SURPLUS PEOPLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1922, Page 5

SURPLUS PEOPLE.

PROBLEM BEFORE BRITAIN. EMPTY SPACES ABROAD. DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—-Copyright. Received Nov. 28, 5.5 p.m. London. Nov. 27. Mr. Harold Cox (editor of the Edinburgh Review), -lecturing on the Imperia] aspect of the population problem, under the auspices of the Women’s Guild of Empire, pointed out that Britain’s population only began to‘become excessive since the industrial era of the nineteenth century produced a demand for factory labor. Between 1901 and 1919 the increase was greater than throughout the eighteenth century. The increase continued during the next decade. despite the heavy war loss. Allowing for a small part of Arctic Canada and large parts of Australia, which were uninhabitable, immense areas of those countries awaited cultivation. If the Dominions could absorb a. few million Britishers it would acid immensely to the happiness of the human race, but the Dominions did not want, and would not have our excess urban population. The Australian Labor Party bitterly opposed all immigration. All the present immigration schemes throughout the Empire would not even absorb Britain’s yearly increase of population. Some Australian schemes estimated that each settler would cost £lOOO, and Britain’s surplus millions could not be settled in the Dominions at such a price. He doubted the wisdom of State-aided immigration. When a man emigrated at hie own risk the cost was generally made good, but hundreds of State-aided ex-servicemen had recently drifted back to England. Looking at all the facts. Mr. Cox said Empire migration could do very i little in the direction of relieving Britain’s excess population. He believed I the latter was partly due to the social legislation of the last twenty years sapping the people’s sense of self-reliance and responsibility regarding their off-spring.—Aus.-N.Z Cable Assn.