EMPIRE SETTLEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 15, 18 July 1923, Page 9

EMPIRE SETTLEMENT

WORK OF THE WOMEN'S

SOCIETY

MIGRATION OF FAMILIES

- SOME STRANGE MISCONCEP- .' ' . TIONS. ' -. . (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) J ' -''I \ ' -LONDON Ist June. Considerable enterprise was : shown this week by .the ; Society for the Oversea Settlement ; of-. ißritish'. Worneriwhich." drow" together .-.in ..conference | delegates 'from every' imaginable form of women's,, organisation round abput London. The meeting -was, held in the Central Hali,. ■Westmininster, '■ and. Dame Meriel Talbot,'D.B.E., and the Bt.- Hon. L. S. Amery were the principal speakers..' ■ Cbuntess: Buxton presided and Lady Allen; occupied-a "^eat en,;tlio . platform. Apart' Vfrorii '.. the speeches some interest attached to the discussion, for it was evident' that among a .certain, type ; pf delegate the class prejudice or .whatever it may be was very strong,: and.' the. usual statements, were made concerning the bad treatment meted out to those who hadalready migrated. v One heard just- such arguments and,statements as are often reprinted in local .Communistic ' papers; from the "Maorilaud Worker." Fortunately, .a. number of Australian women were -.present and were able to refute these, stateriients' with " no uncertain voice. With regard to tho; statements made by disgruntled settlers Dame Meriel .Talbpt was able to point to the innuriicrable letters of satisfaction the Society, had received .froni those who had 'gone overseas, whereas, she: saidy' the -letters, of complaints ■ wpuld f ill,. only •; an ; prdiriary pige\ of print. She alsp" referred : tp:,the case exploited ..recently 'by "Jphn • Bull." This journal -voiced-the cPinplaints pf ■ a certain mother who' had not received a letter,-, from ■ her ' daughter, a . recent migrant to For : the sake of sensation'- the paper printed a lugubrious tale of".a sorrowing mother 'and a daughter -torn from, her, arriis and swallowed, up; in the unknown. •The story, '.embellifihed',- to Ridiculous proportions, called for the protests .of the . Australiarioauthorities rini Lbridori. The: sequel' to this- was. that'-the. Society paid for a arid; enlisted the serviced '-of tliel Victoria League here and in the Cpmmbmyealth., Seven -days afterwards \ a.' reply ?'came .saying .that the girlVwas prespering ■ and: in' the best ppssible'.health.... I ■ ; :. ' \;-\ : CO-OPERATION .WITH :,\. SETTLEMENT■ ,'.'"■.

'In^a /well-reasoned' speech, lasting • an: hour • Dame/ "Merieb recovered a- ; wide range 'of : subjects./relating;. to theniigrationof • women.. -The Society,';- she' said,. was formed- in • 1919,vand it?ihcPrPpratiedv;the .".British .Women's- Emigration Association, the ; South :. African Colonisation Society, and the (Colonial' Intelligence League. On their ' committee; they .had,..representatives of .many ,pf"the other' "women's societies; such •as ; the • Y.W.C.A., and' the Girls' ,'Friendly Society. .They wcfrked in close co-operation with Overseas Settlement Committee-anil had- rooms in the pam'e '■' building- asV-the .Government body. They also •received a grant from the.: Government.' It,:.;waa surprising,' said the speaker,l how.easily .a conference of men.forgot the women's interest. One,, of the staff "of.'the Women's Society invariably attended committee, meeting of.;;.tKe "Overseas Settlement Committee, i and her mere presence even kept ' the • committee' mindful of the' women's/ side of the question; of immigration. -There was a':-clanger that migration -might bevtreated too • much as, a man's question, not only in this country ■ but in,the -Dominions. Women had a /well-known and' undoubted sphere as home - makeni,. and.; it was, therefore, in the interests' of; this coun-" try. and the Empire that: settlement of women overseas- should be encouraged and/financed/ We, owed\a debt of gratitude to our forefathers who had shown courage to open; up. the'great: Dominions,'but we owed just as great a f'ebt to our :foremothers .because in the, great' enterprise where so much courage and e Hopefulness ; were -.needed 'it was the women whomade 'the- homes and helped./to dispel the loneliness. ;i • .. " OF: .FAMILIES. ■>- Theirobject was to impress on the ■people that the Empire■'• was one great British country, that- the .peopluYpF the .Dominions were as British »s ourselves because ; they were ourselves. They wanted;,to encourage the migration of whole families, for by this they "yirere transporting homes. Dame MerieUthen went on to speak of the need £or-!do-mebtic -helpers," and /explained the conditions m each of the^cbuhtries'and.'the Governments' ' arrangementsii. She advised all women who proposed to' oo overseas, to fit themselves for domestic vr°rk- The^ if they could make themselves useful hvthis way at-the outset s they. might .in due course 1; find the niche .which better suited their particular talents. Nothing was more imi portant in:, moving the peopleViof one part, pf the : ; Empire:; to anqthef part than the arrangements '•for a -friendly welcome .on ■ arrival if or the . new settlers. Dame.Moriel "finallyi-TOade ;an earnest appeal-to the delegates present that they should, make known the work of and use the organisation to the very -fell, and so 'enable those women, who so desired,to'take their part>in building up the Empire of which they were so rightly proud.- - . ' :./ SOME COMMON-MISCONCEP'^ TIONS. ' {£..■'■ Mr. Amery' said it was a commonmisrepresentation that the Government was desirous of utilising Empire .settlements in order to get rid of its"domestic responsibilities for theXproper employment of our people at^Home: Ihey believed that Empire' settlement was,a very valuable complement towards social reform, but m?no sense an alternative or substitute" for it Another misconception was-'vthe idea that this policy would result-in leavina behind a weaker and. feebler sediment! possibly made still weaker o>y the influx of a less progressive" alien element from other countries.. ■ Thij" idea as regarded the influx of alien" workers was based on complete ignorance of the actual facts. The totaU'immigration of that-character was now far less in the .course of a year than it Was in the course >of ::,asingle-: ;; ;month before the war. .-'He idenied that their policy was weakening' the; virility and .character of our'people..-The more people who went overseas, the'more;-room, would there be at home for young "families' to spring up The 'Dominions^rendiered■ .us great help in the"war, biitrifvii' wiser policy had enabled their population 'to be two "or- three times larger than it was the duration of the war ■ might' hWe been shortened considerably/: -J The ! policy they were working out 'in that'iSocietv aimed not only at. the security'vof . the Empire, but at the .creatioi:..':pf; happy and comfortable homes across.the seas It.was from that point of,view—the women's side, of the question—that' it was so immensely important. '