1936-37 and 1937-38, and which is shown hereunder:- .

Year. Number. Annual Value. Total Payments.

£ £ 1936-37 . . . . .. 9,515 125,702 130,730

1937-38 . . .. .. I 6,853 94,168 106,402

As new legislation came into force this year increasing the weekly allowance for each eligible child, the foregoipg figures will lose much of their r~lative value.

liUL-8 J ,;

84

Social Security Act.

61. The existing Family Allowances Act has been replaced by the Family Benefits section of the Social Security Act, which operated from the 1st April, 1939. The general provisions of the former legislation have been retained, and the only material alteration is that there has been a widening of the scope of this legislation by increasing the exempted income to £5 weekly and paying 4s. per week for each child in excess of two. Actually the benefits, as they are now called, are payable until the child reaches the age of sixteen years.

In passing, it might be observed, in the words of the New Zealand Prime Minister, "that in the Social Security Act an attempt has been made for the first time to provide, as generously as possible, for all persons who have been deprived of the power to obtain a reasonable livelihood through age, illness, unemployment, widowhood, or other misfortune. It is an advance towards the ideal of universal security." The benefits provided are greater than those outlined in the scheme of national insurance in the Federal Parliament last year, and cover nearly every phase of social security. The whole scheme is financed by a tax of Is. in the £1 on all salaries, wages, and other income. This tax superseded the emergency unemployment tax of Sd. in the £1.

GREAT BRITAIN.

62. There are no legislative or other provisions under which family allowances are paid generally in this country. The work-people are comparatively well organized, and wages on the basis of payment for work done are largely settled by collective agreements· between organizations of employers and of work-people. ·

During and since the 1914--18 war proposals and experiments in the practice of supple­menting the wages of the worker by special allowances for his dependants have from time to time attracted some degree of attention.

The question of family allowances was considered in 1927 by the Joint Committee of the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party on the living wage. The Committee found itself unable to make any definite recommendation on the question of family allowances. Subsequently the matter was referred back to it. A report favouring the early establishment of a system of family allowances was carried by a majority. The majority and minority reports were considered by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress. The unanimous view of the Joint Committee on the living wage, that if any scheme of family allowances was adopted it should be financed entirely out of direct taxation was endorsed, but there was much discussion and divergence of view on the main question. Finally the General Council of the Trades Union Congress decided by a majority to adopt the minority report, which recommended that before any decision on family allowances was taken a considerable group of social services for the benefit of children should be provided out of public funds.

The General Council's report on this subject was accepted by the 1930 Trades Union Congress after a long debate showing much divergence of view among the delegates.

In rejecting the proposal the Trades Union Congress seems to have had in mind that it wou}d militate against the extension of social services ; that it would tend to weaken the Trades Union movement, the activities of which should be employed on behalf of the workers as a whole and not on behalf of particular classes; and that the payment of family allowances would lead to wage rates being based on the single unit. There appears to have been no discussion of the subject by the Trades Union movement since 1930.

CANADA.

Basis of Schemes.

63. In seven of the nine Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) assistance is provided under provincial statutes. Family allowances are paid only in the form of a pension to a widow with children, or in some cases to a mother (whose husband is unable for some reason to contribute to their support), as long as she continued to reside in the Province. In New Brunswick the Mothers' Allowance Act 1930 has not been proclaimed in force.

l"he l..ib ~"ary

'p? 35 '-~1ia IJ7el7t Otv,.

Finance. 'ctorlct 64. In Alberta until 1936, in Ontario until 1937, and in British Columbia from 1933 to

1937 inclusive the municipalities bore one-half the cost of the mothers' allowances, the remainder being contributed by the provincial Governments. In 1936 the share chargeable to the Alberta municipalities was reduced to one-quarter, and from 1937 in British Columbia and Ontario, as in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan since the passage of the Acts, and in British Columbia prior to 1933, the provincial Governments have borne the entire cost. In Manitoba municipalities have not contributed to the scheme since 1931, but the Act enables the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to authorize the municipal Commissioner, as he deems just, to recoup from the municipalities the whole or part of the amount spent.

