WHOLESALE IMMIGRATION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1708, 27 March 1913, Page 4

WHOLESALE IMMIGRATION.

MR, MASSEY AND A CRITIC. The Prime Minister (tho lion. W. P. Mussey) had a little to say yesterday concerning some adverso criticism directed agamst him irom Opposition quarters. It js aliped ju quarters that. : Mr. Massvy ana his Government ja mficy or wholesale in order io flood, tho labour inurket. If that was not his object, tho Qoveriimeiit's opponents ask m 1 $ ' to' ili© JSmpivo irado Commission that iio had discovered Miere was a <Jcinand jij the factories of the four centres for 2000 boy's, and why had i)io Hofi. 11. Jj. Bejl assigned tha »<>yr Department of lininigmtjou P "T'lio Prime Minister answered both questions. The reason, he said, why M.r, Collins was instructed to collect certain information about ific shortage .of labour in factories was thai this ini'orinaiion was required ; l)y thp Empire Trade Commission, which was .very i/mcji interested In migratiofi. As to the handing'over of the Department of'lmmigration },p JUr. fJtll. ho'said tliat he (Mr, Masisey) had fouiia his other Deiiartmcfital worjt sufficient to keep him fully occupied, ajfd Jio had been very glad to hand over tho .supervision of immigration to Mr. Hell. ' t JiVoip an Auckland paper wag culled tli? fpllowjjig extract from an. interview /jivci).. |jy t'|)o Prime tyiuister sobw time ago;— . .. , .

'"Jlf. Masse.v indicated that tho Government intended <U> pursue an active immigration policy. ■ Matters ill .this con* liectjflu had, ho said, beeii soiiieiy]>at slack 4urjng (he last twp or three yeeps'. 'This country,''said Mr. Massey, 'should' bo gaining ot least 25,000' people' .each year by immigration.' Asked the source whence the G()v,i; : i'n)ii<i)it iptended io recruit immigrants, the Premier' replied: 'In. England.' He had been informed that tho two batches of immigrants who liad arrived dufing t)io past two'or three weeks, to the' nuji))},er ,pf alwjit JIOO, were-a sturdy lot, and calculated to make liardy tiers," .

Ap,<J ouq of the Opposition papers conn njsnts tjjejwn as follows;— ' ' "Now, in (lie name of cpjnpion-sepsc, wo jroujfl as|t wl/at meaning is to be taken! froiu this paragraph, and niorp especially so p'hen it is.fead in conjunction with tjjc fpet thai; t))c J ion. 11. D. IJell had been gjxen a free hand ip the matter of iniiiiigratioh, and Mr.' Cpllins Jiod Jjeon-, sent li) the large centres of population to ascertain what amount of imported lab* our cqiild be absorbed 'by thepi?"." ■ ,]iut jt omitted .to quote the following passage frpni the panje : intprvjew': "Wo meaii tp pjjeoprago pf the farming class, fljfo suitable young women for domestic jserv|ci)"n's much p$ possible," added Mr.' Massey. Jfe further'remarked that the present High Compiissioner was well inforpjpd in ■ rpjwrd to the Government's desires ip. tyig jpatter,' and npdef the enthusiastic direction of tjie lto(i. Mi'. 8011, hg aiiticipabd good results.'