IMMIGRATION.

Waikato Times, Volume 100, Issue 16749, 16 March 1926, Page 5

IMMIGRATION.

SALVATION ARMY’S SCHEME. REJECTED BY GOVERNMENT. (Tipacs Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Monday. Early this year, certain proposals were made by the Salvation Army to the Government with respect to increased immigration and settlement in Now Zealand. These, proposals, which were submitted by Commissioner D. C. Lamb, Director of the Army’s migratirn work, who made a special trip to New Zealand in connection with the matter, have been carefully investigated by the Government, ana to-duy the Minister in charge of the immigration Department '(lion. W. Noswortliy) in announcing the rejection of the Salvation Army’s scheme, stated to a Press representative that it was not proposed to depart from the present methods of controlling the volume of immigration to this country.

The Minister stated that one result of the shipping strike had been to cause a congestion in London in the number of approved migrants for New Zealand, it was anticipated that during ihc next Iwclyc months the maximum number of immigrants under the Government’s present policy, namely, 10,000 souls per annum, would be increased considerably, it had therefore been decided that the niunner should be increased to 13,500 per annum.

With reference to the Salvation Army’s proposals the Minister said that" the conclusion arrived at was that the present methods of the Department of Immigration were sufficient to ensure the annual supply of that number of immigrants of good character for which the Government could at. present provide assisted passages, and it would therefore be inadvisable to seek the co-operation of the Army further than the extent which existed under the present arrangement., which il was the desire of the Government to continue, namely, the provision of £SOO per annum for the services of the Army in respect to the rccention of immigrants. Certain proposals had been made by the Army for the provision of hostels at various places—young women’s hostels at Wellington and Dunedin, and boys’ hostels at Oamaru and Fcilding,* financial assistance for their establishment and maintenance to be provided by the Government. The Minister said that these proposals also had had carcf il consideration, but it had not been thought advisable to enter upon schemes of the kind, as the experience of recent years had not made evident any special necessity for their provision. The suggestion had also been made by the Salvation Army that it should select, intending migrant families in Use Old Country and give them a certain amount of training before leaving for New Zealand. The Minister stated that these proposals would be applicable only if the Government adopted the suggestion to utilise the services of the Army as ihe principal immigration agent of the Government, hut this it had decided not to do- . ■ , In conclusion, the Minister said that (hr Government welcomed tile aid and co-operation of the Salvation Army in the valuable service which it rendered to the Government's system of immigration. i