Beneficiaries. 65. In all the provinces the Act applies to mothers of two or more children, but in some

cases allowances are payable in respect of one child. In Quebec only the mothers of two children under sixteen are eligible. In British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan the mother of one child under sixteen and in Alberta the mother of a girl under sixteen or a boy under fifteen may be granted an allowance. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the mother of one child under sixteen is eligible only if she is herself an invalid or if she has residing with her an invalid child over sixteen who is incapable of self-support. In Manitoba the allowance is not paid in respect of an only child or where there is only one child under fifteen unless the mother is confined to a hospital for mental diseases or is in a state of continuous ill-health which does not respond to treatment, is pregnant, or is physically handicapped so as to be unable to provide for the child's maintenance, or there is in the family a child fifteen years of age or over who is mentally or physically incapacitated.

In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec allowances are paid to widows only. In the other provinces the wife of an inmate of a mental hospital is also eligible. Alberta, Britibh Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario schemes include also deserted wives. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario provide for the wife of a man who is so physically incapacitated that he cannot support his family. In 1926 the Alberta law was amended to include the wife of a physically disabled man, but the amendment has not been put into force. Divorced wives unable to get support for children from husbands are also eligible in British Columbia. British Columbia and Saskatchewan authorize an allowanee to the wife of an inmate of a penitentiary.

Rates of Allowances. 66. Alberta .. -No definite scale adhered to, as each case is decided according to

circumstances. Authorities try to keep to the following maxima :--One child, $25 per month ; two children, $35; three children, $40; four children, $45; five children, $50.

British Columbia. -Maximum -Mother and one child, $42 ·50 per month; each additional child, $7 ·50 ; total1y invalid husband, $7 ·50.

Manitoba.-Maximum, excluding allowance for winter fuel---One adult and (a) two children, $50 per month; (b) three children, $60; (c) four children, $65; (d) five children, $76; (e) six children, $83; (f) seven children, $89. Where the father is in the home the maximum may be increased.

Nova Scotia.-Maximum-$60 per month.

Ontario.-Maximum-Mother and one child-Towns of 50,000 population or over, $35 per month ; towns of 5,000 to 50,000, $30 ; rural areas, $25 ; each additional child, $5.

Quebec.-Maximum-$60 per month ; woman and two dependent children under 16, $40 ; each additional child, $5.

Saskatchewan.-Maximum-$8 for one child, and $4 for each additional child up to $44.

Limitations. 67. The maximum age of children for whom benefit is payable is sixteen years in British

Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. In Alberta it is sixteen for girls and fifteen for boys, while in Manitoba it is fourteen except for invalid children.

The Acts in all the provinces except Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan provide that the maximum income or assets ~hich the beneficiary may have are to be fixed by regulation.

'

'

36

Latest available statistics are as follows:-

Province. Fiscal Yea.r. Number of Ass !Bred Benellt Paid. Faml:He&. Children.

$

Alberta .. . . . . 1936-37 2,319 5,172 575,508 British Columbia . . .. 1936-37 1,567 3,191 682,588 Manitoba . . . . .. 1936-37 1,141 3,271 445,549 Nova Scotia .. . . .. 1936-37 1,260 3,682 389,212 Ontario . . . . .. 1936-37 12,856 28,700 4,582,524 Saskatchewan .. . . 1938-39 2,958 7,487 482,411

SouTH AFRICA.

Basis of Scheme. 68. The system of payment of children's maintenance grants is governed by the

Children's Act 1937 (No. 31), section 84 (1) of which provides that the Minister may, out of moneys voted by Parliament and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, make grants-in-aid towards the maintenance of any child by any person in whose custody the child has been placed under this Act or by its parent or guardian.

There is no law or scheme which provides for the payment of family allowances.

Finance. 69. The funds are provided from public revenue, the requisite amount being voted by

Parliament annually. Beneficiaries.

