CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 133, 7 June 1926, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

DANGERS 0¥ IMMIGRATION.

(To mc Editor.) Sir, —There always has been a sort 01 a friction between new arrivals and those settled in the country, which in my. time arose from the fancied superiority which the immigrant brought from the Old Country. It was a kind of inferiority to be a colonial (and nobody can tell How proud we old chaps are of the title), and some of the new arrivals were not slow in showing it, which the colonial-born naturally resented. This stamp of inferiority lasted up to the Boer war, but when our sons showed that they could fight and bold their own it disappeared. Another cause of friction wa9 that there was nothing in this country which' pleased the new chum; everything colonial was inferior. To convey my impression I may quote an.instance of which I was a personal witness. One of the new chums had obtained a footing with the lumpers on the wharf. Ho was constantly finding fault with all and everything colonial. One day one of the old lumpers, a sturdy old shellback who had been through the Maori war from start to finish, turned on him, saying: "Bless your eyes! Nothing is right for you in. this country. We tamed the Maoris, we built roads, wharves, and bridges, and then you growl. Why don't you go back to the London docks and get your half-a-crown for ten hours. Here you get your eight bob and plenty tucker. We want men in this country, not growlers." That cured him. But most of the new chums acted the man and identified themselves with the people they came to live with. In a word, fell into line, received ( a friendly welcome, because they felt and we felt in our turn that we needed men, but not wasters. New Zealand was a delightful little country to live in, and one could not help getting speedily attached to it; Work was plentiful, rent, food, and clothing plentiful and cheap; the people open and sociable to a degree. When I see the sturdy young manhood of my day holding indignation meetings to obtain their rights my old heart aches under the new conditions. Let mc state, first, that in my opinion the Homey, has as much right to be here as any of us, and in place of meeting with sympathy from the general public because he was enticed to New Zealand tinder false pretences by an incapable Government, he meets with reproaches. When in '86, '87, and '88 a Tory Government drove 16,000 New Zealanders for want of work out of this country to all part 9of the Pacific seeking' a job wherever they could find it, what would we have said if, in place of sympathy with our distress, we met with sneers and reproaches. But the Australians, let it be said to their credit, received us with sympathy and consideration. Then, as now, the workers received the same stolid.indifference from the Premier (Major Atkinson) : "Let them go; they will come back again." And we did as soon as the Tories were kicked out. Then why blame people who can't help themselves? Would any one of us maintain that if any one of the new arrivals of recent date had known our conditions they would be here? Not one of them. Well, then, go for the Government who are responsible for this state of affairs.— I am, etc., LOYAL. (To the Editor.) ■ Sir, —In to-day's issue you publish a . statement made by Mr. H. D. Thomson, 1 head of the Immigration Department, in which Mr. Thomson appears to express his entire satisfaction with the results ' achieved by his Department. The fact i that of the 2200 recent arrivals referred f to by Mr. Thomson, all those eligible for . employment had been placed in positions • may be gratifying to him, but it is dis- , quieting to the hundreds of New Zeaj landers whose services have been dispensed with in order to make room for " immigrants. That preference is being given immigrants cannot be disputed, and in this connection the Government . are the worst offenders. Children and ! grandchildren of this Dominion's pioneers are being denied the right to work for a living. lam a native of New Zealand, and I have lived here continuously for 59 years. My father was one of the early pioneer settlers, and now my children are being turned down in every instance when they seek employment. The universal cry to be met with is 'Trade , is so bad that staffs have to be> reduced." That the services of New Zealanders are being dispensed with in increasing numbers by employers in almost every dej partment of trade is only too evident to any casual observer. Mr. Thomson has nothing to boast of in his reference to the combined capital possessed by the : 2200 recent arrivals. The sum of £13,000 ! is, roughly, only £6 per head, and with this handsome sum a fresh start in life has to be made. During the past thirty j years no Government of the country,has displayed such callous indifference to the : claims of the unemployed as the present I Coates Administration. As a specimen of the Government's disregard for the c well-being of honest unemployed workers c it would be hard to beat the remarks of . the Minister of Labour in his reply-to a . deputation that waited on him a short; t time back. The Government's immigra* . tion policy is unquestionably almost entirely responsible for the present state ■ of the labour market, and the onus is . therefore on the Government to establish '. relief works immediately, instead of advising men who are able and willing ; to work to seek assistance from the . Charitable Aid Board. I think the N.Z.j ! Natives Association should, if properly j organised, be a strong factor in influencing the Government to cease assisting ■ immigrants until such time as the country is capable of absorbing them.—l am, etc., PAKEHA NATIVE.

I' _______■_____h— (T-> the Editor.) ~" Sir, —I am strongly opposed to local bodies being called upon to - burde«' themselves with responsibilities they ar« in no way to blame for, but which hava been brought about as the direct result of' lack of foresight and faulty administration on the part of the Govern* ment of this Dominion. ' For obvious reasons I am certainly in favour of populating the outposts of our Empire, but the necessary policy to achieve thia must in the interest of all be pursued on sound lines, embodying at least soma degree of common sense in place of tha present haphazard policy so contrary t» the weight of public opinion. The solution of increasing unemployment is en* tirely a national question. The Govern* ment must face the whole position wit's a bold front and endeavour to mak* j some amends for being unprepared for; what exists in our midst, and of w_ie_ sufficient warning was given from numerous sources. For the time being it is absolutely essential to cease bring* ing further immigrants into this Do* minion, . otherwise there is only ona sequence, namely, the intensification of existing animosity against the new arrival, and increasing privation for innocent victims. This is a country reared from the cradle of democracy with a tradition to be proud of. We still have a right to see one and all enjoying tbe fruits oi their labour instead oi humiliation, even I will go so far' to say degradation, in being compelled to seek sustenance from charity through no fault of their own. Is it too late for the Government to ascertain if tha Imperial Government is still prepared to offer financial assistance whereby immigrants (only of the right calibre) can ba brought out, and. in tbe first instancn utilised for general development purposes, such as constructing, railways, land settlement (but only under proper supervision and administration), also for the development of new industries? I have it on .record that the Commonwealth Government of Australia some 15 months ago was offered no less than some millions of English capital on extremely favourable terms for tha, specific purpose of absorbing surplus: labour directly due to a vigorous policy, of immigration.

Is it not also about time to stem the inflow of Asiatics and Orientals into this, country, and get down to work on *■' solid and progressive policy, whereby! work can be found for all our own, andthe inheritance of a virile and independent race can be passed on, and not an inheritance that privation and dire want is responsible for, such as I have observed overseas, even in parts of England. „ Our present resources financially are ia. a somewhat slender and not altogether! buoyant state, so without some suggestion of statesmanship and outside final*, cial assistance as indicated it is quittj impossible to absorb the present increae*! ing unemployment without materiallj*.! reducing the standard of living. Thx»] must at any cost be avoided, for it means 1 taking from us what has always been' our pride, namely, the democracy and all that goes with it —a decent living for everybody and assurance for the future for those fit and able to work.—l am, etc., THOMAS A. FRASER.