" THERE WILL ALWAYS BE POOR"

-Dr.
Laetitia Fairfield
" A Christian civilisation should waste no time in chasing the will-o'-the-wisp of rigid equalitarianism," said Dr. Laetitia Fairfield, at the last of the Caxton Hall lectures organised by the Sword of the spirit, " but should rather remember that Christians are forbidden to envy another's goods. The Papal Encyclicals are quite definite on this point. Not only do they assume inequalities of possessions but they expressly condemn any demand for complete equality as inconsistent with the right of a man to dispose of his own savings.
" The primary method of a Christian civilisation," she stated, " should he the exercise of the simple virtues in business dealings. The payment of wages which give a fair share to the labourer. honesty in advertising, refraining from taking unfair advantage over rivals, would simplify our problem to a certain extent, but probably not as much as some people think. Let there be due charity even to the millionaire. Many outstanding fortunes have been accumulated by unimpeachable methods."
" Two overriding principles form the very basis of a Christian state. The first defends the deepest instincts of a man to desire to reap what he has sown, and to thank God when he has done so, but if he is not allowed to enjoy even a few sheaves of his harvest, his joy in his work, even in life itself may perish. This is true of rich and poor alike. Even in war-time I believe that a 100 per cent. excess profits tax is a psychological as well as an economic mistake.
THE FAMILY COMES FIRST
The second great principle to which our attacks on property is subject is that they should not damage human relationships, especially the institution of the family. The
Encyclicals constantly remind us of this danger, but some of the proposals of Catholic writers to-day seem to be treading on perilous ground. For example, increase of death duties, which would make inheritance almost impossible, would surely have a much more devastating effect on the relations between parent and child than could be faced with equanimity.
"The most important form of poverty," Dr. Fairfield declared, " ..s that associated with children, one ought justifiably say caused by children, and in the national interest, it is into this channel that all the wealth that can be spared should flow. Family allowance's are also the best means of abolishing deplorable inequalities within a class which are much more disastrous than inequalities between classes. The difference between my income and that of a Woolworth heiress is vast, but matters not at all to either of us. The difference between the weekly housekeeping allowance of Mrs. Jones, of Poplar, with one child and Mrs. Kelly, also of Poplar, with ten children may be only a few shillings a week, but it means all the world to both of them."