Salvation Army Plan To Brine Boys From Britain
(P.A.) WELLINGTON. This Day. "As a first small but practical step toward a solution of New Zealand's population problem the Salvation Army has prepared plans to bring out from'Britain to t!ie Dominion 50 boys between the ages of 10 and 17 years." said Commissioner J. Evan Smith yesterday. , Tiie present situation was a plain challenge. he stated. Either New Zealand must fill up its empty spaces with sufficient European people properly to exploit its rich resources, or within a few years the demands of Eastern peoples for breathing space would become so insistent tha« they would have to be admitted. Whether a sufficient increase in the birthrate to reverse the present trend toward population decline could be obtained was doubtful. Carefully Selected The boys would be carefully selected by the army" headquarters in London and despatched to New Zealand. The army would meet all the expenses involved, receive the boys on arrival and place them on its boys’ farm at Futaruru for training while suitable homes were found for them. He had received word from General Carpenter. London, international leader of the Salvation Army, that the army authorities in London would be happy to co-operate immediately the way was open. “I have written to the Prime Minister, outlining the scheme and asking whether the Government would have objection to it.” said Commissioner Smith. “So far I have received only an acknowledgment of my letter and am eagerly awaiting an answer.” The scheme was not without a satisfactory precedent. After the last; war the Salvation Army had brought out BCO boys, the expense being shared by the parents, the army and the Government. The boys had developed into good New Zealanders, fewer than 1 per cent, being failures. The latest project, he added, had the backing of the directors of the Wellington Rotary Club, and the approval, of the,Dominion Settlement and Population Association. ■■■*■
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Bibliographic details
Northern Advocate, 3 October 1944, Page 5
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320Salvation Army Plan To Brine Boys From Britain Northern Advocate, 3 October 1944, Page 5
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