BRITONS OFFERING

Chronicle (Levin), 22 February 1947, Page 5

BRITONS OFFERING

Press Assn.-

Want to Make N.Z. , Their New Home

By Telegraph

-Copyright

Received Fridav, 7 p.m. LOXDOX, Feb. 21. As tlie result of the announcenient in the British press that the Xew Zealan,. Governinent is'prepared to receive 1006 Britisli emigrants, there has'been a con stant stream of inquiries at Xew Zen land Iiouse. Tliis is the inevitable reaetion to any inention oi' lininigrutioi. in the Bri'tisli press today, but until the situation has been further discusse.. vvitli the shipping companies and th. Dominions Office, Xew Zealand officials cannot give incpiirers any definite ind. c-ations about their prospects. "It is the British Government policy to assist the Dominions Govern ments in the imperial interest in spit-. of our manpower problems, said a Dominions Office official when asked about the official British attitude to tht departure of artisans and other workcr. who are baclly needed in Britain. Th. shipping position is the chief difficult and, although every effort is liein made to expedite dopartures, it is like! to continue to be difficult for some tim to come. Unless additional shipping is pro vided, the present waiting list vvitli th various shipping companlos cannot l> dealt with in lcss tlian one year even if no further additions are made. Th Xew Zealand immigration office in Lon don has alreadv receiv.ed aver 60 ,0th inquiries representing 100,000 woulcl-b settlers. In an effort to obtain extrn s'hipping the Xew Zealand Governinent authorities. have been negptiating with the Ministrv of Transport to secure the use of the Kmpire Windrush, a trooper, at present under charter to' the Xew Zealand Shipping Company, but so far without success. One aspect of recent inquiries has been an increase in the number o. people who want to transfer large sunirof money to the Dominion. Tliis ma.v to some extent, reflect the reactions o1' monied people to nationalisation pro grammes in Britain, but it is probably more infiuenced by the fact that the exclumge rate is heavilv in their favour. Tliese inipiiries have inereased to such an extent that the possibility exists tliat artisans and other types o" workers who are more urgently needed in the Dominion will require specia! priorities. As an example of the typ-' of inquiries lieing received, one man recenfly. walked into Xew Zealand House aiul announced that he and 50 more people whom he ropresented were prepared to transfer £1,000, 000 to the Dominion immediatelv if thev weri allowed to accompany it. Another nia" inquired uboiit the prospect of transfor ring £5Q,000 to the Dominion and point ed out that on the profit accruing froni the exehange of this amount and normai interest, rates in the Dominion he could support himself for a reasonable life expectation without working. It is obviously a mafter of official policy to decide whether or not thitvpe of immigrant should be eneouraged at the expense of tradesmen and other people with sinai I amoimts of capital. but who would contribute something to Ihe solulion of tke Dominion 's inuue diate problems.