EXODUS FROM EUROPE

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 December 1946, Page 7

EXODUS FROM EUROPE

IMMIGRANTS FOR SOUTH AMERICA - LARGE-SCALE MOVEMENT LONDON, December 3. The Times reports that several South American states are already taking active steps to bring large numbers of immigrants from Europe. The Argentine Government intends sending a special Minister to Rome to supervise the selection of some 4,000,000 Europeans, who will be transhipped to Argentina at the rate of 30,000 a month. Brazil and Venezuela have already established organisations abroad for the same purpose. Brazil proposes absorbing 12,000 immigrants yearly and Venezuela wants 10,000 families or some 30,000 to 40,000 persons. The Vatican is reported to be interested in all three movements and has been studying measures to relieve many thousands of Catholics among 1,000,000 displaced persons facing an uncertain future in Central European countries.

British shipping companies are reported to be anxious to participate in these large-scale transfers, but are handicapped by the shortage of suitable tonnage. The Royal Mail Line’s Highland Chieftain is now on her way to South America with all accommodation fully occupied, but her two sister ships, the Highland Princess and the Highland Brigade, both of which visited New Zealand as troopers, are not expected to be reconverted and repaired until the middle of next year. Of the other two large British liners built for the South American trade, the Andes is still requisitioned as a transport and the Alcantara is still in the process of derequisitioning. It is anticipated that the transportation of the hundreds of thousands of European immigrants required by the South American states will occupy many years.

French Assembly

A Socialist, M. Vincent Auriol, was elected president of the new French National Assembly for a third successive term, defeating Communist and Radical Sociailist candidate?. —Paris, December 3.