CHILDREN FROM BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23053, 22 June 1940, Page 12

CHILDREN FROM BRITAIN

PLANNING RECEPTION IN N.Z. STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON. June 21. The willingness of the New Zealand Government to arrange to accept in the first instance 2500 children evacuated Trorn the United Kingdom, ranging from the lowest age . capable of travelling.. to 16 years, has been reported to the United Kingdom authorities through the High Commissioner for the Dominion in Britain (Mr W. J. Jordan). The Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser) said in an interview to-night, that the maximum limit to the number of children would be the capacity of the country to provide for them, and he mentioned that Auckland was ready to look after a minimum of 500 children. “I have now been informed both by the United Kingdom Government and Mr Jordan, in response to oilers made by this ' and other overseas governments, that a scheme has been drawn up for submission to the governments concerned,” Mr Fraser said, ‘‘The United Kingdom authorities propose to set up immediately an executive body to be called the Children’s Overseas Reception Board, under the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Under-Sec-retary of State for Dominion Affairs, to administer the scheme in the United Kingdom. The chairman of this body will also be assisted by an advisory council composed of persons with experience of the problem involved. The board hopes to arrange for the accommodation of parties of children on all suitable passenger ships sailing to the Dominion. Ages 5 to 16 “Few, if ony, non-British children will be included,” the Prime Minister said. “It is proposed to restrict the scheme to children between five and 16 years of age, unaccompanied by their parents, the only possible exception being the inclusion of war widows with children. The children are to be escorted on a basis of one escort to 12 children. The escorts will probably be recruited largely from New Zealand teachers, nurses and others who are desirous of returning to the Dominion. The selection of children, of course, will be made by British authorities. “I expect that some of the children will be leaving England next month, so we must prepare fully now for their reception. I know that New Zealanders will respond fully to this appeal to assist the people of Great Britain by taking care temporarily of some of their- children. In making this statement I am greatly encouraged by the fact that only to-day, the Mayor of Auckland (Sir Ernest Davis) told me ■that in response to an appeal he is able to say that as a minimum Auckland is ready to look after 500 children,” Mr Fraser continued. “This ready and willing immediate response from one part of the Dominion is most gratifying indeed. I may add that this Auckland offer is for permanent homes if necessary. Local Body Action ‘‘As for the rest of the Dominion, the Government proposes to ask local authorities to assist in the initial task of finding suitable homes for these children as they arrive. The Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) has been giving attention to this phase, and he is advising the appropriate local authorities What the Government desires them to do, and is asking them to take the matter in hand right away. ;„ tri “The Dominion has been zoned into certain groups of local authorities, as the Government feels that the matter could be more appropriately handled on a regional rather than an individual district basis., The Mayor principal town in each zone will shortly be asked by the Minister for Internal Affairs to call all local authorities in his zone to make a collective effort. The object is to obtain from each locality all information necessary for proper reception and placing of these children throughout the whole of the Dominion, and to have this information fully sifted before submission to the Government. Help From Churches “In doing this, I know that the church authorities, who are eminently suitable for such a task, will assist local authorities to the fullest extent possible. “Already the Government has received a large number-of offers from individuals from all parts of the Dominion to take children, and, a large number of inquiries have been received from other people for further information," the Prime Minister added. “I would ask these people to place themselves at the disposal of local authorities as sdoh as an appeaj is made in each district.” Mr Fraser said that when the children arrived the child welfare branch of the Education Department would enter actively'into the scheme. Until the children were placed in private homes they would be suitably accommodated together. This had been decided upon as the most likely means of enabling the prospective foster-parents and the children to become acquainted before allocations were made. It was not anticipated that allocations to private homes would take longer than a few days after the arrival of any group. After the children were placed with their foster-parents the child welfare branch, together with the church and other organisations concerned in this particular type of work, would maintain the contact that was so essential to ensure complete understanding between the fosterparents and the children, he added. “The British Government has expressed its deep appreciation of the generous offers which have been received from the Dominions and elsewhere to maintain and educate for the period of the-war children sent from Great Britain,” Mr Fraser said. “It also expressed the hope that the con- , sent and complete co-operation of the Governments, concerned would be speedily forthcoming. The steps which I have outlined are, I think, a sufficient answer as far as this Dominion is concerned.”

AUCKLAND OFFER (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAMS.) 1 AUCKLAND, June 21. ; As offers of homes for 1053 children from Great Britain have been registered at the Auckland Town Hall, the Mayor (Sir Ernest Davis) has forwarded to the Prime Minister an undertaking that Auckland would provide as ' a first instalment for the placing of 500 British orphan children in selected homes. An offer .on behalf of the women of Auckland to support 50 British war widows with children for 12 months or for the duration of the war, if the Government will allow them to be accommodated in buildings on Motuihi Island, has also been made by the Mayor.

BRITISH PROPOSALS CARING FOR CHILDREN IN DOMINIONS (Received June 21, 9 p.m.) LONDON, June 21. Thousands of parents besieged Government offices seeking to register their children .for evacuation to the Dominions. Mr G. H. Shakespeare (Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Dominion) said that preference would be given to the children of “wise parents,” who had already been evacuated in accordance with the Government scheme. There was' every indication that the response from the United States would be remarkable, said Mr Shakespeare. In addition to the Dominions, Southern Rhodesia had promised to take children. The limitations of the scheme to send British children to overseas Dominions were discussed by Mr Shakespeare. He said he wanted to clear up some misunderstandings about the scheme. ; ' The scope of the scheme was limited by the extent of offers received from overseas, he said. A mass migration was not intended. The Government’s plan for the safety of refugee children would be carried out in an orderly and steady manner. It was outside- the bounds of any practical scheme to transport scores of thousands of children from England in a few weeks, as some people believed. Children would first be moved from congested areas in England to less dangerous areas. Those children whose parents wanted them to go overseas would be sent.