NEW ZEALAND'S POPULATION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXII, Issue 12395, 20 February 1908, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND'S POPULATION.

In view of the great difficulty experienced in various parts of the Dominion in procuring skilled and other labour, and the urgent necessity of encouraging it to our shores, it is somewhat disconcerting to find that during 1907 the net increase, in the population was less than in any of the preceding five years. This somewhat disturbing fact may be seen from a perusal of the last quinquennial return of the Registrar-General, who states that the net increase in 191>7 was 20,763, as against 28,761 for 1906, 24,923 for 1905, 25,034 for .1904, and 24.576 1 for 1903. In the latter year the net increase from abroad after deducting the number of. persons who, left New Zealand., was 11,275, and in 1904, 10,355. In 1905 the excess of arrivals over departures fell to 9302, but in 1906 it rcse to 12,848, being the largest increase from over eeaa during the quinquennium. The Exhibition contributed to this result. In 1907 the net gain from outside' the Dominion was the smallest for five years (5730), mainly on account of a more equal interchange of people with Australia and the departure of 579 people to British Columbia. New Zealand gained, in the period 4903-7, according to returns, 49,510 persons from abroad, after deducting those who departed. The natural in T crease of births over deaths shows a steady rise 'over the first four years of those deal}; with in the table. It is, however, smaller for 1907 than for 1906, on account of an exceptionally heavy mortality in the latter year. The total excess of births is 74,547 for the quinquennium under observation, and for the year 1907 the figures are 15,033; but. the death rate for 1907 was 10.95 per 1000 persons living, against 9.31 in 1906. The two sources of increasing population have each yielued fewer people in the year 1907 than in 1906, the result being that whereas the population increased at the rate of 3.26 per cent, in* 1906, the rate was only 2.28 in 1907.