The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, September 17, 1937. N.Z. POPULATION.

Grey River Argus, 17 September 1937, Page 8

The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, September 17, 1937. N.Z. POPULATION.

There will be one more in the North and one fewer in the South Island delegation to the next Parliament, but even this is not so striking a reminder of our population trend than last census, which was the nineteenth since 1851. In the intervening span of about 85 years the increase was 1,464,777, the number ol males on

March 24 last having been 799,089, and of females 774,721. There thus were 970 females to every 1,000 males, and the Statistician opines that a couple of decades or so will see parity reached in the sexes. Of the total of 1,491,484, there were 82,326 Maoris, and the notable fact emerges that the native race is now increasing at a faster rate than the European. The Statistician remarks that authorities disagree as to what the Maori maximum may have been before the European advent, one suggesting half a million, while others place 400,000 or 150,000 as the limit.

There was, undoubtedly, a rapid decline in the number of Maoris, ( from both warfare and diseases, which the European brought, but 35 y-oars ago the decline ceased, and from 52,723 Maoris 16 years ago, there had by last year been an increase to 82,326, or roughly 30,000. The total population grew from 1926 to 1936 by rather less

than 11 per cent., or by .Lunula, an annual increase rate of 1.05 per cent. This rate is only about bait the rate of growth in the preceding decade, and the lowest ever recorded for a similar period, the excess of births over deaths, 63,952, having been the lowest figure since the last five years of last century. Meantime gration has played a lesser part' than it did earlier in the present century. There are now about 285,000 more people living in boroughs or cities than in counties, the respective totals being 601,343 and 884,282, these 'figures excluding Maoris, who are nearly all rural dwellers. There is a great contrast with the proportions at the beginning of the 'century, because 40 per cent, of the people now live in towns of 10,000 people or over, compared with only 20 per cent. then. One factor in this change is, of course, the development of secondary industries. Such development is destined to continue, unless lessons taught in older countries by the problem of urban congestion are learned in time to check those problems in newer countries like our own. However, a more immediate question is the relationship of the two- main islands in population. The census shows that now almost two thirds, or 64.69 per cent, of the people, have their domicile in the North Inland. This preponderance only began, however, to show itself at the beginning of the century. Previously the predominance was in this island. For the past decade, the increase has amounted to

12.88 per cent, in the North Island, or a gain of 107,126, compared with a gain of but 39,889, or 7.78 per cent, in the South Island, where the actual increase was 7,000 below the natural increase. It would certainly appear that anything of a developmental undertaking that is calculated to redress the balance is very urgent. The density of population is greatest in the province of Wellington, being 29.11 per square mile, which contrasts markedly with the South Island average of 9.40. For the Dominion the average is 15.22 per cent, per square mile, including Maoris, and the North Island with an area of 44,281 square miles has an average of 22.99, while the South Island average is relatively lessened by its greater area of 59,134 square miles. It may be admitted that, quite apart from other attractions, the presence of a far greater number of people in the North Island will in itself act as a magnet for additional people, there being more opportunities and amenities. Nevertheless, resources, which have yet lain inaccessible in this Island, must in due time afford maintenance for greater numbers, but there is yet no sign that the growing prepon-derance-of the North Island population is destined to be checked.