VIEWS ON AUSTRALIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 11, 14 January 1926, Page 6

VIEWS ON AUSTRALIA.

—- - * m — .— - WELSH EDITOR'S CRITICISMS. | ADVOCATE OF COLOURED LABOUR. HIGH WAGES, AND HIGH PRICES. TOO MUCH SPORT. Sir William Davies, editor of the "Western Mail," Cardiff, and one of the most thoughtful of the Empire Press delegates who some months ago visited I this part of the world, has been coni tributing to his newspaper his impres- ; sions of Australian prospects and polii tics. While admitting the universality lof the sentiment for a "White Australia" he personally is no advocate of the policy. "Opponents," he write 3, "or perhaps I should say doubters, hold that in many parts of Australia there is work j which white people cannot and never i will do. In North Queensland, for in- ; stance, and in Northern South Austra|Ha it is so hot that only people accusI tomed to live in tropical weather can work at all. I must add that I did not find general acceptance for this I suggestion, but I was certainly impressed by the necessity of much assistance "that only coloured labour can provide. This is emphatically SO if Australia expects to increase its proi ductiveness in a large way. "There must be more labour available, and I, at any rate, am convinced that Australia will not overcome one of its I most pressing obstacles to progress until 'it wills that a certain amount of col--1 oured labour is admitted into the country. . . Domestic Service. "There is another aspect of the labour situation that calls for urgent attention. The question of domestic service in Australia is critical. "This question is bound to become more and more pressing as the years pass, and unless Australia can make up its mind to admit a limited number of indentured coloured labour I do not free how the evil can be cured. In Honolulu, which is in United States hands, all labour is done by coloured men and women. All the shop assistants and domestic servants are either yellow or black (all yellow in the shops), and they seemed to mc to be giving very efficient service. And they were more able to work in a climate which leaves white folk prostrate. "There are thus two pressing reasons why Australia should think well before finally rejecting the proposal to introduce any coloured labour. One is the necessity of utilising the only kind of labour that can endure toil in the tropical heat of portions of Australia. The other is the need of making tolerable the home conditions of those poor women the back blocks of .the Commonwealth who have to live and labour without servants and .are compelled to endure conditions and hardships they were never meant to endure and ought not to be expected to endure. "Wages and Sport. Sir William, like nearly all observers, is impressed with the money and time devoted -to sport, which he characterises as exceeding anything pf the kind in any country of which he has. knowledge. With all its great natural advantages, the prosperous future of Australia ought to be assured, remarks Sir William. Yet I •found much, doubt and misgiving among the thoughtful. Wages are high all over Australia, for in every industry and calling the minimum wage is fixed by . arbitration boards. j The effect of the prevailing high wages is illustrated in two ways. In the first place, it is shown in the extent to which, the Australian is enabled to indulge his i interest in sport. ] Sport is indubitably a tremendous j factor in Australian life, and it is impossible to escape the conclusion that this engrossing public absorption in racing and football must exact a price :in time and money which it is well worth the leaders of the people to ponder thoughtfully. Another effect of the compulsory high : wages is the price of commodities. My | wife assures mc that a sovereign will not go nearly so far in Australia as it j does at Home. j Excessive Growth of Towns. All this seems strange till we go deeper for our facts. Sydney has a population of a million, about equal to the whole population of the rest of New South Wales, of which it is the capital. Sydney continues to grow, and a o-reat deal of its increase is at the cost of the rest of its~own State. Moreover, as the land is the basis of Australian production and wealth, it follows that the million outside Sydney must carry the Sydney million on their backs. " The former have to produce for all in the State. Yet the leakage from the land to the city continues, and, so far as I can judge, must be allowed to continue. What is true of New South Wales is also true of the other States in the Australian Commonwealth. Melbourne, in Victoria, Brisbane, in Quensland, Adelaide, in South Australia, and Hobart, in Tasmania, all exact their toll on the workers on the land. Despite the drawbacks which I consider myself bound to describe, I have no hesitation in saying that any man who has youth, grit, and determination can make good in any part of Australia. He ought to be a man who knows something of farm life, who can endure discouragement and temporary disappointiment. Given this spirit and the will '■ to succeed. I can see no excuse for j failure. This is so far as the individual jis concerned. For the moment the consideration of Australian politics can stand over, and | future salvation may be found in the j truth, "Take care of the pence and the | pound will take care of itself." in I other words. "Take care of the im- | migrant and put him in the wav to suc- | eeed, and the Commonwealth must hew its own way to success and permanent prosperity."