PEOPLE THE EMPIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 20, 24 January 1929, Page 20

PEOPLE THE EMPIRE.

OUR OWN DIFFICULTIES.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS.

NEED FOR A POLICY.

(By T. BLOOD WORTH.)

(No. 3.)

One of the recommendations of the Industrial Conference held last year was "that immigration should be regulated fa accordance, with the etate of the I labour market in New Zealand, and with due regard to the ability of the Dominion to absorb the immigrants in employment." What is "t£e ability of the Dominion to absorb immigrants in employment?" That depends not on the immigrant alone, but to a very large extent upon the steps that are taken within the Dominion to ensure that upon arrival there shall be employment I available for him. The ability of the Dominion to absorb immigrants in employment will not be ascertained until we have a more determined effort to make farming or farm work much more attractive and profitable to the man with small means than it is at the preaent time. Drift to the Towns. The step? which have to be taken here to accomplish that object are the very* same steps which have to be taken in Great Britain,, and which are being Tigorouely advocated there to induce men experienced in farm work to stay in Britain and farm the lands of Britain. The drift to the towns which has been a marked feature in population movements within countries of recent year» is the result of similar causes in all countries where it has occurred, and to stop the drift and reverse it the causes of the drift have to be removed. People will not leave Britain just for the sake of making it a more convenient place for those who remain to live in; at least not many will migrate for that reason. Most* people who emigrate do so with a view to bettering their position, and not merely for the sake of a change. The United States, despite post-war restrictions on immigration, still draws a high proportion of the immigrants from Britain because it is nearer and because it offers better and more immediate prospects of employment than do the Dominions. Oar Difficulties. Empire • settlement is not a simple business, and it is more difficult for New Zealand to effectually co-operate wtth the Homeland in this matter than It is for some other parts of the Empire. The greater distance from the Homeland is one of our great handicaps. It is not possible to send thousands here for harvest work, hoping that many of them will become permanent settlers, an experiment now being tried out with Canada. To overcome that handicap of distance New Zealand should be able to offer some compensating advantages in settlement. But does it? A comparison of our industrial conditions with those of Canada shows decided advantages in fsTour of Canada, Wages are higher, , there is more scope and range-for employment, education facilities and prospects for employment in industrial or agricultural pursuits for young people on leaving school are decidedly brighter than is the case in Neyr Zealand at present. If we compare the facilities offered for settlers to take up land in Canada and here we find the attractions Canada offers are more likely to induce the settler than are the conditions offered in New Zealand. More Talk than Deeds. There has been much talk" of land settlement in this country for many years, and more particularly during the last few years, but there has been very little real work done in that direction. Our town population has increased at a greater rate than our rural population. If it be true that despite fewer persons employed on the land the return from the land is greater, it ought to be also true that the share of each of those remaining on the land is proportionately greater, but that is not the case. The increase goes not to those who farm, but, In ever-increasing volume, to those who live off the labour of those who farm. It must be made easier for prospective settlers to get land, and the'return assured to them for capable development of it must lie at least as large •nd as secure to them as they can be assured in Britain or any other of the Dominions. '

Finding a Policy. I Moreover we have on the other hand the propaganda of Empire settlement, designed to develop the land of the Empire, bo that the food supply, and the supply of raw materials for the Homeland and the various parts of the Empire may be the more assured from within the Empire, and to assure within the Empire a greater market for the manufacturedproducts of the Homeland; and on the other hand a propaganda in this and other countries of the Empire, designed to develop within each of those countries industries to supply manufactured goods for their own markets, and this makes each one more self-supporting and less dependent upon the importation of manufactured goods from the Homeland, from other Dominions or from foreign countries. A policy of Empire settlement therefore necessitates striking a balance between' these two seemingly contradictory lines. It is not only a question of developing the undeveloped lands of New Zealand and filling up our vacant spaces, important though that undoubtedly is. The question also demands a consideration of our industrial development. Shall we aim to greater degree of self-sufficiency,., or shall we decide to develop our lands, increase ,our exports of foodstuffs and raw materials, and correspondingly increase our imports of manufactured good? ? We can give no final answer to these questions. All we' can do at present is consider the problem and so far as we are able develop helpful tendencies. Certain it is that if the- policy of drilt Which has been so mueh in evidence of recent years is allowed to continue uhchecked New Zealand will have very fflt difficulty in co-operating in any Empire settlement in a would b« helpful to herEmpire. Membership in -.w " . Involves responsibilities as ■MM "4: perbap, «• . is to l»ivH«ges Irau e| TSTk!! 8 * °i the P rob ' equip