TOWNWARD DRIFT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9052, 24 July 1917, Page 3

TOWNWARD DRIFT.

A POST-WAR PROBLEM

A matter which is bound to attract considerable attention after the war was referred to by Mr R. D. Hunt in his presidential address before tine Council of Agriculture (A. and P. Societies' Conference) at Wellington on Thursday. "One'of the mosb important problems to be faced as soon as the war is over," he said, "is that of _ maintaining an adequate supply of agricultural and pastoral workers, and of maintaining a proper proportion:. .of country population, generally. The' great bulk of our wealth in. this country arises out of country production. We manufacture practically nothing for .export, and only a moderate portion oil our local requirements. During the last 20 years the country districts have been becoming increasingly prosperous. Under these circumstances one would expect to find a drift of workers and population generally to the country; but this is not 'so, the drift is entirely the other way, and it is evident that under present conditions town life is proving move attractive than country life to the mass of the people. " Population is leaving the country and moving towards the towns. At the 1911 census, the last for which complete figures are available, rather more than half the population of the Dominion lived in the towns. Thirty years previously, for every two people who lived in the towns we had three in the country. In the interval our population nearly doubled. Onefourth of the increase, was excess ot arrivals over departures, and threefourths natural increase or excess births over deaths; but the towns absorbed all the excess of arrivals over departures, all their own natural increase., and 10 per cent, of the natural increase of the country as well lam satisfied tha,t an important step in the direction of increasing country population would be the provision "of adequate accommodation on farms for married labour. There is, however, a. remit on the Order Paper in connection with this matter, so I will not deal with it now."