THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 63, 24 February 1911, Page 11

THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION.

; (To the Editor.) " Sir. —I was interested in the* attitude Mr. Eustace Lane has adopted towards this question, and ' (convinced in my own mind that it !is reasonable even if I don’t say it!

» is the right course for the benefit r of the country towards which the • tide of immigration flows, and even nmore so when one considers that the country from which the immi- : I grants come is strained to the utmost in coping with its dense popu- • lation. Being so thickly popnlated ■ the country can dispense with a ' portion of its population to alle--1 viate the rest. When I first landi ed in New Zealand what struck me, i was the attitude of the officials and ■ the apathy of the labour bureaux towards new arrivals. No wonder the new arrival (who is at a disad:i vantage in being in a strange coun- ’ > try) gets sick of it and wants to get i out of the country or try Austras J lia. or as a last resource return i 1 Home. One has only to take the ’. immigration returns to see how 1 slowly the country is being populated in spite of the constant i f stream of emigrants to this country. Do you think that is the attitude adopted by Canada, that confident, energetic, pushful conn-. ! try ’ I am practically certain it is I I not, judging by the tone of its ad-i • vertising in the Old Country. Here I are people spending twice the| f amount of money in coming to this i ‘ country that they would use hi. I going to Canada, ami met viih; • the disquieting cry of "Why do they keep sending people here ’: ■ We get so many enquiries for > work.” That is a very narrow wav of looking at things. What is 1 wanted is more population. ”Wel-

come Population’’ should be our motto, especially of Europeans of the right stamp. The more people that get settled in the land the more work will be going ; the more produce created, the more powerful the country. Not until we get 10.000.0G0 people in this .country can we say we are populated to any extent. It seems to have been oro.ained by Nature that populations should migrate, for thes not only alleviate the congested areas, but by their adventurous, energetic natures seek and cultivate other lands, bringing with them new features in art ami trades. And I think it is the same with Australia. To be a great- nation it must have population of the righr ‘Tarin. Which will you have. Asiatics or Europeans! At the same time I entirely disapprove of any statements. official or otherwise, dictating to people that they should not come or go to this country or that --quite otherwise. If people of the right stamp are found coming to the country by all means give them a welcome and encourage them, try) gets sick of it and want Co get become an asset to the Country. — I am, etc.. WILLIAM A. MALLETT..