EMIGRATION

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 April 1922, Page 5

EMIGRATION

THE BRITISH SCHEME

FAVOURABLE COMMENT.

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LONDON, April 12. Sir James ivlitcnell of West Australia;, interviewed by the Austranan Press Association, commended the i>ntish Emigration iiill, the text of winch has been issued. He said it would enable tne Dominions to secure a bigger inflow of immigrants than would be otherwise financially possible. Referring to the clause providing that tne aggregate Imperial expenditure shall not exceed £1,500,000 for the first year and then £3,000,000 yearly, he expressed tne opinion that the terms were not only merely generous, but of the greatest importance apart from the amount, because if Parliament approved it would establish for the first t.me Jn British history the principle of British financial co-operation in migration. He pointed out that the Bill committed the Government to fifteen years' payments, aggregating over £40,000,000, which was much greater than the most optimistic could have anticipated.

The parts of the Bill which appealed most to Sir James Mitchell were: Firstly, provision" for Imperial financial assistance in the development oi land settlement schemes and migrants' pasges, initial assistance to migrants, and special training for intending migrants ; secondly, authorisation for financial co-operation with approved private organisations, either in the United Kingdom or the Dominions, promoting settlement areas.

Mr Percy Hunter (Director of Immigration for Australia), interviewed, said the Bill marked a; dramatic change in the -British, attitude towards settlement in the Dominions. It meant that Britain became a partner with the Dominions in schemes for moving people from over-populated Britain to the underpopulated Dominions. The Bill differed from all previous proposals by the fact that whereas they were post-war settlement projects, this proposes to establ:sh a permanent principle, equally applicable to ex-service men and to civilians. "It is a complete revolution of ideas and probably destined to change the future of the British Empire," he added.