LESSONS OF THE CENSUS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14030, 29 April 1911, Page 10

LESSONS OF THE CENSUS.

LANGUISHING INDUSTRIES AND LABOUR. The small increase in the population of Christchurch City disclosed by tho recent census as compared with the census of liXXi has given ri3c to a good deal of consternation, especially in view of the large increases of population shown by Auckland and Wellington. Of courao, when tho returns ior the outside suburbs of Christchurch come in they may show a decided increase of population, owing to so many people, thanks to tho facilities afforded by the trains, now living so much farther out front tho heart of the City, than they used to do. A "Press" repreaeHtativo interviewed Mr F. E. Jones, president of tho Canter bury Chamber of Commerce, yesterday on the matter, and Mr Jones bad t.omo very interesting reasons to advaitco for the small increase. • Mr Jones prefaced his remarks by stating that one must not consider the figures conclusive until the -whole of tho returns were in. Still, tho outside suburbs were more the abode of the. retired farmer than of tho working man, who for the most part, lived in the City, and this- industrial portion of tho place was not showing the advance in population that it should. The census returns, he- said, were r certainly a rude awakening for Christchurch when , comparing our figures with Auckland and Wellington, but they were only what could be expected. Canterbury • had suffered from several f roars of very dry seasons, and there iad not been an increase in settlement going on. A few estates had been cut up. but they had not increased by very many the tillers-of the soil. Christchnrcli imist eventually become only a second-rate city unless we could make it a manufacturing centre, and manu- j • faeturee in New Zealand wore on the languishing side. Imports wero'increas-. ing by leaps and bounds iv many lines that we ought to bo manufacturing here. The restrictive tactics of the Labour party in limiting our resources of labour were having their effect already. His bootmaker now took a month.'to make a pair of boots because - he- could not got workmen and the awards would not allow him to put on sufficient apprentices to keep his stock of" skilled workmen to his requirements. "We cannot increase our population if , we do not encourage emigrants to come . to New Zealand,", continued Mr Jones, '•'especially for trades where labour is urgently required. ,, ■ Reverting to tho small increase ot population m| Christchurch compared •with the. increases in Wellington and Auckland, Mr Jones Baid it could only be expected that the population would increase more rapidly in those centres, owing to the vast tracts of bush conntry which they -still possessed being yearly brought into productiveriess and requiring a vast amount of .labour, stores, etc., which settlement' tended to support a population of caterers in the cities. Mr Jones Considered that the small increase in th 13 city's population was evidently, from the vital statistics issued from time to time, notdxio to the lessened birthrate bo much as to the fact that many of our young men were seeking homes for themselves in tho North Island, where land was cheap and where the profits of fanning were m ore regular and certain. Discussing the census returns yesterday, and-notably tho small increase in Christchurch City, the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. D. Buddo) stated that he wag not surprised thai the increases in the centres of population had been so much smaller than had been generally expected. It -was a very marked feature of building in the cities that thoro was a distinct trend towards the suburbs, whero family homes were erected. On the whole, the inclination towards suburban residences ought to b« favourably regarded. He was confident thai when the suburban returns were in they would make up, by their increases, for tho comparatively small increases in tho cities.