INFORMATION SOUGHT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 70, Issue 91, 18 July 1944, Page 6

INFORMATION SOUGHT

LETTERS RECEIVED FROM' ENGLISHMEN DESIRE TO SETTLE IN N.Z., A keen desire on the part ot many Englishmen and Americans to; settle in New Zealand after the war is shown by a file of correspondence received by the Dominion Settlement Association. Typical questions on which information is sought are illustrated in a letter from one Englishman, at present serving in the Miiddle. East. They are: Will I and my wife lie Avelcome? Do I stand a chance f.oi a good job with prospects ..of a better one ahead? Will I be able to find somewhere decent to live and raise a family at. reasonable expense? Is New Zealand as grand as place as its

quite naturally say it is?

The man concerned states that he is 30 years of age, his wife two years younger. "We are keen on raising a famity as soon as we can after the Avar," he adds. "If 1 come to Ncav Zealand I hope to be able to bring about £1000 (United Kingdom currency) with me.

"I am well trained in communication engineering—l have to be as a foreman of signals with a technical maintenance section of the Royal Corps of Signals—and by the end of this year I; hope to have passed the A.M. (Brit.) I.R.E. and several city and guilds examinations in other branches of communications. Will there be any demand for people such as I in the Dominion after the war?"

Another letter is from six British constables serving in Palestine. They state that the3 r have been in uniform for a number ofyye.arts t and after the war want to' settle on a farm together in New Zealand. "Our idea is to work on a farm for a period to gain experience and then to pool our money and hire or purchase a piece of land for farming." they say. "We, are all Al men, and have £200 to £300 each, exclusive of our fare, to New Zealand. Most of us have sweethearts in England, and if we got the farm on a paying basis we would send for them to join us in our venture.

"We don't want to make a lot of money, but to live; an independent, healthy, outdoor life, and to raise our families under those conditions."

These were only two of many letters received from British nationals who desired to come to New Zealand, and who showed every promise of following worthily in the footsteps of those who had pioneered the country, said the chairman of the Asociation. Mr A. Leigh Hunt.

The difficulty was that,, till the Government's policy on immigration was known no satisfactory reply could be sent to inquirers.

It was for that reason that the

Association urged the immediate establishment of a Royal Commission to plan uoav for the properly balanced, orderly immigration which must come if the national, economic and social security of the country Ave re to be preserved.

No. one desired a haphazard influx of ill-assorted immigrants, and the primary importance, of rehabilitating Ncav Zealand's own servicemen Avas full}'' realised,, said Mr Hunt. But experts Avere unanimous that immigration, far from being a threat to employment, was in fact actually an assistance. So far as housing Avas concerned, if the present acute shortage was to be relieved in anything like a reasonable time, the importation o£ a number of skilled tradesmen would no doubt be found essential.

Meantime, one unmistakable, fact .should be borne in mind;, New Zealand, with its present population trend,, was headed for disaster, which could be averted only by an enlightened immigration policy.

» Delay might be, fatal. Other Dominions, similarly placed, had shown that they Avere awake to the tion. Australia, for instance., intended to embark on a positive immigration plan in Avhich it Avould accept United Kingdom servicemen and selected children from Britain and Europe. Unless New Zealand acted now it might Avell iind it Avas too late.

Townsmen as Farmers That young men brought up in the towns, and who had decided on farming as a career, had a certain advantage over those reared all their lives on a farm,, was a contention of Mr A. L. Wheeler, the, wellknown stud sheep breeder, of Marton, when addressing Masscy College students recently. He said that, though farm-bred men had the bene.flt of early experience and atmosphere, those from the town had the advantage of not having already fallen into bad farming habits. Throughout New Zealand, one would find instances of poor farming; and some, people, aylio, like himself, had been brought, up on a farm all their lives, had had to make a radical change in some of their ideas. Successful farming practice must adapt itself to the type of soil and climate, Mil- Wheeler said. Young people starting out on their own 1 would be. told something different j by every farmer in New Zealand, but the only way to learn was to

"go out and go to it."