FLUCTUATIONS OF POPULATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 203, 27 August 1910, Page 11

FLUCTUATIONS OF POPULATION.

AN ANNUAL DRIFT. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Friday. Grave concern has been expressed by Mr. James Allen as to the position of ■. immigration affairs in the Dominion. It had been necessary, he said, to carry on jthe borrowing policy to keep the popula.itipn in tbe country, but.the population, instead.of increasing., was fa,'ling off. The accretions from births and arrivals during 100S totalled 31.158. whilst in 1909 they fell to 22,281. For the year ending March 31. 1909. 4933 immigrants were assisted at a cost of £1_.5(j0, whilst dur- , ing the same time 7121 persons arrived from the United Kingdom. For tho fal- " lowing year 2672 were assisted at a cost ' Of ___85. whilst-9250 persons arrived from the-United Kingdom. Mr.. Allen also pointed out that for the half year ending [ June.. 1909,...the excess of births and _itivals. totalled 87.04, whilst for the.six ' months ending June 30 last the number dropped to 5350. -Tbe Ministry, he submitted, were .Kit leading the country in the true and real interests of the people, and if they wanted to stop the exodus . they, had better make a change of Gcrv- . i eminent. J Quite a'different light, however, was ! thrown upon tho subject by the Hon. Sir. j Buddo, who explained that the fluctua- " j tion in arrivals and departures was ! '| simply the annual drift of labour between " New Zealand and the Commonwealth. As '' usual, he said, the hon. member had 5 chosen the period of the year when the 1 mon were ..passing over- in the autumn ' months to their special class of work. The J same thing, would-goon-for years to come. " and. it.would be unfortunate if it were * stopped. The comparison given in the >- "Commonwealth Year Book" showed .that ■ the Dominion stood in a most satisfae--3 tory position. The figures for 1908-8 1 were as follows:- Western Australia mii creased population 48.8, New Zealand 25. f New South Wales 17.7, Tasmania 12.4. f Victoria .__>,.,_ ~- ..-■ .;*, ..' ;'.. <