works, which in Australia, and previously in New Zealand, were constructed out of borrowed moneys. He pointed out that that drain on the fund could be reduced, if necessary, in order to have sufficient money to pay the pensions. There were other ways of reducing the colony’s general expenses if the worst came to the worst, and he hinted pointedly that there were some high salaries in the Civil Service that could come down before the old age pensioners were made to suffer.
He had another object in taking the money out of the Consolidated Fund. He believed that it would insure the scheme for all time, as the pensions would rank as one of the first claims on the fund, in the same way as the capitation under the Education Act and other charges, and the money to pay the pensions would always be available. He argued that if he fixed any particular tax upon specific items to meet the expenditure, he would be face to face with the fact that those who paid the particular tax would become the enemies of the scheme, and might ultimately wreck it. Another argument that weighed with him in placing the burden on the colony’s general funds was that the pensioners would be able to say that they were not dependent upon the land owners, or people who attended entertainments, or anyone else. They would have contributed their share to the Consolidated Fund, and it was out of the Consolidated Fund that they should be given their pensions. In going through the goldfields he often met with old miners who would rather die in poverty than accept charitable aid donations, which they considered degrading. His pension scheme would enable them to take money from the State without compunction, as it would be given as a right. He emphasised that point persistently, saying repeatedly that his scheme contained no element of charity.
The principal objections against the Bill were that the people would not be satisfied with the restricted pensions Mr. Seddon proposed to give; they would demand an increase in the sum, and a reduction in the age limit; a popular chamber would be unable to resist the pressure, and the cost of the scheme would be enormously increased in a few years, when the colony might not be so well able to pay; the population of the colony
