"OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 143, 20 June 1927, Page 6

"OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS."

A NEW ZEALANDER AND IMMIGRANT*

(To the Editor.)

I am a Xew Zealander bred and born- m» parents and grandparents were "Homies , * and arrived in New Zealand over seventy Teaw ago, and although I have never been in I consider 1 am a Britisher, and am prondof tho fact. Surely then, the much-abairf "Homies" are our brothers and sisters aS are equally entitled to live in New Zealand if it is their wish. Everyone knows that New Zealand is suffering from the effects of a general depression, but this is not the fault of the "Homies/' who, in many cases have come full of hope, believing from the reportl that they received at Home that there waa plenty of opportunity for them. Thev com here only to find that conditions are not what the authorities have led them to believe. Such being the case, it is up to us as \ew Zealanders (and Britishers) to extend*tk» helping hand wherever possible, as we owe a great debt of gratitude to the much-abused "Hbniie" for the wonderful part played in tho Great War, both in the field and in the factory, in preserving our Empire and the freedom we enjoy to-day. Having served with the Main Body on Gallipoli, and havmk come in close contact with Britons both » the army and navy, it is my humble opinion that there is still plenty of the same qualities in the make-up of the Britons to-day that there was in the days when my grandparent* arrived in New Zealand, but at the present time there is just the lack of opportunity,. Therefore it is our duty to stop treating onr own kith and kin as though they were alien*urge our Government to suspend its present immigration policy of assisting immj. grants for at least two years until Xew Zealand has made a complete recovery aad is able to absorb further immigrants without detriment to the people who are already hereand prohibit further Asiatics and foreigners who at the present time are taking a living from Britishers. In the meantime let te be charitable, and cheerfully embrace everr opportunity of endeavouring to make tha "God's own country." UNITY.