MIGRATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 733, 4 February 1910, Page 4

MIGRATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

In view of. the congested Btate- of many English cities, and the wide areas of l -undeveloped land wasting for want of human occupants, in, the larger dominions;. overseasj. \it is natural that English students '.of social problems should desire :• to hasten a partial redistribution of the Empire's population.. The more or less casual emigration-which now takes place from Great Britain to the colonies is sufficient to afford onlya- very slight relief to the congestion of the Mother Country, and leaves the daughter; States still crying out that their great -need is men and women to develop* their \as yet scarce-realised resouroes. 'According to a. cable message received yesterday, a proposal has been laid before .the ■ Royal Society of Arts, to establish organised emigration from English boroughs to the colonies on ascale that has not yet been... at-, tempted. -The suggestion was made | that every municipality, and urban district in the United. Kingdom I "should acquire an area of free land iin the overseas dominions, to hold in perpetuity as a heritage for its people, developing the land for their needs, and creating new sources of industry and revenue!' - ■ ■ The author of this proposal urged that an association' of London city; men should le&d tho way by - securing, a large area of* colonial land, raising a working capital, • and 1 forming "a new and valuable. property for, tho benefit of London."

A largo scheme of this kind is always pleasing to. the . imagination, but the greatest care would be necessary in its execution to 'protect it from certain dangers; I There is little doubtthat if such an associa-. tion were formed, and land for a settlement purchased in Australia, Canada, or South Africa, a great many struggling, Londoners... might be induced to emigrate who have not the means or enterprise to-take, that step while the of .emigration require tliem, for the most part, to depend upon their own resources. But it could hardly be expected that such emigrants,: who would all be mon of town . experience and habits, I should make the best type of coloniats. Although one of tho objects of this proposal is the creation of new. souroes of industry, the first requirement in a new colony is to subjugate and till the ground, l for which these Londoners might be ill-fitted. If ,the'land on' which the settlement : 'was formed was bought' cheaply, and' assuming that, despite the initial disadvantage; mentioned, the .new settlement throve and- prospered,. the London. Association would expcct to raise tho rents of. their distant ten-, ants as the rvalue of their holdings' increased, in order;to have surplus funds with which ito purchase other land for "colonies." It stands to reason , that if more land was not' purchased and more colonists asrit out from time to time, the relief ° provided to the congested English city would bo only temporary, the congestion being; soon restored by the natural increase of population, But the lessees, in South Africa'or elsewhere would soon,, tiro of their subjection: to their "absentee landlords" in England. : Sooner or later thoy would . find •. it a discouraging business to be always tilling lands which never could be theirs—and it is a feature of the new scheme, suggested that , the land should be held "in . perpetuity" by the English municipality .or association. They would desire to be on the same free footing as their neighbours, arid troubles "endless might accrue.

It might be: possible, however, ■to devise a scheme by which the English municipalities should purchase land, which could be sold. to emigrants on an easy system of . timepayments. The. prospect of, completely owning the acres which - they ploughed or industries which they built up would give far more incentive to the colonists to .triumph over the preliminary obstacles and hardships of a now life in a new land. The difficulties and responsibilities of a corporation, however, which was concerned in such a scheme on a large' scale would still /be very great; It has also to bo remembered that the majority of emigrants do not desire to go into tie country, but prefer work in; the towns. It is largely because; the,: present generation will not endure the country that the English cities' are overcrowded. Before any rash experiments aje made in wholesale emigration it will be well that those, who have experience of the problem in different portions of the Empire. should interchange opinions. -Ik/was' the general opinion of. the speakers at the meeting of the Boyal Society of Arts that an Imperial Conferenoe on migration within the Empire should be held with this intent, but an Imperial Conference is not necessary for the purpose. The imprcssivcness and value of these conferences as a bond of Empire can only be diminished if a new conference is convened to discuss every unconsidered problem that arises'. - Immigration ; - experts can. communicate /their views to one another, or to a central body, without the leant, necessity for a special congress-of Prime, Ministers.