BOYS FOR. THE FARM.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1189, 26 July 1911, Page 4

BOYS FOR. THE FARM.

FARMERS' CONFERENCE VIEWS/The subject of immigration of lads for farm work was commented on by Mr. J. G. Wilson, president of the Farmers' Union at yesterday's conference. This matter, said Mr. Wilson, had exercised tho minds of the Advisory Committee of the union of late. As the conference was aware Mr. T. E. Sedgewick originated a scheme of immigration and brought out' to the Dominion from London and

Liverpool, under the authority of the Government, a party of 50 lads, and the results had been almost entirely satis-

factory. The , union some time ago decided to circularise farmers asking for applications, so that something definite could bo laid before the Government when making request for further parties.

As it was thought desirable to ask farmers to advance the money for tho fares (not to exceed ctl2), this guarantee had to somo extent limited the number of applications. .Notwithstanding this some 30 applications are in hand, and more are coming in every day. Representations have been made to tho Minister for Labour and Immigration asking that the use of the Department should bo given as in the first case; but Mr. Millar has intimated that ho desires a

full year t'o elapse before sanctioning another party. As this means that tho lads could not arrive here till February or March—practically after the busy season is over—the schemo would bo shorn of many important elements of euccess.

Considerable opposition to the immigration of lads had been shown by the Labour bodies, and protests had been lodged with the minister for Labour, and this had no doubt a good deal to do with the time limit set by him. It was essential that the lads should arrive in 'September of October at the latest, as that was the time of great scarcity, and the arrival of one or two hundred lads would senrcely be felt on tho Labour market. Mr. Sedgwick lmd returned to England and would proceed with the selection of further drafts of boys and be ready on receipt of a cable message to bring out a second party at once. Mr. Wilson thought, failing the consent, of tho Minister, there was probably another way out of the difficulty, viz. for the Farmers' Union to under'tako the duty of guardianship. Of course there were difliculties to be overcome. In tho first place the union had not the legal machinery at hand which the Labour Department possessed, and secondly the parents or guardians of the lads would much prefer to have the Government to act as guardian rather than a private bodv jn the third place, the union could not'uso its funds for this purpose, though probably only a small amount would bo re fiuircd. It would be for the conference to consider whether this step should bo taken.