TRACTS FOR THE TIMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 162, 11 July 1934, Page 6

TRACTS FOR THE TIMES.

MIGRATION. A PROMISED DEVELOPMENT. (By PRO BONO PUBLICO.) It will not surprise me to find the Mother Conn try launching out into a vigorous dispersal policy one of these days. It looked like developing ten or twelve years ago, when the Empire Settlement Aft was passed, and emigration started strongly and continued for a few years. But when the Dominions closed their doors and Hie Colonial Office doubted 'the ability of the colonies to take up more population, the scheme was quickly dropped, and nothing has been done now for some year,-;. The Act has another two or three years to run, but it is virtually a dead letter. One reason for the indifference of the Government on tlie subject is no doubt the feeling that with the decline in the birth rate the population will shortly be declining of its own accord. But in the meantime the population increases at the rate of 250,000 a year, and the position is not at all satisfactory. There are approximately two million workers for whom work cannot be found, and in many old industrial districts 'the once prosperous industries seem to have vanished for ever. It would appear to be common sense to propose that the people of the so-called derelict areas should be assisted to emigrate, but the difficulty is where to send them. There is another aspect of the population problem at Home that must be causing anxiety, for there arc two million more women than men. It has always been a surprise to nic that the Mother Country has not called a special Empire conference to discuss this question. There are plenty of undeveloped areas in the Empire, easily able, one would think, to absorb ten millions if need be. There are surplus people in Great Britain. And there is an abundance of idle money to finance emigration schemes. 'the new settlements would provide a market for British manufactures. Canada, Australia and .South Africa, have all land to be developed, Australia, in particular, being obviously under-populated. There has been n good deal of discussion of the problem of late, and no valid reason seems to have been forthcoming for apathy. The only objection raised so far appears to be that the Dominions did not take up the 1922 scheme at all heartily. The truth, I think, is that the financial basis .was bad. The Act really assumed that the Dominions would lie anxious to encourage immigration, and it was provided that half the cost of any scheme must be contributed by the Dominion concerned and the other half by the British Government. Unfortunately all the Dominions have strong parties that regard immigration with suspicion, believing that it would deprive native-born of their jobs, and Dominion Governments, therefore, have been indifferent on the subject. If, however, schemes on the lines indicated from time to time in these notes were financed wholly by the Mother Country, the Dominions could not well refuse to assist. At any rate the quest ion is at least worthy of full discussion. Attempts are now Ix'ing made to move the Homo Government, and the movement is obviously gaining force. Personally, I think the Dominions ought to be glad fo help, because, paradoxical as it may seem, the bigger their populations the more prosperous their own peoples arc likely to be. Incidentally, it is worth remembering that a family in New Zealand would eat more Now Zealand produce than the same family in England.