70. Grants-in-aid may be made in respect of children-(a) who, as the result of the death of both parents, have no means of subsistence; (b) whose mother· is unmarried or a widow with insufficient means to provide for

them, provided that in the case of the unmarried mother effective steps to compel the father to maintain the children cannot be taken ;

(c) whose parents are legally separated or divorced or whose father or mother is living apart from them, provided that in every such case effective steps to compel the father or mother to maintain the children cannot be taken ;

(d) whose father or mother is undergoing a long term of imprisonment, of which there is at least six months to be served, or is an inmate of some other institution for a similar period, as a result of which their mother or father has insufficient means to provide for them ;

(e) whose father is permanently unfit for remunerative employment or, being an old-age pensioner, has no income other than his pension; and

(f) who, for some reason or other, have to be removed from the custody of their parents or guardians to be placed with foster-parents, provided that in any case in which the removal to foster-parents care is ordered consideration to be given to the practicability of making a contribution order against the respective parent or guardian.

Period in Operation. 71. The present system is the outcome of legislation first contained in the Children's

Protection Act No. 25 of 1913 as amended by Act No. 26 of 1921, and grants have been paid since the beginning of the year 1921. There has been very little alteration in the basis of the scheme since it was first brought into operation.

Conditions of Payment. 72. The allowance

(a) payable in respect of each European child up to the end of the calendar year in which it reaches the age of sixteen years and in respect of each non-European child up to the end of the calendar year in which it reaches the age of fourteen years ;

(b) payable either to .the mother or persons to whose custody the child is committed in terms of section 29 of Act No. 31 of 1937, e.g., relative or guardian, as may be decided;

(~) paid separately and not as part _of wages; and (d) also payable to such foster-parents as are selected by the Child ·welfare Society

concerned and to unmarried mothers, as the case may be.

37

Payment of Allowances. 73. Allowances are paid by the State. The actual payment of grants is in some cases

effected directly by the local magistrate, and in other cases through the medium of child welfare societies, under direct authority in each case from the Department of Social Welfare.

Objects and Results. 7 4. The object of the scheme was to provide assistance for necessitous families with

dependent children, and was expressly intended for the maintenance of such children only, and not to provide a larger income for parents with a view to provision for the sustenance of each unit of such families.

The result of the scheme has been to enable members of families in poor circumstances to maintain the children of such families at a reasonable standard of living, and no data is available to state what effect the system has had on the birth rate.

PART VI.-CHILD ENDOWMENT IN AUSTRALIA.

THE CoMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE.

75. A scheme of Child Endowment exists in the Public Service of the Commonwealth of Australia. It commenced in November, 1920, and was the first authoritative scheme of its kind in the Commonwealth. For each child £13 per annum was added to the salary of every officer having dependent children under the age of fourteen years, and the allowance was made payable to all officers in receipt of less than £500 per annum ; but the total remuneration of those affected was not allowed to exceed £500. In addition, an increase in the basic wage was made. When in 1923 a request was made by the Postal Electricians Union for an improved determination the arbitrator (the officer appointed to adjudicate. on all claims concerning Commonwealth Public Service conditions) used the occasion for a general review of the basic wage and child endowment. His conclusions may be read in the Commonwealth Public Service Arbitration Report, Vol. 3, in Determination No. 10 of 1923, and they state that Child Endowment virtually amounted to a wage payment, and that there was no reason why the allowance should be paid in addition to a wage which he otherwise thought reasonable and fair. However, his investigations and personal experience had inwressed him with the value of Child Endowment to the service, and he was loth to abolish it. He consequently devised a method by which the endowment could be paid as an integral part of the salaries without extra cost to the Government. This method hinged upon his decision that a further increase in the basic wage, more in accordance with that of the Federal Arbitration Court, was warranted, and that this wage should be £205 per annum.

His investigations had shown that there was · 86 of a child (if such is possible) to every male adult in the Commonwealth service, and the method entailed an all-round reduction in the new basic rate by · 86 of £13. This should have been about £11 3s., but instead a deduction of £10 was effected, making the basic rate £195. Since the new basic wage of £205 was never paid, and £195 approxir:tated to the ex~sting wag~, Child E:r;dowment w~s included as an integral part of wages without any practical reductiOn of salanes to make 1t up.

Actually, there was a very big difference in principle between the 1920 arrangement and that of 1923. Under the former Child Endowment was a direct addition to existing wages, and involved an extra payment by the Government ; under the latter the Public Service wages fund was made the venue of the payment or, in other words, the burden of the payment was transferred from employers to the employees.

