THE DRIFT TO THE TOWNS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18566, 26 November 1923, Page 11

THE DRIFT TO THE TOWNS.

HON. W. D. STEWART'S VIEW QUESTION OF IMMIGRATION. The desire of the New Zealand Immigration and Land Settlement League to co-operate with the Government in fostering by every possible means the settlement of tho Dominion's unproductive lauds was explained to the Minister for Industries and Commerce, the Hon. W. Downic Stewart, 'by a deputation from that body. The president, Mr. Albert Spencer, said his organisation took a serious view of the undue proportion of the urban population with the heavy general indebtedness was a distinct menace to national prosperity. The league, realising that our futu.e prosperity' rested upon a steady increase of rural settlement and production, was making an effort to assemble tho soundest thought on these matters and to educato public opinion with a view to obtaining a mandate from the people to strengthen the hands of the Government in removing all obstacles to our further development. The fact* that conditions were hostile to the investment of private British capital, which was going to other countries, was also touched on and it was stated that tho opinion readied by the British Overseas Delegation that immigration must be based on a land settlement policy to permit of its absorption was inevitable. The Minister said he thought it would be possible to agree with all that had been raid but at the same time the statements as to the drift to the towns were subject *° certain explanations not generally taken into account. One was that the statistics as now compiled made the city and urban population appear greater than it really was as alterations in the law from time to time made possible the formation of boroughs in localities which •w.re truly rural. Another factor apparently lessening the rural population, he thought, was tho introduction of so many labour-saving devices. If production remained as good as, or better than, before with fewer people, that to some extent qualified what was known as the drift. We were not likely to have any great metropolitan areas as in Australia, although Auckland was tending ii. that direction., Mr. Stewart suggested that as the Minister in charge of Immigration, the Hon. W. Nosworthy, would shortly be visiting Auckland the views put forward might very properly be laid before him.