IMMIGRATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 March 1937, Page 11

IMMIGRATION

NEW ZEALAND’S VIEWS Interest has been revived in the question of emigration to the Dominions, by the speech of the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. Mr. Barnard spoke of the danger to New Zealand of the decline in the birth-rate, wrote G. F. J. Dart in the London "Daily Telegraph” recently. Emigration is generally admitted to be a question of great importance to the Empire; it may hav'e to receive practical consideration at no very distant date. My purpose is to point out some of the prejudices and false impressions that, have existed on both sides, and to offer a possible solution of admitted difficulties. I write from a New Zealander’s point of view, and although some of the points raised may be generally applicable, it must be remembered that each Dominion has its own particular difficulties. What applies to /New Zealand does not necessarily apply to Australia.

I have discovered that tne idea is still largely held in England that New Zealand is a miraculously fertile country, ■where fortunes can be made in a few years. These ideas always die hard. It was the same misconception that came near to ‘ wrecking Wakefield’s early colonisation schemes, and its ill effects are still apparent in inflated land values. It is understandable that such a misconception should exist in. . England, where the degree of fertility is comparatively constant throughout the country. Parts of New Zealand are, indeed, very fertile (although probably not more so than most of England, and the climate is kindlier to the farmer, but it must be remembered that these areas are small in extent and not now to be cheaply acquired. The area of New Zealand is greater than the area of England, Scotland, and Wales, but about half tfie country is barren and mountainous, and could never be brought under cultivation. > Most of the sheep-runs are large, and a good deal of capital would be required to embark on this type of farming, although latterly small sheep farms exclusively devoted to the fattening of lambs have been successful. Dairy farms are usually much smaller, but the land is proportionately more valuable and capital is again required. The smaller type of mixed farm is not an expensive venture, but the living in the past has been extremely precarious. / The outlook for this type of farmer is now considerably brighter, as the present Government have brought into operation a scheme of guaranteed prices. A succession 'of bad years, of course, might bankrupt the. Government, but at present the scheme seems to contain the germs of success. Even so, 100 acres in England could probably be farmed more profitably at present than a similar area in New Zealand, though improving methods of transport are steadily making markets more accessible to Dominion farmers.

Viscount Bledisloe, the late Gover-nor-General, advocated the extension of the small farm system, creating what he was reported to have described as a “peasant” population. The use of this word unfortunately brought down a storm of criticism. A young country is always suspicious of certain aspects of an older civilisation, and the word “peasant’’ conjured up visions of. “a mean, narrow-minded backward, illiterate state of serfdom.” The banner of the Standard of Living was vigorously waved. This, of course, was not what Lord Bledisloe meant* and it is obvious that the farming of .100 acres or so does not necessarily lower the standard of living. It depends on the farmer.

There are, however, real arguments against the adoption of Lord Bledisloe’s policy at present. Before such a scheme can become operative the larger sheep-runs must be subdivided, since the available land for small farming is all taken up. Apart from the expense, it is doubtful whether such., a step is ever economically sound. Even supposing it was possible to. adopt small farming on a more extensive scale, it is difficult to see why the present evils of overproduction for a not very elastic-mar-ket, would not be disastrously increased.

The past experience of immigrants to the land has not done much to encourage optimism for the future.

Between 1920 and 1930 many youths, mainly from the public schools, were encouraged to emigrate to New Zealand. The full story of their adventures would make unpleasant reading. The authorities at the time seemed to lose all sense of responsibility and fact, and these unfortunate immigrants were undoubtedly lured by highly-coloured, fantastic tales to a life of misery. “UNPLEASANT CONDITIONS.” The New Zealand labourer was ’clearly aware of the effect such wholesale immigration would have on his earnings, but not so clear where the fault really lay. He vented his feelings on the newcomers. Many of them were quite unsuited to the life they were asked to lead, and the hard-bitten squatter in whose charge they were placed soon made them well aware of the fact. Some were successful, either by luck or good management, some returned home, but a great number were forced to toil in conditions which were (and still are) definitely unpleasant. So much for the rosy hopes with which they had set out. It says much for their pluck and spirit that they have been able to hang on at all, and have not swelled the ranks of the unemployed. The picture is a gloomy one, but in view of possible future attempts at similar immigration it is desirable that it should be widely presented. In the light of this practical experience it is very difficult indeed to see any possibilities of success for similar schemes. Yet they are still considered.

The man with capital is fairly safe, but it does seem obvious that the openings, even for him, are limited and very rarely to be found. It never seems to be understood that as long ago as Wakefield’s time there was not enough land to go round —a circumstance which was directly responsible for that shocking affair, the Wairan massacre.

Therefore it follows that the wouldbe immigrant must bo prepared to buy land, at a cost very little below the cost of average English farmland, or else work as an agricultural labourer in a country where, unemployment is by no means a solved problem. This is looking at the matter from a strictly practical viewpoint, and not taking into account many advantages which may be enjoyed—advantages of climate, cheaper amusements, and a healthy, free life. Those things are usually well enough advertised, and it is not the purpose of this article to

deal with them. The fetish of emigration to the land tends to obscure other possibilities. The optimum population of New Zealand is probably between 10,000,000 and 15,000,000. Natural increase is too slow. Immigration by other nations who accept a very low standard of living has been advanced as a solution, but will certainly never be accepted by New Zealanders, and is probably repugnant to the Empire at large. How then, is emigration from the British Isles to be stimulated? So far the claims for a natural industrial expansion have never been sufficiently emphasised. The Government, it is true, have professed themselves keen to support internal industry, but • have not so far shown much interest in the possibilities of attracting private capital- for this purpose from abroad. It, is the one profitable method of expansion left in New Zealand. There are plenty of pamphlets available offering inducements io the settler to grow apples or raise sheep in the Dominion, but I have never yet seen any inducement offered to industrial firms ,to build their factories' there. MANY ADVANTAGES

The advantages are real enough—cheap sites for building purposes; cheap unlimited water-power for electricity; raw materials of every kind either actually or potentially at hand; coal and iron in abundance, and some oil; a climate in which/'white men may work with the maximum of efficiency; and, lastly, some immunity against the possible effects of war. New Zealand is about the only country 16ft in the world whose geographical situation is still its defence. The chief disadvantage of the Dominion is its distance from the world's markets, so that the manufacturerSmust depend on kales at home. Industrial expansion as outlined above would assist in the solution of the present impasse, since labour, skilled and unskilled, follows industry, creates a home market, stimulates farming, and eventually allows agricultural immigration to become practicable. The social services of New Zealand are even now sufficient to serve a population four times its present number. . Most people are aware of the familiar arguments in favour of immigration —relief of congestion in the depressed areas of the British Isles and the attendant sorrows of want, and a “C 3 population. There is another argument which is not so familiar — that of defence in the Dominion. New Zealand, with a population of 15,000,000 and a resultant potential army of 1,000,000 men, would be free from foreign military domination. No great flight of imagination is needed to envisage the day when the Empire’s existence may depend on the ability' of the Dominions to defend themselves. And the final argument in favour of renewed emigration is incontrovertible—if our Empire, representing Democracy, is unable to populate its waste spaces, then Democracy will have no moral title to their possession.