THE DEPUTATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 276, 22 November 1927, Page 9

THE DEPUTATIONS.

MIGRATION PROBLEMS.

THE NEW ZEALAND POINT OF VIEW. DESIRES OF THE MOTHERLAND.

The deputations which waited on Mr. Amity were both numerous and enthusiastic. Each made it clear that the importance of the visit td New Zealand was fully realised and each brought documents which had been carefully prepared in order to save the time of the visitor and to give him tabulated information for future reference.

With oije exception, that of the League of Nations Union, the deputations were contehied with the problem of immigration and land settlement. The first speaker, Mr. W. J. Holds worth, explained the operations of the New Zealand Settlement League. "We realise," he said, "that the Home problems are our problems and that our problems equally Concert the Homeland." The speaker said th4t Mr. Amery would find that New Zealand Was eminently suited to closer settlement and also that it was capable of carrying a much larger population. The League desired to assist the Government in helping Britain to settle some of her people on the land in this Dominion and in return it was siiggested that Britain should give the Dominions reciprocal treatment in respect of their primary products. Mr. N. G. Gribble said the League suggested an economic survey of the Empire's resources and they believed that Westminster was the logical centre from which such a survey should be initiated!. ' '.- Mr. Amery's Reply.

Mr. Amery, in reply, said he was obliged to various deputations for what they had told him and for the information with which they had supplied him. The point of view of the British Government in these matters was that the development of the British Empire and growing strength of its component nations was of vital interest to Great Britan and to the Dominions alike.

A remarkable change, Mr. Amery said, had occurred in the point of view of the Britsh Government as compared with that which was held, say, twenty years ago. Then the British Government was not concerned where the British people went, but to-day they were spending not far from two millon pounds per yaw in assisting settlement in various Parts of the Empire and they had undertaken to spend, when the scheme had fully developed, up to three million pounds, per year,

"Our desire," said Mr. Amery, "is not to dump the surplus population, of Great Britain onto the Dominions, or to do anything that will create unemployment problems at this end. We, in Britain, believe that our unemployment problem w our own and that it is for us to settle 't, ourselves." Proceeding, the speaker felt in Britain that for purP^ s , of migration the British Empire offered the finest opportunities in the

Choosing the Right Type. *We-ire, therefore, as much ** you are that the right people should selected, and that none should be »» *? the Dominions except those who m t° make good. The whole 'achftiery of assisted migration is based upon the principle of entrusting the. full ' y °f selection to the themselves so that they may ♦ r l LO . Wn their own rules as to what n ? P®°P le are to be received." W were bound to be some misfits, ' ' . , mer y said, and if we set out to Der . a m ®thod which would give 100 ba f 6 j. e ® c ' enc - y ' restrictions might iinn« 0 .„® as to make migration le - on . the """hole, good results nom- i lD ° °btained and not a very large Bn«oifi 6 t^oso n^lo came out for na« C P ur P nses were drifting into occuons m which they were not wanted, to »W 6r a Cached great importance Was bein S done in the way of a . "Wry training in England, not only farm for fittin o young men for them fiTJ overseas ; but in order to test tiona, e ' vvere granted noinina-

4 Avoiding Mistakes. ave nou " gathered sufficient 2? CnCe " Baid Amery, "to Uk to weed out the obvious mis- • He added that for some time had a representative » r ound Australia with a view

to ascertaining how newcomers from England were faring, and the result of his inquiries was eminently satisfactory. The British Government was now largely increasing the training facilities at home, and in another two months they would have, besides the Army training establishment, at least three large establishments for the purpose of giving preliminary training.

Coming to other matters raised by the deputations, Mr. Amery discussed the proposal for a survey of Empire resources. He said they were already moving in this direction. "There is," he added, "a very different attitude in Great Britain to what there was before the war. The old theory that it made no difference as to what we bought from our fellow citizens as compared with what we bought from other countries, has gone by the board. We have not, it is true, altogether changed our fiscal policy, but wo have made certain advances. Wherever we have duties, the tariff rates are much lower to other parts of the Empire, or they are entirelv remitted. Although this does not help New Zealand, I may mention that I have been in two of the Dominions lately, in South Africa, where I have seen flourishing districts whose whole existence is dependent upon the assistance given in Great Britain, in respect of industries, such as tobacco, dried fruits and wines." League of Nations Union.

An influential deputation was introduced by Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., from the executive of the League of Nations Union in Auckland. Mr. Cutten explained what the union was doing in Auckland. He said that the members of the executive desired to know Mr. Amery.

The Dominions Secretary said that he was greatly interested in the work of the League of Nations, as also were his colleagues of the British Cabinet. It had fallen to the lot of Great Britain during the last few years to assist materially in the work of the League. He was clad to know that the operations were followed with interest in distant parts of the Empire.