The decline of intelligence in New Zealand

The social setting in New Zealand to-day is in many respects noticeably different from that of the home country. Observers rarely fail to comment upon the equalitarianism in all walks of life, the stability of the family pattern, the Plunkett system and the achievements of social security. It may come as a surprise, therefore, that in New Zealand a similar downward trend of national intelligence can be observed, as has been ascertained for the United Kingdom by the notable pioneer inquiries of Sir Cyril Burt, Sir Godfrey Thomson and Dr Fraser-Roberts. In the United Kingdom the dysgenic selection seems to operate mainly through differential rates of reproduction in the various strata of society. These differentials are less marked in New Zealand, but it would appear that they are compensated by the effects of migration.