INFLUX OF GIRLS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 268, 4 April 1913, Page 6

INFLUX OF GIRLS.

WHERE THEY GO—INTO THE MARRIAGE MARKET. t Auckland, April 1. { In the course of a talk with an interviewer this morning, the Hon. 11. D. Bell, Minister in charge of the immigration Department, referred briefly to the influx of girls to New Zealand from the Homeland through the Immigration Department. In referring to -the class of girls brought out, which was the subject of some interesting evidence before the Imperial Trade Commission, and in reply to comments on which the Minister himself made a statement at' the time, Mr. Bell remarked that a good' deal of the' complaint heard in the matter of girls disappearing after being engaged for domestic service, found an answer in the simple solution of matrimony. "I," says the Minister, "we bring out a girl of such good character, looks, and physique, as to attract the young men of the Dominion in search of wives, it may be unfortunate for prospective employers, hut it is probably just as good for the Dominion as if they went into domestic service. At all events, it is a good advertisement for the methods of selection adopted by the Immigration' Department." "You know." he added, humorously, "there is no law to prohibit the girls who' come out from finding husbands, and all that we can really do is to try and induce a sufficient number to New Zealand to leave some over to supply the demand for girls to perform domestic duties in other people's homes. Ar* I rangements are now being made for a much larger supply of these girls, so that there may be some overplus, but so long as thei Government induces this class of. girl to the country, so long will . the ypung men of the country marry them." In reply to' a question relative to the cabled statement th<it the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner had made arrangements for shipping one thousand immigrants to New Zealand this year, the Minister ventured the opinion that what the cable .man ' inr tended to infer was that the High Commissioner had made arrangements with the shipping companies for 1000 berths in their vessels for immigrants to New Zealand in the immediate future. . .As, a matter of fact, a good many khous'and immigrants land in New Zealand yearly, both through the department and otherwise.

Mr. Bell pointed out that, in addition to arranging for an increased influx of domestic servants, every effort would be made also to meet, as far as possible, the demands for farm labour by obtaining a suitable class of male immigrant with agricultural training.