EMIGRANT FARMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1785, 25 June 1913, Page 6

EMIGRANT FARMS.

ENGLISH PROPOSAL REJECTED. In The Dominion of yesterday mornins there appeared a letter from the editor of tho "Morning Post," London, on "Equalising Imperial Population." The letter dealt generally with problems of migration, from the point of viow of tho Mother Country. The writer made ono concrete suggestion—that the Dominion Governments should, instead of seeking to attract from .Great Britain the agrarian population, which was sadly needed at Home, establish training farms in Eng. land, at which city youths could qualify for emigration by learning farm pursuits after colonial methods. This proposal was submitted to tho Hon. n. 1). Bell, Minister in charge of the. Immigration Department, yesterday, and ho made tho following comment upon it:— "It is not within the bounds of possibility that New Zealand will establish farms in England to educate labourers we want here," said Mr. 8011. "Wo can better educate the labourer when ho arrives. We test his physical capacity and his character in England, and we givo him an assisted passage, and we think that in Now Zealand any man of good character and good physique can havo a useful career beforo him. The object .of tlio editor of tho 'Morning Post' is clear enouph, and fair enough from his point of new. He wants, naturally, to keep tho rural population of the United Kingdom in tho IJnitod Kingdom, there being iv shortage of agricultural labourers there, and a surplus of labour in the towns and cities, and ho wishes that wo in New Kealand should seek the immigrants that we want in the surplus population of the towns, and not in tho country. That is a counsel of perfection from the point of view of England, but scarcely from tlio point of view of New Zealand. If it is tho case that the surplus population of tho cities in England will consent to bo trained more or less to farm labour, with a view of qualifying themselves for emigration, then it seems to me that the experiment of establishing farms for that purpose should be tried by-tho English Government. Tho Governments of tho Dominions can bo relied upon to grant assisted passagos to the emigrants so qualified by farming exporienco in England, even if tlio emigrant was .employed in a city beforo ho proceeded to obtain his farming experience. How can iro say that farms established in England would attract tho surplus city population ? It is plain that such farms do not attract the city population at present. If tho further inducement of subsequent emigration will provide tho necessary attraction, then those who wish to see the surplus of tlio cities emigrato should (so it appears to tuo) establish farms tint! liialco the experiment."