The Daily News THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1935. MIGRATION PLANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1935, Page 4

The Daily News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1935. MIGRATION PLANS.

OFFICES: NEW PLYMOUTH, Currie Stracfc STRATFORD, Broadway. HAWERA. High Street,

The proposals made by Viscount Bledisloe in regard to migration from Great Britain to New Zealand seem to have been misunderstood. His reference to the fertility of small holdings in the Dominion as compared with those in Great Britain has apparently given the impression that the former Governor-Gen-eral was allowing zeal for New Zealand’s future to run away with discretion. Those who remember Lord Bledisloe’s practical acquaintanceship with farm husbandry will know that he was unlikely to have made any silly observations about the productivity of the land still available for new settlements in the Dominion. The fact that he suggested first of all the establishment of “a Royal Commission of scientific and exploratory scope” and that he referred to pumice lands in particular is proof that Lord Bledisloe was not speaking of New Zealand as a Paradise in which rich land is available for the asking. Scientific research in regard to animal nutrition has

already brought into profitable occupation areas formerly known as “bush sick,” while the application of suitable fertilisers has made useful pastures of what were formerly waste areas. Were the means available no doubt further research into the capabilities of the Dominion’s wastelands would bring good results, and it is almost certain that such matters as afforestation or reafforestation would receive the greater attention they deserve were the necessary funds available. Lord Bledisloe’s suggestions included the establishment of a large company, with a capital of £5,000,000 to foster emigration from Great Britain to New Zealand. By his reference to the old New Zealand Company formed by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, it is apparent that Lord Bledisloe had in mind emigrants of classes other than those whose first consideration on arrival in a new land would be to seek means of sustenance. The Wakefield plans envisaged the migration of men of culture and of means as well as those who had little but their laboui wherewith to exploit the wider opportunities afforded by migration. Although society is. no longer so definitely divided into social grades thei’e is much in New Zealand, as no one knows better than Lord Bledisloe, that would appeal to people with limited means. For such retirement in Great Britain means restriction in all directions. House rents and clothing may. be cheaper in the country districts, but in every other direction living would be as cheap or cheaper in the Dominion. Subscriptions to sports and pastimes are heavy, recreations such as fishing or shooting have become almost a monopoly of the rich, country life is hedged, about with so many social restrictions, ana there are so many domestic and other duties for which labour must be engaged that retirement is postponed as long as possible. One result is the blockage of promotion for younger men, and the general position in regard to unemployment is also adversely affected. For such a class of migrant the Dominion can offer a warm welcome even as an economic asset. They would not demand employment on arrival, but they would at once begin to create work, for it is obvious they must be clothed, fed and sheltered, services which cannot be provided without creating employment. As to a wider, scheme of migration, that is a matter of economics. Obviously New Zealand does not want shiploads of immigrants adding to her numbers of unemployed, and it is perfectly, certain a man with the experience of Viscount Bledisloe would, not make a suggestion that might imply such a foolish action as despatching emigrants without careful preparation for their reception. He has suggested-— with the consent of the Dominion—that those who . interest themselves in emigration from Britain shall inquire into the potentialities of New Zealand, and there seems every reason to give every facility for such inquiry. It should prove one of the best advertisements the Dominion could receive; it should bring before Great Britain the necessity for opening her markets to Dominion products, and it would show how reciprocity between Homeland and Dominion could be made something more than pious aspiration.