MIGRATION

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 8, 5 October 1926, Page 12

MIGRATION

WILL FLOW BE RESTRICTED?

MATTER CONSIDERED BY GOVERNMENT

A MINISTER'S STATEMENT

By Telegraph.—Press Association.

Auckland, October 4.

An intimation that the Gov. ernment was now seriously considering the advisability of re. ducing the flow of immigrants to New Zealand was given at a meeting of the Auckland Un. employment Committee by the Minister of Public Works (Hon. K. S. Williams).

The meeting had been called to enable the Minister to have a discussion with members in an effort to reach a solution of the unemployment problem. The Minister said that his Department was voted a certain amount of money for certain works, and he felt justified in saying that taxpayers looked to him to spend that money to the best advantage. It was, therefore, impossible for his Department to give work to all unemployed men. If these committees and the Labour Department would go more deeply into the unemployment position and find out from which industries the men had been discharged, it would be a help in finding a remedy. It was not economically sound to be employing men on tasks for which they were not trained or suited. . While in the province, said Mr. Williams, he would make a close inquiry on various departmental jobs to see whether more men could not be placed. They were almost ready to put on 50 more men on the Westfield deviation and 25 at Mercer, but these could not be taken on at the rate of about ten a week. The Department was now employing about 1000 more men than were arranged for when the season’s programme was being laid down. Mention had been made of the fact that men were engaged on relief works and paid day rates for the first fortnight, after which they were placed on contract. He recognised that a number of men were not fit to do this class of work, and instructions had been given to allow them more than two weeks at a stated wage to get used to the work. However, the. taxpayers’ money could not ruthlessly be spent on men who could not do the work. In regard to the Government’s land policy, the Minister said that he had some ideas as to how land could be settled, and he had talked the matter over with his colleagues. This was not a problem that could be settled in a few minutes, but he was hopeful that they would arrive at a solution. . He was considering very seriously the question of ’ restriction on immigration. One reason why so many people had been coming in lately was that a number had been held up by the British coal strike, and as they had made all preparations to come to New Zealand, in some cases selling their properties, the Government had a duty to bring them out.