THE STRANGER IN OUR MIDST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18949, 21 February 1925, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE STRANGER IN OUR MIDST.

BY VIVIEN There would surely be few rigid-think-ing people but would be justly indignant at the evidences of bitter, unreasonable prejudice and hostility to English immigrants betrayed by such incidents as that, which occurred recently, when two .Auckland boys appeared in Court on a charge iif maltreating an English lad whose only offence, apparently, was that he was " a Homey." At- least, fair-minded people certainly ought to be indignant, not merely because the boys were old enough to know belter, but also because their attitude was in all probability an echo of adult opinions and prejudices. For, shameful and humiliating as it- is to have to admit it. the unpleasant fact remains that, by an extraordinarily large section of New Zealand people, the English newcoiners arriving in our midst to make, their homes in this new land, seem to be regarded with suspicion and resentment, if not. with open dislike and active enmity. Month by month the ships arrive with this overflow population from the pro-blem-wracked, war-worn, overcrowded Old i'ountry—mothers and fathers setting out bravely, hopefully, with their families to face a new li c in a strange, new country; weary, disappointed, disillusioned men and women looking with wistful eyes and reviving courage to this new land to give them the " chance in life " which they missed or never had in the old; adventurous youths a;id eager girls, coming out to work in shops and offices and factories, -■li farms or in city homes. And month by month, in spite of the enthusiasm usually displayed by tile new-comers for the new life, iu spite of their admiration for the beauty of the country and their desire to " fit in " and be friendly with the people, in spite of all this, one continually hears the wistful query, " Don't New Zealand people like us? Don't they want us here ? " Or the bitter remark, "Apparently many people do not want us here, and do not mind showing us that they resent our coming." And, after ail, the whole thing is so utterly unreasonable and illogical, as well as being unjust and unkind. For in the first I ..place, the majority of the new arrivals' come, not merely with the sanction, but at the invitation and under the protection of our own Government. Why, therefore, should they be treated as it' the)' had no right to be here? And, in the second place, the majority of us are ourselves of British stock,'and exceedingly proud of the fact! It. is consequently all the more difficult to understand why new arrivals from our own Homeland should be regarded by some people with as much aversion as if they were aliens of the most objectionable type, or members of a despised foreign race 1 And iii any case, surely ordinary, decent instincts—the common law of hospitality, the " milk of human kindness," our very sense of justice—should alone suffice to make us extend a welcoming ..hand to those who have journeyed all those leagues overseas to make new homes, to carve out new careers, to build up new lives and interests arid enthusiasms, or perhaps to try and realist old dreams and old ambitions tnd old ideals in a new,land. Whore alas! is our much-vaunted "sporting instinct," our boasted British sense of fair play, our once rigid regard for the ancient laws of hospitality, particularly tu " tiie stranger in our midst," if we can so grossly violate our most, sacred and honourable old traditions? Are we so utterly selfish that we actually begrudge these kindred exiles from the far Homeland a share in the sunshine and fresh air, ilie comparative comfort and pe::ce, ease and prosperity which arc hero the natural heritage of the many, or are in most cases so easily acquired as to be lightly accepted and taken for granted ? Do we realise how precious are, these boons which we so carelessly accept as our natural right, or how heartbreakingly full of problems and difficulties and perplexities. strain and stress and struggle, life in the Old Country still is for the great masses ? Our own New Zealand soldiers, when (hey went Home to play their part in the. Creat War, were everywhere received with the most open-hearted hospitality, the roost cordial and generous friendliness. For their sake, then, if for nothing else, and especially for the sake of those who never came back, but for whom in their last hours their English friends and relatives did everything possible, let us remember the debt we owe. the British code, we profess to uphold, the, traditions which belong no less to us than to our English forbears. For their sakes and the sake of <»ld England, which to most of us means " borne." let us give of our kindness and friendship to those who conic to us in hope and trust as to follow members of the same Empire-