AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18389, 3 May 1923, Page 9

AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE.

THE TEEMING EAST.

NEED FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

A GOVERNOR* WARNING.

[from our own correspondent .] SYDNEY. April 25. Tn a remarkable speech at Ipswich, in Queensland, the Governor of that State, Sir Matthew Nathan, once Under-Secre-tary for Ireland, gave a plainly worded warning to Australia that the Continent must, either be * populated with white people during the next few years, or the teeming population of Japan would spill into our vacant spaces. . Sir Matthew' said that the earth's inhabitants numbered about 1,700,000,000, made up of 550,000,000 whites, 500,000,000 yellows, 450,000,000 browns, .150,000,000 blacks, and 40.000,000 reds, ft would thus, be seen that there were about two coloured men to every ' white man in the world. On the other hand, politically, the white man ruled the best part of the earth. In fact, out of tho 53,000,000 square miles of land, some 47.000,000 were under' white domination. The remaining 6,000,000 square miles, with the exception of comparatively small territories in .Western Asia and Africa, were ruled by the yellow men. But -that was only a political division. If they took the area of the world occupied by the white people it amounted to about two-thirds of the whole. At once wo came up against the question whether races which only included onethird of the people of the earth were always going to occupy two-thirds of the world, and were always going to rule five-sixths of it. In that connection it was important to remember two facts— first, that, according to recent investigations, the black men increased twice as quickly as the' whites, and the yellows and browns one and a-half times as quickly, and, then that some of the most densely populated countries of the world were occupied by the yellow peoples, and some of tho least densely populated •were occupied by the -whites. " Comparison With Japan. Australia's position would be understood when one remembered that while, with an area of 3.000,000 square miles, and a population of 5,500,000, it had 1.8 parsons per square mile, Japan, with an area of about ,150,000 square miles, had a population of 56,000,000, or not far short of 375 people per square mile. It was not possible to ignore, in considering the future of Australia, the need for Japan to expand in any direction "where such expansion was possible. "I do not mean by this," His Excellency went on, " that the Japanese are planning aggressive action against Australia, or tha,t there is malice in them, or reason for hatred of them. A country can become over-full, and then must spill over. In this respect, much the same is happening in the island of Great Britain, in the • North-east Atlantic, as in ithe _ islands of Japan, in the North-west' Pacific. Japan's population is increasing at the rate of some 700,000 to 800.000 a year, and life is rapidly growing more difficult for its inhabitants. The English people have an outlet by emigration, and the Japanese seeking one. Present ; Generation's Duty.

"In my lifetime, during which the population of England and Wales has nearly doubled, that of Australia has more than doubled. It has increased from . 1,200,000 to over 5,500,000. Although the addition by natural increase is necessarily growing owing to increased numbers, it is not growing as it should by. reason of declining birfh rate. When the' population' was 1,200,000, in 1862, the birth rate was 42.6 per thousand; in 1922, £ it was 24.7. This fall in the birth .'•_. rate,'which we have grown to expect in closely populated countries, is a new feature in countries where there is plenty .; of space for growth and conditions -are comparatively easy. The present birthrate is not much greater than that of England, and considerably less than that of Japan. These things seem to me to point to a real danger of Japan ultimately spilling over into Australia. I do not , think it is exaggeration to say that Australia will.be filled, from one source or another in the lifetime of the younger of j. those present, and it is up to those of the present generation to determine whether *it should be filled by men of their own ; colour, or, in the fullness of time, by those of a. darker breed."