POPULATION.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19667, 10 July 1929, Page 17

POPULATION.

ITS INCREASE IN NEW ZEALAND. ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR TOCKER. At last night's meeting of the Canterbury Group of the New Zealand Branch of the Institute of Pacific Relations, an interesting address was given by Professor A. H. Tocker, Professor of Economics at Canterbury College, on "New Zealand's Capacity to Absorb Population." Mr L. B. Denny was in the eh air. During the last ten years, said Professor Tocker, attention had been drawn to the question of population more than at any other time since Malthus. Malthus had said that the population of a country was held in check by the available means of subsistence. Between 1350 and 1800 the population of England had increased from four millions to eight millions. France and other Western European nations had increased at approximately the same rate. Then, between 1800 and 1900 England's population had been multiplied by five. Social, industrial, and transport improvements, however, outstripped the growth of population, enormous though it had been. Now, the Malthus theory was generally discredited. There was in every country an optimum population, which could be stated as the number of people who could enjoy the highest standard of living. The efficiency of production or the economic organisation was very important in the population question. The growth of the population in New Zealand had been very rapid in the past, said the speaker. Between 1891 and 1921 New Zealand's rate of growth had been greater than that of any other country in the world. Great changes in the economic oi'ganisation had taken place, however, during that period. Birth rates and death rates were both falling in New Zealand, and the latter was at present the lowest in the world. There had been a common fall in the birth rate all over the civilised world during the last twenty years. New Zealand's birthrate was comparatively high compared with other countries. The low death rate prevalent here was due partially to the growth of the population. The natural increase had, however, slowed down considerably. It had been estimated that 10,000,000 lives had been lost in the Great War, but the greatest loss was that in organisation, which had collapsed during the five vears. This breakdown had prevented the people from making full use of their resources, and the standard of living consequently felh The Malthusian theory began to assert itself once more, and it was realised how c» ' sential and effective industrial organisation was. There had been a great deal of talk about the absorptive capacity of New Zealand. There was no guarantee that the capacity to absorb immigrants wowld continue regularly. Natural resources were a fixed quantity, and all were not being used or fully exploited. Organisation was open to extension and improvement. Numbers could be increased to a very large extent if a lower standard of living were consented to. but this was neither a necessary nor 1 desirable result. It was difficult to j sav what the ultimate population of | New Zealand would be, and it was equally hard to forecast the rate of increase. I There was no reason why New Zealand's ] population should not increase, pro- i vided our organisation improved rela- ! tivelv. >