IMMIGRATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 258, 31 October 1929, Page 10

IMMIGRATION.

THE BEST TYPES.

PLAN FOR RESUMPTION.

ATTRACTING DISCHARGED

SOLDIERS

(By C. MONT.)

The prevalence of unemployment ii New Zealand has brought about a feel , ing that for some time at leaet ther should be no attempt to add to ou , population from overseas. Whether thi, is a sound attitude to take is open ti question, for a study of the unemploy •f ment problem reveals the fact that thi n idle workers are caused by a dispropor n tion of labour, not merely a surplus t Immigrants arriving in a country providi >- work as well as need it, and if thej come with skill and aptitude for voca \ tions which offer openings here, the effeci ii on the country is that the newcomer; d provide work for others in their demani e for services and equipment. However this point may be regarded the fact remains that soon we ehouh be again concerned with bringing t( these shores the additional populatioi ■ which we must have to ensure a sounr balancing of our economic life. As ; colony we have built our system o finance and settlement on the assump tion of increasing population, and whei this becomes stationary the sudden ceas ing of this "train" movement causes serious confusion and hardship. Even e trading organisation and local body has ;i framed its financial and organic plai t upon the principles employed in the u past, where expansion was the recognisec ■" order of progress. No community has f assumed for a moment that its commit 3 ments in loans and development task; * were to be borne solely by the preseni members and in many cases it is iniposr sible for such to be done. * It is necessary, therefore, that thoughi should be given at the present time tc 7 the question of immigration even if it is l . regarded merely as a consideration foi the future. l The Best Type of Immigrant, t The question of choosing the right " kind of immigrant has never been quite 3 satisfactorily dealt with. The Govern--1 ment scheme has aimed primarily at I bringing out the man of means who will J become a successful settler in a short ' time, with the momentum acquired from '" his possessions. This certainly is a jj sound scheme from the point of. view ol j the State, but whether it is kindly tc the newcomer is open to question. The ' sum of money which means a competence in the older countries would be very \ short of it here, and often the man of ' substance moving to New Zealand has ! found the expense of travelling and rej settling so great that his capital ie I greatly diminished and what remains , has a greatly-reduced earning power. Then, too, the man of money is usually I advanced in years and has difficulty in ' recasting his ideas under strange condi- , tione to such an extent that frequently he suffers a financial reverse through , changing circumstances. Altogether it , must be admitted that a man of capital I coming to New Zealand must be pre- , pared to find the transfer of his estab- , lishment a costly one and fraught with '• risk unless he is prepared to withhold . investment until the new conditions are •■ understood and even after sound employ- . ment his capital is not eo helpful in . the same degree as it would be in . Britain. The Farmer Immigrant. Another type of immigrant sought after by the State is the farm worker, but in this matter it must be admitted that the result is rarely what is striven for. It is not possible to ensure that the applicant for an assisted passage is a competent farm worker, and the fact is proved that the British farm worker is not an emigrating class. The assisted immigrant is usually a city worker whose association with rural life is very often only by way of qualifying for the bounty in passage money. It is apparent, too, that this immigrant frequently clings to the city Avhen he arrives here, and when we consider with this that our own farm worker is inclined to move into the towns, it becomes a point as to whether we should not take as our immigrant the qualified artisan whose skill and industry in a highly specialised calling makes him a valued, citizen, whose standard of work would placo his trade beyond the powers of our rural deserters. The drawback to recruiting professed farm workers from a nation of industrialists is that the tradesman who has failed to qualify in his calling is tempted to assume the role of agriculturist to gain a start in a new land. There are many whose competence is undoubted, but it must be admitted that the sound worker in England gets and holds a gcod job and is not tempted to travel overseas. This difficulty does not apply to. the young immigrant, and very great success is being achieved by the various organisations which make a point of selecting and assisting boys in their move to other lands, and reports go to show that this is the most successful of all types of settlement. To take a youth in the formative stage and transplant him before his mentality becomes fixed seems to be the soundest plan for building up our nation, but this scheme carries with it the necessity of guarding the young arrival against the disturbing influence of new scenes and the suspension of working habits. All the organisations which have handled the young immigrant stress the necessity of keeping control of the boy until the adjustment to new conditions is complete and habits are reformed. A Perfect Material. There is one class of material available for emigration in regular numbers, which offers unique promise _ to any colony desirous of adding to its manhood in a wise selection, and this material exists in the person of the discharged soldier from the regular army in Britain. These men are not the type turned out a century ago, nor even'the old soldier of pre-war days. The science of character building and mind training has become a study in the British army of late years, and although it had its inception in the days of Lord Wolseley, of late years it lias become a wonderful achievement in the way of moulding - citizenship. Among industrial concerns and institutions in Britain there is no employee more sought after than the time-expired soldier, trained in body and mind, whose instinct and character make him one of the worthiest of workers and citizen?. It is their peculiar and recognised quality which will cause a hindrance to an immigration scheme, for few of these men fail to get sound and steady employment on their drafting out from the depots. Each has been given a sound training in trade or business, and their outlook upon life is that of a secondary school student with the 1

broadening and beneficial association with sport, which has been found to mean so much in good citizenship. The Help of Association. All the organisations which have taken up assisted immigration have stressed the value of establishing association before and after the arrival of the newcomer, for a friendly adviser is of real value and assistance. In this connection perhaps some use could be made of the alliances between the various Imperial regiments and our own. The establishment of a personal association between the men of a Dominion battalion and the members of a regular unit might lead to a selection of a particular province as the future home of a discharged soldier. Use might be made of the numerous admirably written regimental magazines, which gain warm support from the rank and file both at Home and on service. Such a scheme was inaugurated by the commanding officer of the Waikato Regiment some years ago, but its operation was difficult, as under the carefullyplanned system of placing the soldier in civilian employment, it was not required to seek avenues overseas. If, therefore, such a movement were thought desirable, it would need to be made with special inducements to attract the interest and approval of this class of citizen, who would be welcome in any part of the world.