IMMIGRANTS ARRIVE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17483, 29 May 1920, Page 7

IMMIGRANTS ARRIVE.

READY FOR HARD WORK.

NO FOND DELUSIONS.

COMPLAINTS OF EARL? DRAFTS.

A further draft of over 200 immigrants from England arrived by the steamer , Paparoa yesterday. They are full of hope j as to their future prospects in New Zea- . land, but they are not buoyed up_ with any false hopes as to there being any easy road to success here. ' the general impression gained from conversations with numbers of the new arrivals was that they do not regard New Zealand in any sense as " the promised land of milk and honey," nor yet do they consider that any succoss will be accomplished without hard work. This, ■ however, they are prepared to face, and they are full of optimism as to the future. Questioned as to the method or system adapted by the New Zealand High Cam, missioner's officers in London, in, supplying information to people who desired to settle here, a man who adopted the role of spokesman for a little group said: "They told us that there was plenty of work in this country for people of the right farmers and farm workers. They did not dead us to believe that we ! were coming to a bed of roses, nor did : they tell us that we could get land just i for the asking. We knew before we left that land would have to be provided for the soldiers before we could get a chance.'" " Did they tell you of the difficulty of getting houses in New Zealand 1 ?" was the question put to another immigrant, and his immediate reply was; "They certainly did." "And you were prepared to take your chance?"" Yes, because we know that we will liavo better chances here jn a young country than wo could ever expect at Home." What are you going to do?" was . asked of a fine strapping young man who I with his wife and two children has come out to try his luck in the Dominion. , " I'm seeking work," he replied. From a ! brief conversation that followed it was , gathered that he was a miner, and inI tended following his calling hero. j Many Irish on Vessel. ' " There aro a good many Irish aboard," 1 6aid a young man who spent five years in the Imperial Army, and who has come out to join a brother. Continuing, he said, conditions were bad in Ireland, and people were leaving the country in largo, numbers. " You can't go down the street in Dublin without running the risk of being shot by tho Sinn Feiners," he concluded. Of the many spoken to concerning their object in coming to New Zealand not one had been given to understand that life would be any easier here than in any other country. The lack of opportunity to progress in Britain appears to be, in the main, the reason for so many young people taking advantage of the Imperial Government's Overseas Immigration scheme. For the most part those who arrived have been approved of by the New Zealand Government under that scheme. A number are bound for the South Island, while others are going to Wellington and other parts of the North Island, and many will remain in'the Auckland • province. Men Without Experience. Another aspect of the immigration scheme has been disclosed by the appearance at the Labour Bureau of British , immigrants who havo arrived in Auckland under the Imperial Government's overseas settlement scheme. Most of the men are asking for farm work, but have had little . or no experience of it. There is verv little work of this kind offering at present. It has therefore been very difficult in some instances to place the new arrivals in suitable _ positions', although _ there has' been no difficulty at all in the cases of tradesmen or men of industrial experience. It appears that in a number of instances those who are now finding it hard to get work have previously been office workers, of which class there is already in this country a supply that exceeds the demand. Fascination of Farm Life. Some of the immigrants when questioned alleged that they wore misled by officials of the High Commissioner's office in regard to labour conditions, the cost of land, housing conditions, the cost of living, and as to what the Dominion Government would do for them.

The fascination of a country life evidently appealed to a wide assortment of indoor workers, including bank clerks, hairdressers, and tho like. "We were told," stated one immigrant, ''that it was absolutely unnecessary to have farm experience, and that employers would be waiting on th*e wharf to take us off to jobs." Among other immigrants who were interviewed were half-a-dozen. men who arrived in Auckland from Sydney by tho Maheno this week, also several who transhipped from tho Orient liner Ormonde at the latter port, and camo on to Wellington. Tho fact that there was no Government official to meet them at either Wellington or Auckland, as anticipated, was tho first indication Jhat their path in a new land might not bo bo easy as interviews at the High Commissioner's office had led them to believe. "When we arrived here," said one, "we were entirely at a loss as to what to do, and as we are all exservice men, we went to the Returned Soldiers' Association for advice. They explained that the Repatriation Department here could deal. only with New Zealand soldiers, and referred us to the Labour Department. Now we learn for the first time that unskilled farm workers are not wanted in this country, although we had been definitely informed to the contrary both at the High Commissioner's office and by statements in the English press," ."-Applications for Passages. '■.■/■■

Asked to; describe -, exactly, what steps were-taken,-in connection with their application for passages to New Zealand, they stated that they were merely required to fill in application forms, giving personal details as to age, service, etc., and to send these, accompanied by a medical certificate and a recommendation from two wellknown citizens, to the High Commissioner. The only questions asked with Tegard to their capabilities as prospective settlers were, "Do "vou intend to settle, or to work on the land?" and. "Have you had any previous' eperience?" In each case, they. stated, the answer had been, truthfully given, either" no," or "-very little!" ,■.-;N0... other, steps 1 : whatever wero taken; they' allege, to . find '■' out -whether they were'men likely to 5 - prove suited to tho work; and. the life they wished to. undertake. (;■ ■"■,'.".■'■'.'. "'*. .: "We are utterly ..at- a loss as to what to to next," said one man in conclusion. " WY do -hot blame anyone here for our predicament, for -nobodv in Auckland seems to -be responsible, but we certainly do.think we should not have been allowed to come out here under such a misleading impression as to work, and that it should be the. business of somebody in authority receive us and tell us what to > do now that.we are here, and stranded." '...