U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 218, 9 June 1921, Page 6

U.S. IMMIGRATION LAW

1500 ITALIANS MAROONED ON A STEAMER JUNE QUOTA EXHAUSTED (Rec. June 9, 0.20 a.in.) New York, June 8. Fifteen hundred Italian immigrants are mai-ooned on a steamer because their country’s June quota under the now restrictive immigration law is exhausted. Emergency legislation is urged, and it is proposed to fine shipping companies in future, jit Boston a thousand Italians on the steamer Canopic are held up. Three hundred women, and aged persons have been admitted. The immigrants will be returned to Italy on June 17 unless a Federal ruling is received.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

chambers of commerce were not in favour of abandoning the system of estimating exports by districts. Mr. Mitchell: Do they know how the returns are compiled?

The Minister said the boundaries of the districts had been fixed after voluminous correspondence and discussion. Dr. Newman: The figures are entirely incorrect.

Mr. Mitchell suggested that the return should show how the districts were constituted.

The Minister thought it would be difficult to show boundaries in the return. If he reverted to the older system be would be flooded with protests from the smaller ports. Mr. Mitchell: Is it fair to the small ports to credit them with thousands of tons of cargo that never went over their wharves ?.

The Minister said he would discuss the question with Ijis officers. His Department would correct the heading of the existing return, and he would confer regarding the suggested return of actual exports from ports. The question was not simple, and the Departmental files showed that already it had been argued at great length from many points of view.

PROGRESS LEAGUE’S REPORT

THE OFFICIAL SYSTEM

The report presented to the Minister by Mr. Mitchell as secretary of the Central Progress league was as follows: — ''As requested by my executive, I have gone into the returns showing the exports from ‘our port. The figures and facts set out below show the official returns to be very fallacious. Up to 191-4 each port was credited with all goods shipped from the port. Since 1914, however, certain counties were allotted to the various ports, and all goods sent from those counties were credited to the port, irrespective of whether the goods wrtre shipped from that port or not. Tn consequence, a port may be given credit for thousands of tons of cargo which was never near its wharf. The following table shows the number of counties and the area in square miles allotted to the ports throughout the Dominion. a

Invercargill 5 14.888 New Plymouth. Wnitnra, Patna, Kni para.—lncludes only goods actually shipped from these ports.

“It will be seen by the above that the area allocated to each port varies exceedingly. Of the four chief centres Wellington has much the smallest area credited to it, being four and a half times less than that credited to Auckland. For the past year Wellington was credited with exporting /56,593,149 from 4000 square miles, yet the actual exports shipped from Wellington exceed J 218.600.000. The following table shows the value of produce credited to us in the official returns as having been exported from Wellington, together with tho actual amount shipped from our port according to tho Harbour Board returns, by which you'will see that we exported produce to the value of over ,£10,000,0(10 Inst year for which we received no credit. Only in the case of twelve lines of produce is the actual amount exported from Wellington available. If the quantities were available in the case of the other 13 lines the .£10,000,000 would be greatly increased.

“It will bo seen, therefore, that in the produce above referred to we exported to the value of 4116,702,459 We wore credited with 416,593,149 Balance shipped from, but not credited to our port 4110,109,310 "ft is surely an extraordinary system which credits a port with lose than 40 per cent, of our exports, and publishes the figures to the world as the “exports from the various ports,” giving official authority for that which is known to be a fallacious return. The authorities evidently had, a very commendable desire to credit each district with the produce they exported. But the present system, with its ill-defined districts, of al] sizes from 651 to 18,952 sq. miles, the boundaries or extent of which not one in a thousand knows anything about, shows neither the products of the districts or the exports from our ports. This return.- therefore, serves no useful purpose whatever. “It is desirable that people should know the yearly products from each district (in amount, rather than in value, because a fluctuating value does not show whether a district is increasing her production or not). _ I suggest, also, that our country districts should be divided up info suitable areas of about the same sijze, nnd a yeairly return published showing the production of each. This would be interesting and stimulating to tho producers. I suggest, also, that a separate return should be published showing the exact amount of exports and imports from and to. each port irrespective of where such exports were produced. These could be supplied by tho Harbour Board, and valued by the Customs Department. The present official Year Book return showing 'Exports from various ports’ being false and misleading should be discontinued at once.”

No. of counties. Square miles. Auckland ! 28 18.952 Wellington It 4.356 Lvttelton 25 11,355 Dunedin 9 8,535 Tauranga 1 651 Wanganui 10 5.072 Gisborne 5 3,072 Napier 9 7,765 Nelson 4 4.475 Wairau 3 3.671 Westport 1 1.818 Grevmouth .... 2 2,193 Hokitika 1 4,420 Timaru 4 5.102 Oamaru 1 2,333

Wool Actual quantity. Bales. .... 144.442 Official quantity. Bales. 76.454 Hemp and tow . .... 87.720 73,952 Tons. Tons. Frozen meat ... 51,940 27,778 Preserved meat . 2.858 1,430 Tallow .... 16.573 3,846 Grain 3.1’8 365 Butter .... 4.039 426 Cheese .... 48,525 7,057 Fresh fruit .... 1,367 Kauri sum 546 —- s 173 ——■ Bones and horns 29 — Actual Official value. value. £ £ Wool 3,711.790 1,769,336 Kemp and tow .. 558,653 501,448 Frozen meat 2,637,650 1.409.781 Preserved meat .. 261.596 130.888 Tallow 2,220.100 457.118 Grain 90.700 10,630 Butter 731,197 76,185 Cheese 4.899.695 712,835 Fresh fruit 1.367 —— Kauri frum 46 950 — Flops 14.100 — Bones and horns. 900 — 16,702.459 6,593,149