IMMIGRATION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1783, 23 June 1913, Page 5

IMMIGRATION.

THE,. NEW POLICY. I . 3ta£ement!byhon. h. d, beH ,' » > / The Hon. H. D. Ml (Minister for Immigration) made a, stateinc'iit on Saturday in tho subject of the present and iiitejitisd activities of Ilia Department. The Govonimcnr, ho stated, immediately alter it took Orjce, in July, 1912, determined to provision for an injrensod ilow of immigrants into Now Zealand of tho classes- of domestic servants And farm labourers. The High Commissioner iiad conferences, 011 the subject; with Ministers lieforo liis .'departure for England, and undertook to mako inquiries in England, and to report tho result. The first report of the new High. Commissioner, with detailed suggestions, was received by tho Government in' tho end of the month of March, 1913. In. tho interval the Hon. Mr. Alien, during' liis visit to England, communicated to Mr. Mackenzio propofiiyls and suggestions from Government oflifiials ii; New Zealand. Early in April tl'°. Government replied in detail to the High Commissioner's formal suggestion. > Tho Minister did not unlarge upon tlio proposed new methods of securing immigrants in. KnglamV. tout remarked that New Zealand could not depend merely upon .advertisements, but must seelc for, as well as invito, applications. Ho thought it woul'i be necessary to supplement the staff Ml" the High Commissioner by one or 111070 persons from New Zealand who kii'iw the class of peoplo required, and 'jould speak from experience as to rates »af wages' and tho nature of employment, in various parts of t]jo Dominion. Any such appointments would ho.ve to lye mado by the Public Service Commissi,oner. There had previously been a. serious shortaj-yj of steamer accommodation _at certaiu seasons of tho year, but tho High Conir.nissioner had reported that, in this resr>ect, ho had been ablo to lliako entirely satisfactory arrangements with tho shipping companies for this and next year. The payment for 011. assisted passage required from ,1 domestic servant was, l'or a four-berth cabin, only £i lGs. 6d., and for an eight-berth cabin only <£2 lGs., tout it had Ijcon found that tlio requirement of even that contribution, coupled with the further requirement that tho domestic should have a certain sum of money of her own in possession on land- 1 ing, deterred a very desirable class, who could not provide tho moneys required, • and who 'found better terms offered 'by Canada, [tlio Government had now. directed that in such cases the; whole; of tlio passage money may bo paid for the domestic servant, and tho moneys required for landing advanced to her—on li6r undertaking to refund by "instalments out of hej;. wages tho moneys so paid for her in 03&93 of tlio assistance given in ordin-\ arv cases. Similar, but not identical, concessions iiad been authorised in the case 61' farm labourers who wero without sufficient means to pay their own share of the passage money, but were othonvisc of a suitable class. As it was believed that* a requirement, iu respect of domestic scrvauts, that thw. should produce. certificates of at least 0110 year s domestic service in England had excluded o number <"/[' women who had l been educated for i'ears in practical domestic duties in their, own family homes, tlio Government had authorised tho London agency to dispense with the requirement ill cases whero it could be otherwise satisfied that tho 1 . women had had complete domestic experience, though riot service at wages. Tho government, tho Minister added,' found that tlio nomination of immigrants by residents in New Zealand was, except in tho caso of a wife or husband of a resident, limited to persons who wero cithec in domestic service or farm labourers. This had led to m good deal of misrepresentation. Iu the case of all relatives by blood or marriago of residents in Now Zealand tho Government had'directod that nominations 'sholtld be 1 n'c'c6i)tcd without regard to .occupation, but with A limit as to <\go and subject to tho nominee satisfying the examining department of the High Commissioner as to licalth, ph>v sicfll fitness and character. The Farm Labour Problem. Efforts had been made by tlio Goveril-, mont' to obtain from fanners particulars of the number of labourers each fanner desired to - employ. Information on this point was difficult to' obtain in other than general and vague figures. The Farmers' Unions had stated that thero was employment waiting for at least threo thousand farm labourers and two hundred boys, but tho Government must not increase the flow of farm labour to anything like that extent without astmivmeo that no part of it'would become unemployed. The Government would, by its London office, endeavour to be pre' pared to tender here physically capablf farm labourers of com© oKi)iencneo; t 11 must bo tho business of the farming community to satisfy the Government that the labour so tendered should find, immediate and constant employment at j

a fair wage. • ; ■ ■ . Correspondence had taken place be'tweeu tli© High Commissioner and the Government with reference to tho lraportatioiiof country boys, who had hwl fiorno expcricn.ec iu rural districts, for ( •employment on farms., A further ini*' portation of Sedgwick boys was proposed, but tho High Commissioner hoped and believed ami tho Government also hoped mid directed that arrangements might lio made for bringing, in considerable numbers, country bovs, with a fair iniiiirniuti weekly wage to lie practically guaranteed by farmers in New Zealand, the uovernmcnt advancing the whole of the passage nionev, and providing for the reiund of part out of the toys' wages. Hut a. cablegram had been received that week from the High. Commissioner to the effect that the State of Victoria had been endeavouring, without success, to obtain 3000 such lads, and further that Victoria was offering 15s. a week to boys who had been already employed ton farms m iMigiand. Boys without any farm .oxporicuco were being taken bv \ ictona with engagements at 10s. a wock to begin The High Commissioner advised that vo obtain boys for Now Zealand with an) farm training 15s. a week and found must' be offered to begin with. At present Die information the Government had as to tho present rate of wages paid to boys on •our farms did not encourage Uic Delict that what had been hoped and wonted for in this direction could bo given effect Concerning Factory Labour. The Government, had endeavoured by official inquiry to obtain accurate and practical information as to the shortage of labour in factories of certain descriptions throughout the Dominion. It was liot proposed to grant assisted passages to factory hands, but if. a factory satisfied tho Government that it could not obtain in the Dominion the skilled employees which it required, and was willing to pay a fair living wage to immigrants of that description, the Government would instruct the High Commissioner to cause the demand for that particular class, > and the rate of wage, to lie made known by advertisement and otherwise, in England. , . The nigh Commissioner would rcceivo applications, and his officers would satisfy themselves as to tho qualifications andfitness of applicants for -employment.. He would also arrange for passages for them., iu (lie steamers carrying emigrantsto. New Zealand, at the. lowest possible < rates, and. in tho oasp of girls, would provide matrons and take other precautions for their protection and comfort; during 'tho voyage. Hut with regard to ; this class of immigrant (he factory proprietors must pay the whole passage money, anil though they might make arraneomon's for the'refund by the innni-• grants of tho whole or part of such passage money, they must licnwlves take the risk of possible refusal by the employees on arrival to enter into (lie employment or to make the refunds. The Government, hoped that by this woans the present, difficulties cmnplaiuod of by the various industries might be met, but it did not propose, and would, liot l» concerned in, the introduction' of lalwnr of this chis* to enmpcto with labour of tho same kind where such labour was available or offered itself in New Zealand. Concluding, the Minister TOmarkod that work and thought had not brcii spare<l in tho effort to attain the results lie Imped for 'Nor had undue, limit broil placed on the expenditure of the-Tendon agency. "We may find tho competition-of. other Dominions and the attractions (hoy offer (•o all classes of immigrants too strons to enable us to succeed,"- said Mr. Bell, "but the attempt has been (ind is being made, nnd I do not desuaiv of =u,9<t£>3.