The 1923 practice still obtains, i.e., an annual reduction, which varies according to the requirements of Child Endowment, is m~e in salarie.s. The amount is now arrived at by dividing the total cost of the endowment m the precedmg year by the number of male adults, and the deduction has varied from £10 to £12 per annum ; but it is now practically stabilized at £12, because of the introduction of an automatic cost-of-living adjustment.

In 1927 the arbitrator decided to extend the maximum salary governing eligibility to £600, for reasons which are set out in DBtermination No. 47 of 1926, Commonwealth Public Service Arbitration Report.

The principal reasons were-( a) the cost of living adjustments which had been introduced applied to salaries up to £600 per annum; (b) the anomalies in the existing system whereby many officers with excellent claims for the payment of the allowance were unfairly treated because of too low a salary limit; (c) the fact that every officer contributing to the fund should be eligible to receive its benefits, although some income limit was desirable; and (d) an extension to £600 would cover nearly every officer with dependent children under the age limit which had been fixed.

This determination was disallowed by the Senate in pursuance of its powers under the Commonwealth Arbitration (Public Service) Act upon the ground that a Royal Commission had just been appointed to investigate national Child Endowment, and it was not considered wise to acquiesce in a judicial pronouncement on the matter in the circumstances.

Since this date there has not been any material alteration to the schemes, which even remained unaffected by the salary reductions imposed by the Financial Emergency Acts of 1931. The basic wage for the service in January, 1938, was £216, less the deduction of £12 for Child Endowment or a net amount of £204 per annum.

For the financial year ended 30th June, 1938, the total sum paid in Child Endowment was £255,073, covering 22,953 public servants.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

76. As in other countries, the first official moves to create Child Endowment in New South Wales sprang from an endeavour to better distribute the so-called wages fund, following upon suggestions for big increases in the general level of wages. In 1919 the Industrial Commission of New South Wales proposed increasing the basic rate for the State from £3 per week to £3 17s. per week. Naturally, such an increase as 17s. per week to all workers employed under State awards caused consternation amongst the employers, and the Holman Government introduced family endowment legislation in order to distribute the increase in what it considered was a fairer manner amongst employees. Incidentally, the Bill tended to lessen the burden to industry of the heavy increases, since, although Ss. 6d. was to be granted for each child under fourteen years (the allowance to cease at incomes of £300), the original basic rate of £3 was to be retained. It was alleged that the average number of children under fourteen years per adult employee was 1· 6, and that the average wage in future would be about £3 10s. or £3 lls. instead of £3 17s.

The Bill was opposed by the employees because it was felt to be a method of defeating the intention of the new award; and, suprisingly enough, it was also opposed by the employers, mainly because it introduced a new principle, the ultimate effects of which could not be clearly seen. It passed through the Legislative Assembly, but was defeated in the Legislative Council on 27th November, 1919.

Other fruitless attempts were made to have the subject revived, but it was not until nearly eight years later that the Lang Government-this time with the support of a majority of the employees-succeeded in placing the Family Endowment Act on the Statute Book, a move which also followed a report of the local Industrial Commission suggesting increases in the general wage level.

The system determined by this Act has been in operation since 23rd July, 1927. The provisions of the legislation apply, not merely to the children of wage and salary earners, but also to the children of all others whose incomes are below the prescribed limit. The limit of income is obtained by taking the State basic wage which, since December, 1929, has been based on the requirements of a man, his wife, and one child, and adding to it the sum of £13 for each dependent child, not taking into account one child which, of course, is supposed to be covered by the basic wage. Persons whose incomes are within this range may secure the family allowance for an amount not exceeding this maximum. The rate of the allowance is 5s. per week in respect of each dependent child under fourteen years of age, and payments ma.y be continued to the age of sixteen years if the child is incapacitated. This amount of 5s. may be reduced in accordance with the maximum family income provisions. The payments are made to the mothers of the children, except under special circumstances, and there is a residence qualifica.tion of two years in the State immedia.tely preceding the date of the claim, but this does not apply in the case of children under two years of age who were born in the State. Children in charitable institutions come under the system; but those excluded include illegitimate children for whom pensions are payable under any State or Federal Act, except the \Var Pensions Act, chilrlren for whom the Commonwealth Government pays family allowances, and children of alien fatll'~rs, unless born in Australia. The Commissioner of Family Endowment may include illegitimate children if special circumstances are shown. The assessment of the family income includes workers' compensation payments and 5 per cent. of real or personal

