BRITAIN’S EXCESS POPULATION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16360, 7 June 1927, Page 11

BRITAIN’S EXCESS POPULATION

LIMITS TO NEW ZEALAND’S ABSORPTION THE DOMINION’S DESTINY !The opinion that- New Zealand could not do much'to relieve" Great Britain’s burden of over-population and consequent unemployment in the way of assisted immigration was expressed by Dr. E. P. Neale, secretary of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, and former lecturer in economies at Victoria College, Wellington, in the course of an address on “The History and Problems of Immigration” to members of the Workers’ Educational Association, Auckland, on Saturday evening. Giving bis reasons for this belief, Dr. Neale said that New Zealand was situated virtually m the centre of the water hemisphere, and was far removed from the world's markets. In spite of Nature’s lavish bestowal on her of vast potential hydro-electric resources she did not. appear to be destined ever to become a great manufacturing country, apart- from a radical and at present unforeseen revolution in .world, economic conditions. The success of refrigeration in the, early nineties paved the way for the vast expansion of the pastoral and dairying industries, while whe.it growing and cropping generally speaking had declined. A few focal manufacturers existed catering almost exclusively for the local market ,and many of them survived only with the assistance of a protective tariff. “>So long as the Dominion's special advantages appear to lie rather in the dairying and pastoral industries she can never hope to support the dense populations that are associated with mining, manufacturing, and, to a lesser degree, with- cropping countries,” Dr. Neale stated. Insofar, however, as New Zealand switches over from mere grazing to dairying pursuits she will be able to support a denser population than at present. A large proportion of the. area of New Zealand, especially in the South Island, was by reason* of its altitude, rugged ness, or inaccessibility, destined never to provide sustenance for man. Some land could he. made productive by the expenditure of capital for draining mid oilier improvements, but then* was little land in trie Dominion winch warranted such expenditure, until* an increase in the price of staple products rendered it economical.

It- is obvious that there are rigid limits to the Dominion’s powers of urrsorbing immigrants rapidly, continued Dr."*Neale. Britain is admittedly overpopulated. New Zealand,' however, is scarcely in a position to provide very material relief. • The population of the Homeland is admitted to he increasing at the rate of over 300.000 a year, solely on account of natural increase. The annual quota of migrants to New Zealand is about 10,000, and an additional 10,000 from Britain every year would give no appreciable relief to the position of the million unemployed in Britain, hut it would he disaster to this country, where there were fully 5000 unemployed last winter, with every prospect, of this figure being exceeded this winter, and the authorities at their wits’ end to know how to cope with the situation, if previous experience were to he regarded as a guide, thei recent- falling tendency of world prices was likely further to limit the Dominion’s absorption capacity. It- was doubtful if the country could continue to absorb 10.000 annually. Any fixed quota was to be deprecated, because absorption dependedon many ever-changing factors. Our immigration quotas should be regulated by a study of statistical data hearing on our absorption capacity, and we must take more care than we have exercised in the past to prevent large numbers of new arrivals from reaching these shores in the lute autumn, or winter, when unemployment is reaching its seu-sonal-liigh-wnter mark,” added Dr. Neale,

‘‘There is no reason on earth why conditions in England should ho allowed to affect our quotas.” In answer to a question, I)r. Neale said there was every reason to believe that world prices for produce would continues to fall. Trior to 1920 prices had had an upward tendency for the previous 2b years, and if seemed unlikely from an economic point of view that, they would only fall for seven years. In his opinion there was a. great possibility ol a very serious slump.