MAXIMUM POPULATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26783, 28 May 1948, Page 5

MAXIMUM POPULATION

INCREASED MIGRATION URGED BRITAIN’S ECONOMIC STRAITS Rec. 10 p.m. LONDON, May 27. ! The Earl of Portsmouth, speaking in the House of Lords, advocated increased British migration to other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire. He said that Britain, to maintain her health and military and economic security, should aim at a maximum population of 35,000,000. This should be done by ordered .voluntary migration through a great co-' partnership on the lines of a military operation. “ Britain, while struggling to just keep her head above water, can give neither hope nor a lead to Western Europe,” he said. Lord Barnby urged dispersal through the Commonwealth of some of Britain’s population, machinery and, capital. Lord Fairfax advocated community migration with industries, going as complete, self-contained units. Lord Addison, replying, said that the problem of Britain’s population witn regard to productive capacity was one of the key problems of the future, but he did not agree that mere density of population was the test of the standard of life which could be maintained or of Britain’s productive capacity. Lord Addison said that each member of the Commonwealth had a housing problem as bad as Britain’s, and it was no good dumping large numbers of people in those countries if they had nowhere, to sleep. Britain also did not want to denude herself of young, highly skilled technicians. The estimated population of the United Kingdom as at December 31. 1945. was 45,000.000.