EMPIRE SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18090, 15 May 1922, Page 5

EMPIRE SETTLEMENT.

' GREAT BRITAIN'S MILLIONS. J t ; ROOM IN THE DOMINIONS, i | NEW ZEALAND'S POLICY. | [7ROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. J LONDON. March 24. 5 Tho policy of the Imperial' Government I in regard to migration ■within the Empire . was outlined by Lieut.-Colonel L. G. M. > S. i\mery in an address at the Royal > C'olcmial Institute I | A better redistribution of the British population of Empire, said Colonel Amory. 1 was tho key to most of the problems faci ing this country and the Dominions. The consequences of tho great war had only J emphasised tho need for an active policy I of co-operation, based upon a recognition J of this fact, between all the Governments |of the Empire. The problem of linem- ; ployment was essentially a problem af the riglit distribution of population. In the British Empire to-day that population was wrongly distributed, first, as between industry and agriculture, and, secondly, as between Great Britain and tho Dominions. , In Great Britain the population was over j 400 to the square mile; in the Dominions j it was under six to the square mile. The , need for more population in the Dominions 1 , to make possiblo the development of their < natural resources was as great as our need I for a temporary reduction of our popula- j -lion. The only effective and permanent I cure of the evils arising from a faulty dis- ] tributicm in the Empire as a Whole was to secure a right distribution. In other words, the key to the employment situation was the shifting of British population from Great Britain to the Dominions and from industry to agriculture. What was needed was a policy of Empire migration and Em pire land settlement carried out on a large scale. The two would have to' go hand in hand, for tho capacity of the Dominions ' to absorb additional urban population wa3 j narrowly limited by the growth of their ; agricultural population and by the inevitable objection of their own industrial workers to the influx of competitive labour. Alternative to Doles. Such a policy of Empire settlement and ' migration would neoessarily cost money. ! liut it would secure a real and lasting improvement at far less cost than the present system of relief works and doles. At the present momeir'i £100,C00,000 a | year was being spent on unemployment j relief of one kind or another. This great j expenditure afforded a purely temporary j It effected no permanent cureOn the contrary, it aggravated the situation by the crippling burden which it imposed on industry and by the extent j to which it prevented natural economic | ■ adjustments. if the migration of workers from these j | shores not only reduced immediate un- j 1 employment but created new markets ! I overseas, it would create the conditions ! j for a natural and healthy growth of ' j population at home. The more settlers ; i sent out to the Dominions the larger, • i in the long run, would be the population j !of this country. "This is no parados, ! j but a truism. Does anyone suggest that the population of this country would be as large as it is to-day if w& had not built up the markets of the Dominions with millions of British settlers?" "God's Own Country." Colonel Amery read a number of letters ho had received from those who had made a new home in the Dominions. All j of these se'ected testimonies had a human j interest which greatly appealed to the ' audience. A settler who had been a 1 sailor, wrote from New Zealand. "This i is God's own country, and I only wish more people at Home knew it. I have ! been in the back blocks for nearly 12 • months, and soon I shall be nble to start | a farm of my own. I have a Jot to j 1 thank my wife for, and it is through her ' we got our start. She is a good cook and that is everything. Twelve months out and ! I can now milk, churn, and do a hundred ' odd jobs, so could anyone who cares to I come and try." After the lecture, Dominion represen- ! talives explained the point of view which j was held by their respective countries, i The Hon. H. N. Barwell (Premier of South ; Australia) said tbat in that State they ! were still engaged in settling 5000 returned soldiers on the land. This would entail an j initial expenditure of £12.000,000. a large j 1 amount for a population of 500.000 people. They were not quite ready, therefore, for | 1 the larger scheme. At tho present time, however, they were arranging for the cmi- j, g ration of 6000 boys between the ages of ]' i 5 and 18, who would bo apprenticed to i, approved farmers for a term of years. ' ■These Jads would receive a pocket allow- 1 ance of 4s per week, the remainder of their i salaries being held in trust by the Govern- j ment at 4J, per cent, until they were out of their apprenticeship.' Sir George Parkin pointed out the dancer which lay before Canada if the continental emigrants we.ro allowed to overrun the country. vHi • /referred British stock even though they itemed below the average. He thought that in making selection of not enough allowance was made Tor the wonderful improvement which took place in the physique in the second generation if not the first, through improved environment. Sir Walton (Hieh Commissioner for South Africa) explained that in South i Africa they had a population of million i blacks, \vho were responsible for all un- ' skilled labour. Thev wanted farmers with capital, however. The present rebellion in South Africa was unquestionably due, to ! the undesirable European element- in the country, especially Russian. Mr. Edmund Jowett, M.H.R., also spoke i on behalf of Australia, and pointed out | the necessity for co-operation in financial 1 matters between the States and the Mother j Country. . Sir James Allen's Views. Sir James Allen expressed appreciation ! .for the work that had been done by j Colonel Amery for the advancement of emi- j ' gration within tho Empire. Although i Colonel Amery had been called to tako up I a different Ministerial position lie was glad ! he was still to be left in charge of emigra- j tion. In New Zealand tlioy would be very . keen indeed, to carry out the policy j which Colonel Amery had inaugurated, j Until tho end of the war Great Britain j had not done very much to help emigra- j tion, and ho thought they owed it to the : lecturer and to the Overseas Settlement. t Committee that tbo matter was now to bo carried out in earnest. He was very glad to hear from the letters that had been read that many of the ex-soldiers had made a success of their lives overseas. He hopSd i Colonel Amery's Bill would pass through successfully. Then tho Motherland and the Dominions could work band in hand. The various voluntary associations interested in emigration were all doing good work, but tho work was too big to be done by any other means than by the Governments concerned. New Zealand had received 10,000 settlers last year—and that in a country with a population of a million and a quarter. There were great possibilities and room for a great many people, but tbev could only absorb them gradually. Ho had received a telegram from Mr. 1 Massey, stating that the New Zealand Government had arranged to take 10,000 a year for the next five years. If the Bill went through Parliament the Motherland would bo able to help, and New Zealand would be ablo to absorb perhaps 40,000 to 50.000 a year. It would be money well spent bv this country. They had endeavoured to keep the Dominion open cmlv to tho British. They had had some difficulties, but. they had faced them and they intended to stand uo to the position they 1 had taken up, and tlius they would be able to create that more powerful Empire to which they looked forward. There were difficulties in the way of absorbing larger numbers at the present time. Most of the suitable land fojr-fietttcment was held communally by the natives, and it took time to partition out this land, so that it became available for purchase. They were doing it as fast as they could, hewev&r.