CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 41, 18 February 1944, Page 4

CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

IMMIGRATION

(To the Editor)

The letter signed "Purity," clam- '

ouring for all-British immigration (save a few Greeks), simply screams for an answer. Enough of this stuffy thinking. There is not one reason in "Purity's" letter for confining ourselves to British stock. By all means allow the people of Great Britain to come, if they want to, but why shut out others? In my own limited circle I know a number of non-British immigrants, of recent years, who are excellent citizens Some of them are skilled craftsmen' Surely the hard lessons of the 'twenties are not forgotten so soon' Is it not a fact that we got too manypeople of the type who could only make the pips for raspberry jam tune pianos, sell tickets, or something of the sort? Let unblemished lives, industrious habits, thriftiness and related qualities be the sole test. We can too easily make a fetish of so-called racial purity. As for the orphans of Europe, it may surprise your correspondent to know that I was recently assured by an official of an occupied country that Europeans will not willingly part with their young children, orphaned or not, after the war. K. BUTCHER.