Peopling Idle Lands

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 149, 19 March 1936, Page 11

Peopling Idle Lands

Sir, —Having, during the past few years, obtained space in your valuable columns to point out tbe ever-increasing danger of empty spaces, and huge areas given over to beasts of tbe field, on lhe one hand, with centralised' thousands of propertyless families aud empty cradles on the other, it was with mixed feelings of astonishment and indignation that 1 read "A New Zealander's'” suggestion that we invite groups of Jews from Germany to settle in the spaces referred to above.

If the principle (or lack thereof) of ignoring completely our own fellow citizens’ dire needs be admitted as an expedient, why confine our invitation to the persecuted Jews of Germany? There are millions of persecuted Christians in Germany, and as “A New Zealander” base-' his suggestion ou "humanitarian” grounds, let us extend his "humanitarianism” to its logical conclusion. His invitation on these grounds must also be extended to the persecuted millions of Christians in Mexico, whose deplorable sufferings under a Communistic dictatorship strike horror into human hearts. So also must be considered tbe numerous other races who are subject to the oppression of unjust rulers, because if the only ground for such an invitation to tako up our land is assistance to industrious peoples suffering persecution, then logic demands its extension to all within that category. But I presume that "Ar New Zealander” cannot have heard of the plight of many thousands of his fellow countrymen and women, who are willing to prove their initiative and industry in planting families, homes, aud industries in our fertle idle lands, aud this sad deficiency in his knowledge could be rectified by writing to the Minister of Employment, "asking for full details of their position and what could be done for them.—l am. etc.. D. McLAUGHLIN. Wellington, March 18.