FARM TRAINING FOR IMMIGRANTS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 150, 20 March 1936, Page 2

FARM TRAINING FOR IMMIGRANTS

Promoting Settlement In Dominions FAIRBRIDGE FARM SCHOOLS

(By

Cultivator.)

According to a report from Berth which appeared in “The Dominion’ earlier in the week, Mr. Gordon Green, secretary of the Fairbriclge Farm Schools, Inc., is to arrive in New Zealand toward the end of the preset) 1 month with a view to inspecting suitable sites for (be establishment of a farm school in the Dominion. If brought into being this school will be used for bringing juvenile immigrants from England. Under the Fairbridge scheme farm schools have already been established in Western Australia and British Columbia, and at the present time Mr. Green is inspecting likely sites for a second institution in Australia. The object of the schools is to promote the settlement in the Dominions of poorer children of both sexes from the United Kingdom. The average age of children emigrating under the scheme is 11 years, and, in order not to separate brothers aud sisters, special consideration is given to members of the same family who are over 7 and under 13. Three parties of from 20 to 50 usually sail each year for the school in Western Australia, and it is intended that parties of 2S will be received periodically by the British Columbia school. Its establishment has now been completed and two batches of 28 will be sent out this year. Until they reach the age of 14 the children are given school education and following that they are given a period of IS months’ intensive farm training. They then take up employment, during which they are under charge of an after-care officer. Every encouragement 's given the children to regard the farm school as their home, and they are at liberty to return whenever opportunity offers. The officers watch to it that reports of the children’s progress-are forwarded to guardians or friends. Arrangements for Savings. When the children enter employment an arrangement is made with the employers that half of the wages earned must be forwarded to the-farm school to be placed to the credit of the pupils at the bank. Supervision officially ceases when the pupils reach their majority, and they can then draw their savings, but actually the contact is usually maintained for a longer period. The schools are undenominational, and the youthful emigrants are given every opportunity of receiving instruction in the denomination to which they belong. Sport plays an important part in the training given at the schools. Though farming is the occupation taught, every pupil has the chance to enter other vocations, and many have taken this opportunity. One Canadian newspaper, after dealing with the establishment of the British Columbia school farm, had some interesting comments to make on the matter of migration toward the end of last year. It was stated that the past four years, during which the policy of migration had been suspended, had revealed some curious facts. In that period, migration first diminished and then reversed its direction, so that the number returning to countries of origin had become larger than the movement to new countries. This was particularly the ease with Great. Britain, the Irish Free .Stare, Germany, Italy and Spain. . At no period in history hud such a reverse movement been so general or lasted so lopg. Since 1930, 250,000 more people had left the United States of America than |he total immigration. In Canada, it was estimated that the net loss was 30,000 persons. Causes of Immigration Loss, Three causes were assigned to this loss by homeward immigration. These were restrictive regulation, the absence of unemployment insurance in the new countries, and the belief among European immigrants that there were better opportunities in their native countries. Public men in Canada, who looked to a resumption of immigration. realised that the task would be more difficult than in the old days of easy flow of population, particularly from European countries, which were considered likely to impose more severe restrictions against emigration. Complete prohibition would be in line with present national policies. Canada was expected to look to the .Motherland to resuscitate the British content of her population. The record of her recovery policies had been such as to inspire Canada with the knowledge that the most acceptable type of immigrant was there, and not on the Continent. The establishment, just now, of unemployment insurance throughout Canada, would remove the major bar to migration. It was anticipated that, presently, the Dominion Government would take advantage of the British Government’s willingness to supply people and also a modicum of the capital needed to settle them and care for them.