SCOTIA'S PROTEST

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 255, 27 October 1937, Page 22

SCOTIA'S PROTEST

EXPORT OF BEST BLOOD NO MIGRATION. HARMFUL DRAIN ON I POPULATION. (By .TOIfX WATT.) Mf WnM Iβ ii \>w /..|i|nii(l Jntirnnllst who luii liiifn iMiirnuiMl fur n niiinhcr of .years in JoiirniilNin In Ulhnkow. (iI.ASCOW. September 1«. Tn nnt ifipttt inn nf the conference Which is t,. Ih< held in London in October to ili«riiM4 I lie problem of Empire emigriition, the Cinineil ( »f the Scottish Niili.ui.il i• i■ i-1 v liiiH went n letter to the Secretary of Slnte for Meotliuirl ami to nil Scottish M.l'.'h, asking them "to n-i.-l II \piirl iif our |ieo|.le." heeiiiiHe "Sen i l.i M.I I'liniii.l itlTuril limit her period nl H liole-ii le oinima I inn."

"flie inn-i Kiiitablc settlor', for tlu> l).iiniiii. .us." Ihe letter Mutes, "would be recruited from country .and lixliinj; tnwiw, iind Iγ.mi mid crofting incus I hi' Highlands in particular. These nic tin , iireax which cannot afford to lime niiy man of their best blood. "Stagnation Inevitable." "Km'mimiM include a. high proportion nl' Ihe most mMc Mild enterprising young men in a. community. Take these men away Mild you have removed the mil mill Icimlci'h of a. community, with stagnation tlir inevitable result. One nl , Ihe reasons why Scotland is in her present distressed condition in that for general hum by emigration, and more recently by the war, she has been doprived of thcMc, natural leaders. Jn Hcot laniTri interent, therefore, we arc ii In fined by the proHpect of ft reeuniption of (■'overiimciit iiilluenccd and aided ion. "If the Mower of our young men and women are oneo more to bo taken from liM, nil hnpc of recovery may bo abanlloned, iind tile decline in the national health will bo bantenod. Wo ask you and all who have the welfare of Scotland at heart to roni«t the export of our pooplo." Tlio council hlmo coritonde that for farm win-kern prowppctn are bottor in Scotland than thoy arc overwear) bocaiiHo in the Dotnlnlonn the (food and conveniently nituiited land haw been taken up almost to the oxcluhioii of further ttettloi'H, ho that farm servants who have emigrated since the war liave, for the inoHt part, renin ined farm servant*. ThU letter r«i«PH a knotty problem. Tlio Dominions want none but the best Iy|in of (tmlgruntx, and for the mo»t pint, in the pant they have wanted thowe who have had experience of farm work. Hut, Scot laud, and Hritaln ah a whole, cannot afford another heavy drain on thin section of the It i* already hiihill. The induMtrialiMntion of Britain hn« proppi'd«!(l to a degree that pertains in no other country, A hundred and fifty yearn ngo the industrial revolution began the annihilation of the British peasant cliiaa by •ticking it into the vnrtex of itiduntry. Now. among the older countries of the. world. Britain in unique in this respect, that ihe hae no peasant population. This Is strikingly clear in Scotland. Half the population of the country lives in Glasgow and the indtnstrial strip along the Clyde. By contrast great tract* In the Highlands, which once supported thriving communities, are now depopulated. A high percentage of Bcotland'f* population bas been completely urbanised.

Not the Right Type. The process has had tragic results. People who have land to till can generally make a living of eorts even in bad time*, and they are not cut oIT from their work. fn fact, they probably have to work tho harder. On the other hand bad timtw throw iiulimtrial workers on to tli« scrap heap. Tn Scotland there urn thousands of man who have been idlu for years, and what is still mime. thero art* thousands of young men who ]iuvt» iH'vt-r had a ttteady job in their liven.

The majority of these people are not unemployable, but they are not the sort of emigrants the Dominions want. Quite apart from tin- fact that for the most part they know nothing-of farm work, they would not take kindly to country 11 fn.

In town-bred people the gregariotm Instinct in developed to an abnormal degree. They fear loneliness and isolation as they four the plague. They shudder at the idea of living in a place where, them Iμ not a picture show, a dance hall and a "pub" round the corner. When they go into the country for a day's excursion they generally go in crowds, and for their holidays they herd into the popular resorts. The quiet and solitary place*, even of their own country, have no attraction for them.

Perhaps this is one mason why baek-to-tho-land scheme* have met with small success here. It is not the only reason, of course. Financial aid has been lacking and (lovernment support lukewarm; but If there had been any insistent demand from the masses of the peo|He wnrtnethirijr striking might have been done to mpopulate the empty spare* of Scotland.

Therefore. If Scotland Is to be called upon to help to populate the empty bpaces of Mio Dominions, it will simply mciin that her own empty space* will become emptier still and wider in extent.