., ,0 ~? .... ,'l,·

~/}-;"" 00 ~~0

. /ctoi'A property (excepting the claimant's residence), and excludes sick pay and funeral benefits from it' any society, lump sum payments for workers' compensation, or superannuation or gratuity; earnings of children under fourteen years of age ; earnings of the mother from casual emplvyment ; earnings from overtime up to £26; money received from insurance policies ; and the amount expended in the production of income in case of non-wage and salary earners. When the Family Endowment Act was enacted in 1927 all employers, including the Crown, were required to pay into the Family Endowment Fund a contribution equal to 3 per cent. of the total payments to employees in the form of wages, salaries, commission, &c. (including an amount of £1 a week, which was added to the wages of all employees who received board and lodging in addition to wages). The amount of this tax was reduced by 10 per cent. in the case of wages paid to workers under Federal awards, and there were various other qualifications, such as an exemption for employers whose annual wages bill was less than £150. The Government claimed justification for this taxation because of the report of the State Arbitration authority to the effect that the basic wage was insufficient for the support of the family unit of man, wife, and two children for which it was intended and to whom it had been supposed to do justice for thirteen years.

This tax was abolished on 31st December, 1933, and the payments are now made out of consolidated revenue. The official statistics show that the cost to the State of the scheme in 1932-33 had risen to £2,105,659, or 16s. 3d. per head of the population, for 69,571 claims. In 1936-37 the cost had fallen to £1,595,183, or Us. lld. per head of the population, for 53,093 claims.

The number of (mdowable children, which in 1933 averaged 2 · 23 per claim, in 1937 averaged 2·28, a point which may have some significance.

Actualiy, the State basic wage as shown was increased from £4 4s. to £4 5s. just prior to the commencement of allowances, and the family unit reduced to two persons, man and wife, from the original four; but in 1929 the unit was increased to three persons, and one child excluded from the scheme.

PART VII.-CONCLUSIONS DRAWN BY THE CO:VIMITTEE. 77. From the various statements made in evidence, some of which have been included

in the preceding sections, the members of your Committee have reached conclusions which appear to be obvious. The fact that the fixation of wages in this State is in the hands of various authorities, such as the Commonwealth Arbitration Court or Wages Boards, and that a considerable number of family bread-winners receive wages which are not fixed by any particular method, excepting perhaps the law of supply and demand, makes it difficult to obtain precise figures indicating the exact position of our citizens in this regard. Excepting in the manner . shown in earlier parts of this report, your Committee h3t8 been unable to ascertain whether the ruling wages in selected industries or pursuits are adequate or inadequate to provide for the needs of married persons with one, two, or three children. Your Committee has also pointed out that the State tribunals or Wages Boards generally work on the assumption, in arranging wage scales, that the basic wage should provide for the reasonable needs of a five-unit family, i.e., man, wife, and three children. ·whether this be so or not, all the evidence heard tends to show that persons of small incomes, that is; say less than £5 per week, find themselves facing grave difficulties in attempting to maintain and properly care for families of more than three children. In the case of persons with large families receiving an even higher income than this these difficulties are still apparent ; while for such persons receiving sma11er incomes, as those on sustenance or doing intermittent work, the position is a desperate one. The evidence of this was the extremely large number of cases of malnutrition quoted to the Committee by various witnesses. Many expert witnesses had no hesitation in affirming the existence of a considerable degree of malnutrition in the community, and it appears that the cause of this is twofold­firstly, the provision of improper food, mostly occasioned by lack of knowledge on the part of parents; and secondly, improper food with an insufficient supply of food, each or both being the result of inadequate income. From time to time stress has been laid upon the former cause as being the principal factor in malnutrition, but the view of the Committee is that lack ot necessary income is at least as important in its effects. The Committee's attention was drawn to the fact that mothers, in an endeavour to make wages go as far as possible, frequently satisfy the hunger of their children by providing food which does not nourish sufficiently but is cheap enough to enable them to purchase it. From one cause or the other, therefore, there is a growth of malnutrition in the State which is disquieting, since an undernourished community is a

community which posses~es all the other undesirable physical and moral traits which are ~he natural products of such a condition. But, apart from this feature, there are others which prompt your Committee to report that special assistance should be given to those paren~s who are struggling to maintain large families upon incomes which were never meant to provide for more than small families, even if the best view of things is taken.

