AUSTRALIA'S NEED.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13104, 1 May 1908, Page 6

AUSTRALIA'S NEED.

Sir Gilbert Parker is reported by cable to have claimed in a speech, before tho Austral Club in London that Australia is bound to be a great centre of civilisation and power in upholding and maintaining British prestige on the Oriental eido of the world. That is what every patriotic Atistralian hopes for, and ac far as he is able, is working for. But m order to fill the place in the world to which her geographical position and the British blood of her population entitle hex, Australia must populate her vaoaafc lands. At present the great continent contains some four miHione of people, and the annual natural increase is co slow that it has been estimated that it would take 180 years under reasonably favourable conditions before the population was raised, by this means alone, to twenty minions. It is obvious -that it is impossible to rely merely on natural incsneaae, and this has been realised by the Federal, and State Goveromenta to the* extent, that all arc making some effort to induce im«

migration. Unfortunately, tide is onJy one of the matters on wihdch Federal and State Govermnemte hare go far failed to agree. The Premier of New South. Wales, for instance, complains bitterly of "Federal interference," and claims that New South Wales must manage ita own immigration policy. The Victorian Premier, on the other hand, has informed Mr Deakin that he fails to see why the Federal authorities hesitate to take the necessary action in the matter of immigration, a matter explicitly entrusted to them by the Constitution. The Queensland Premier has announced that one of the chief reasons for his approaching visit to London is to see that Queensland is advertised properly all over "the United Kingdom, so that settlers may be attracted who would fill up "thris "great empty territory." "If Queensland),' he added, "were in a proper " condition and relation to the Old " Country we should have 20,000 femi- '"' lies a year, instead of the practical "stoppage that has taken place-; but "we are down in the estimation of " the Old Country, ami have • been " down for years; and it needs «. very " great effort to lift us back into enich ,: prominence as Canada." West Australia, judging by cable news in fhis issue, is apparently succeeding in drawing a steady stream of immigreaits. But the whole immigration business needs organising and putting on an adequate footing. Much could be done, one would think, if the efforts of the Federal and State Governments *were co-ordinated, and! c great deal more if the Federal Government could be brought to realise its responsibilities in the matter. Last year 170,000 people loft the Unrited Kingdom for America. 151ju00 for Canad-a, and rather fewer than 25,000 for Australia and New Zealand. The numbers crossing the Atlantic to seek toerir fortunes must be much smaller this year. Canada has placed certain checks on the comparatively unrestricted immigration that for years past has been adding scores of thousands to her population, and the United States must lose their attractiveness for British emigrante now that there are three or four millions of unemployed in the country. The , backward flow from the States to Enrope, and the present depression in, Germany, must aggravate the situation at Home, and though- many of those who •alre out by work are not of the class that is required in Australia, there must be many potentially good settlers who only need some little encouragement, possibly some little help, to induce them to come out to. the Commonwealth. It seems to us that the present is an extremely opportune time for the Australian Governments -to make a strong effort to turn the transAtlantic tide of emigration southwards, and the present Premiers' Conference could do no better or more useful work than by formulating some scheme by which, in association, with the Federal Government, they could work effectively together in this direction