IMMIGRATION.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19172, 1 December 1927, Page 14

IMMIGRATION.

HUMAN TOUCH NEEDED.

MR AMERY'S VIEWS.

"It is always difficult to be absolutely certain of fitting newcomers into their places right away," said Mr L. S. Amery, Secretary of State for the Dominions, in an interview yesterday morning, when asked to state his views on immigration. He was glad, he proceeded, to see that the depression which had caused a restriction in .immigration recently was 'How disappearin-' He had come to the conclusion from what he had seen during his tour ■of tho North Island that there were still ample' opportunities for immigrants if-they were prepared to work on the land,' and stay there, instead of drifting, as some were- inclined to do, to the towns for employment tie thought that gradually room would be found in various parts of the Dominion for closer settlement, while there were other areas, he considered, which could be brought into settlement by the expenditure of a reasonable amount ot money. As to the exact manner of development on such lines;, however, Mr Amery was not in a position to speak at present. He was of the opinion that a valuable type of immigrant was the youth who could without much difficulty become acclimatised to New Zealand. He spoke favourablv of the good work being done at Flock House, in the North Island, where, he said, boys and girls, after being trained, were kept in touch with in their subsequent careers. To his mind this was an important aspect of any scheme of immigration. If immigrants were thus watched and assisted to secure a sound position in the event of the first not proving suitable for them, they would, he thought, probably take root, and become successful, whereas, on the other hand, if left to themselves, they might drift to the nearest town to swell the ranks of the unemployed and the dissatisfied. It must always be remembered, heconcluded, that the whole business of immigration, while in one respect a broad economic problem of building up the nation and Tmperinl strength, was always also an individual and human problem. Only if the individual human side was attended to—if each newcomer was helped to feel at home and to take root as quickly as possible — could the broader national aims be achieved.