78. The greatest need of this country is population, and it is not unreasonable to suggest that those who are doing their duty in this regard should receive suitable recognition from the State. Our wage-fixation system does not give any such recognition, but rather indirec~ly penalizes the family breadwinner since lack of elasticity in wages makes every additional child beyond the first two or three just another :financial burden. The recognition by the State of the family responsibilities of parents is in consequence a matter of elementary justice. Not only is a financial penalty involved, but unless there are exceptional circumstances present the children of poor parents who have a large family cannot have the same opportunities in life as are possessed by other children. Such recognition would also create a better moral tone in the community since much of the incentive to evil-doing would be lost, and, since it would be a positive way of checking poverty, expenditure which is at present incurred by the State and its people for various charitable objects would be minimized. Because of the inevitable effects of under-nourishment amongst a considerable section of the people, it is not unreasonable to suggest that it would probably mean an improvement in the physique of our future citizens. Nor is it unreasonable to suggest that a properly graduated scheme of family allowances would probably assist in some degree to improve the birth rate. It is true that schemes which provide for the payment of family allowances on a fiat-rate basis, such as that in existence in New South Wales, do not appear to have had any marked effect on the birth rate; but, on the other hand, after inquiry by sociologists and others in various European countries, schemes providing for graduated payments have been established. Most of these schemes partly but definitely owe their origin to an attempt to better the birth rate in the country concerned. In this connexion your Committee views the problem of family endowment as a business executive would view one of the problems of modern industry. In other words, if in modern industry it is found to be necessary to replace material, equipment, machinery, &c., a fund is drawn upon which has been set aside for the purpose. It is much more necessary to replace our human capital than the other, and the provision of the fund to do this is also much more necessary than many other provisions which the State now make.

79. Your Committee is of the opinion that Child Endowment is more properly a function of the Commonwealth Government than of the State Government, and that the head of the Government in Victoria should seize the first available opportunity of bringing this matter under the attention of the Commonwealth Government. But while recognizing this to be the case, the Committee is also decidedly of the opinion that, pending some such Commonwealth action, the State Government should undertake a scheme on the lines submitted in the next Part of this report.

80. Certain of the evidence presented to your Committee indicated that an amount of 10s. a week for each child of a family for which the present income was insufficient for proper maintenance would be an ideal payment to make to those concerned. Some such objective should be aimed at in any scheme which is created, but because of the manifest difficulties which at present would confront efforts in the direction of such a scheme as this, a commencement should be made on a much more modest basis. The objective of 10s. a week is mentioned only as a suggestion of the degree of comfort under existing circumstances to which the members of a large family are entitled. Therefore, as a commencement a scheme as recommended in Part VIII. should be inaugurated.

81. It is undesirable to create a statutory income limit for applicants ; and notwith· standing the possibilities of abuse, the Commissioner referred to in the Committee's recommen­dations should be given discretionary powers in this regard.

82. Some comment was made by witnesses as to other methods of providing Child Endow­ment; but again, notw:ithstanding the possibilities of abuse, your Committee is firmly of the opinion that the payments should be made at the same time as wages or salaries are being paid by employers. Although there are difficulties in this connexion they are not insurmountable, and such a system, with the exceptions provided by the weaknesses of human nature, would enable the allowances to be expended for the benefit of the children by those who are undoubtedly the best judges of what such benefits should be, namely, the parents.

41

PART VIII.-RECOMMENDATIONS.

