SURPLUS POPULATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16902, 29 November 1922, Page 5

SURPLUS POPULATION.

| POSITION IN ENGLAND. By Telegraph—Pres? Assoeiat ion—Copyright Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, November 27. Mr Harold Cox, editor of the *' Edini burgh Review/* lecturing on the Im- | penal aspect of the population problem, i und-ir the auspices of the "W omen 6 ; Guild of JCmoire, pointed out that i ! Britain’s population hail only begun to j become excessive since the industrial ! era of the Nineteenth Century proi duced a demand for factory labour, j Between 1901 and 1911 the increase’ i was ,greatcr than throughout the High- j ternth Century The increase continued during the next decade, despite the ' heavy war losses. Allowing for t lie ' • small part of Arctic Canada and the | large parts ol' Australia which were mi- 1 inhabitable, immense tract* ot those ■ countries awaited cultivation. If the | ' dominions could absorb a tew millions j of Britishers they would add immensely to the happiness of the human race; I but the dominions did not want, and < , would no; have our excess urban popn- , ' lation. The Australian Labour Party | ! was utterly opposed to all immigration. ; All the present immigration schemes j I throughout the Empire would not. even j ■ absorb Britain’s yearly increase in j population. Some of the Australian j ; schemes estimated that each settler i would cost £IOOO. Britain’s surplus j i millions could not be settled, in the j ! dominions at -ach a price. Tie doubted : i the wisdom of State-aided immigration. • When a man emigrated at his own risk ! and cost he generally made good. But. . hundreds of State-aided ©x-sorviceroeu had recently hack to England, i looking at all the facts. Empire migrnI tion ooTiid do very little in the direction j of relieving Britain’s excess population. ' He believed that the hitter partly ! ' due t.o the social legislation of the last i I twenty years, sapping the people's j xense of sell-reliance and of responsi- I billt-y regarding their offspring. Jho poDulatinn *»i the I niter] Kinc- . dom in 1)1! was 45,324.4*20. In HR9 ii j 1f*.156.077. Til England and Males rho nopula i ion increased from ' in 1901 to 37.885.242 in j The copulation of Knorlaod arul i Wales j.. 1.801 was oplv - .*99. 536. An ! j Oversea • s, *ett iemeni Coin in it Lee vo s I formed in England in 1019. under the i . direction of iiio Colonial Office.