Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1932. AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 13, 26 October 1932, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1932. AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION.

The increase" in the population of Australia during the three months ended March 31, recently reported by the Acting-Commonwealth Statistician, again directs attention to the pressing need for peopling the wide waste spaces of the Island continent. Wider and more intimate knowledge of the interior of the country has resulted in great modification of the old view, that settlement was possible only in favoured areas along the coast. Undoubtedly large areas will never be habitable, while other sections will not be brought under civilised occupation for a long time to come. But even the districts most suitable for occupation are by no means adequately settled —except in rare cases, —and Australia as a whole may be truly, described as a land of wide empty spaces. At a world population conference held some time ago Professor Gregory expressed the view that n the early future Australia is likely to become a spacious asylum for the overcrowded peoples, particularly those engaged in rural occupations, in Southern and Eastern Europe. He based his conclusion oh the ban on extensive immigration imposed by the United States, which would tend to divert the flow of surplus population to Australia. With the general policy of a " White Australia," New Zealanders have much sympathy, for several cogent reasons, but while there is every reason to approve to the utmost of the "White Australia" policy as it affects Asiatics, there is not so strong, a case against the exclusion of the alien peoples of Europe. There is an alternative before the Austratralians. If, within reasonable time, they multiplied rapidly enough to occupy their territory, the pressure from without would be met by equal pressure from within. This, however, is impossible at the present rate of natural increase. Failing it, the only safe course is to invite the kind of migrants desired, as a counter to the demands for admittance from those who are not wanted. , The most welcome immigrants would be those of British blood. The safety of the country and the social and moral development of the people depend upon the attraction of British-born in as large numbers as possible. The statesmen of Britain and Australia should exhaustively examine the prospect >f future migration from the Homeland, and when this is established a definite policy should be formulated. Every endeavour must be made to attract those of our own blood, whose absorption would be merely an economic process. But if it is demonstrated that such immigration will not fill up the vacant spaces to a reasonable extent within a reasonables time, Australia might do worse than afford a measure of assistance to better class immigrants from ' the Continent ot Europe. The policy should be: British first, Europeans next.