83. In view of the foregoing, your Committee recommends:-(a) That a scheme of Child Endowment or family allowances be commenced in

Victoria. (b) That, as a commencement, a scheme be inaugurated which will provide for the

payment of allowances for the children under the age of fourteen years of large families, the parents of which are British subjects, commencing with the fourth child ; that is, an allowance would not be paid for families consisting of one, two, or three children, and in the calculation ot allowances to families of four or more children three children of the familv would not be taken into consideration. ·

(c) That payments be made as follows :--4th child 4s. per week-Total for family 4s. 5th , 5s. , , , , , 9s. 6th , 6s. , , , , , 15s. 7th , 7s. , , , , , 22s. 8th , Ss. , , , , , 30s.

Plus Ss. per week for the 9th and each additional child in the family. (d) That the scheme be administered by a Child Endowment Commissioner, to whom

application on a prescribed form would be made by those desiring an allowance or allowances.

(e) That the Commissioner be empowered to extend the age limit from fourteen years to sixteen years if certain circumstances, such as educational ability enabling a child to continue at school beyond the ordinary school-leaving age, were proved.

(f) That a statutory income limit for applicants should not be created, but that the Commissioner be given discretionary powers in this regard.

(g) That payments be made at the same time as wages or salaries are being paid by employers, but that the Commissioner be given power to arrange other methods of payment in cases where he deems it desirable.

(h) That for persons, other than those directly employed in various types of industry, such as small shopkeepers, farmers, &c., payments be made direct from the Commissioner's office or through agencies in various districts. in the same manner as old-age pensions are paid.

PART IX.-GENERAL.

84. Amongst other things, your Committee was asked to inquire into and report upon the cost of any scheme recommended. It finds, after lengthy inquiry, that it is impossible to name any precise amount. In an endeavour to give some indication, however, it would point out that, taking the 1933 Commonwealth Census figures as a guide, the annual sum required to pay the proposed benefits in respect of all children under sixteen years of age of breadwinners recorded in Victoria at that date would be £740,000. A reduction of 12 per cent. would have to be made in this amount, since the scheme, with certain exceptions, is confined to children under the age of fourteen years, instead of sixteen years. This reduction would make the cost £651,000. According to the Government Statist, it is probable that this estimated cost would be still further reduced since the reduction of the age to fourteen years would, no doubt, alter the composition of some families. A further reduction of S · 3 per cent. which does not take into account the consequent change in some families should also be made to allow for the fall, from 1933 to 1939, in the number of children under fourteen years of age. This reduction would make the annual cost £597,000.

This ammal cost would be still further qualified by several factors, viz. :-

1314;2/40.-4

(a) The cost refers to the children of breadwinners, as disclosed by the Census, but these breadwinners include a very large percentage of persons who, by reason of the receipt of excessive incomes, would not be included in the scheme. If the Taxation reports may be accepted as a criterion, the amount of £597,000 would probably be reduced by at least 30 per cent.

42

(b) There are probably some thousands of persons, not considered by the Commonwealth Statistician as being eligible for inclusion in the list of breadwinners, such as primary producers with small incomes, who would seek the benefits of the scheme, and these would, of course, increase the cost to the State.

After giving close consideration to these factors, your Committee considers that, although as pointed out, it is impossible to name a precise amount, the annual cost, at its inception, of such a scheme of Child Endowment as that recommended would be no more than £450,000.

In conclusion, the members of your Committee desire to draw the attention of honorable Members to the splendid assistance willch was received from the many witnesses, who, frequently at considerable inconvenience, rendered most valuable statements in evidence. The members of your Committee tender their thanks to these witnesses, and also to the many public servants (including Mr. A. A. Calwell, formerly of the State Treasury, who was, for some time, Investigating Officer for the Committee), for helping to make this Report possible.

Finally, your Committee desires to record its appreciation of the industry and initiative displayed at all times by the Clerk of Committees, Mr. H. K. McLachlan, who was untiring in his efforts and most helpful in every way, and your Committee feels that the least recognition that can be given to his assiduity and devotion to duty, is this brief note at the conclusion of the Report.

Committee Room,

27th November, 1940.

(M in 11tes of Evidence are not printed.)

Andrews, Thomas William Black, David Calwell, Arthur Augustus Champion, Elsie Randell Chester, Edith Mary

Clemens, Nuria Evelyn Dale, Dr. John Daley, Jean

Dixon, James Burney Dodd, Beatrice Olive Victoria Embleton, Dr. David Moore

FitzGerald, Dr. Eileen Forster, Rev. Peter Lewis Frawley, Francis William Gawlor, Oswald Goodisson, Marjorie .. Gordon, Ruby Elizabeth Graham, Dr. Howard Boyd

Gray, Isa Black H:awkins, Rev. Harold Lawes Hebbard, Frank Furneaux Hewison, Mary Adelaide

Ibbott, Cr. Nellie Grace

Kincaid, Dr. Hilda Estelle Langker, Albert Victor

Lennox-Bigger, Theodore Anthony Ma.nn, Leonard Marzorini, Francis Anthony Matthews, Jessie May Mitchell, Adrain Eva Nesbitt, I.aura Evelyn Nichols, Rev. Reginald Gordon O'Connell, Cecily Maude Mary Officer, Dr. Doris Lyne

Pettigrove, Mortimer James .. Pittard, Edward James Russell, Diarmid Alan Watson Ryan, Joseph Wilfred Smith, Stanley Greig Sutherland, Dr. Halliday Gibson W ardell, Tcresa Mary

Williams, Dr. Howard Ernest Wilson, Lewis Grant W oinarski, Gertrude Mary Zichy

43

APPENDIX.

LIST OF WITNESSES.

Teacher, State School No. 450, George-street, Fitzroy. Member of the Board of Directors of the Australian Natives' Association. An Officer of the State Treasury. Acting Senior Almoner at the Children's Hospital. Health Inspectress for the City of Prahran, and Sister in Charge of the

Tuberculosis Bureau. Sister at the Prahran Baby Health Centre. Medical Officer of Health for the City of Melbourne. Secretary of the Labour Women's Central Organizing Committee and

Secretary of the Women's Section of the Australian Labour Party. Paying Officer and Appropriation Ledgerkeeper, Taxation Department. Social Welfare Worker for the Free Kindergarten Union of Victoria. Honorary Physician to the Children's Hospital and Member of the

Paediatric Society of Victoria. Chief Medical Officer of the Education Department. Manager of the Presbyterian Babies' Home. Officer in Charge of the Sustenance Branch of the Labour Department. Government Statist of Victoria. Investigating Officer of the Housing Commission. Sister in Charge of the South Fitzroy Baby Health Centre. Honorary Physician to the Children's Hospital, Member of the Council of

the British Medical Association, and Member of the Council of the Executive of the Baby Health Centres Association.

Matron of the Sister Grace Auxiliary of the Melbourne City Mission. Superintendent Minister of the North Melbourne Methodist Mission. Head Teacher, State School No. 450, George-street, Fitzroy. Social Worker and Organizing Secretary of tbP Ministering Children's

League. Member of the Central Council of Benevolent Societies and President of

the Heidelberg Benevolent Society. Medical Officer for Child Welfare for the City of Melbourne. Secretary of the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organizations

and General Secretary of the Commonwealth Publie Service Clerical Association. ·

Secretary of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. Secretary, Victorian Employers' Federation. Secretary for Labour. Inspectress, Children's Welfare Department. Matron of the Carlton Home. Matron of the Presbyterian Babies' Home. Vicar of St. Mark's Church, Fitzroy. Sister in Charge of the Grey Sisters Community. Honorary Secretary of the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association,

Honorary Medical Officer at the Richmond Baby Health Centre, and a Clinical Assistant at the Children's Out-Patient Section of the Queen Victoria Hospital.

Secretary of the Taxpayers' Association of Victoria. Secretary of the Children's Welfare Department. Statistician of the Chamber of Manufactures. Permit Officer, Department of Labour. Secretary of the Charity Organization Society. Medical Practitioner of London, on Australian Lecture Tour. Social Worker and Acting Secretary of the Catholic Social Service

Bureau. Medical Superintendent of the Children's Hospital. Secretary, State Superannuation Board. Seeretary of the Melbourne Ladies' Benevolent Society.

By Authority: H. E. DAw, Government Printer, Melbourne.