The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1914. MIGRATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1971, 30 January 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1914. MIGRATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

The. migration of population within the Empire occupies a prominent place in the report of Sbs Dominions' lloyal Trade Commission. This matter is just now receiving a great deal of attention from politicians and social reformers both in England and in the overseas Dominions, and the large amount of valuable information collected by the Commissioners, together with the important suggestion's contained in the report, will prove a decidedly useful contribution to the discussion of the problems involved. The self-governing Dominions are all in need of population, but they are determined to pick their immigrants, and are certainly not pi'epared to absorb an unlimited number of the class of people which' can be best spared by the UnitedKingdom. They only want men and women of the most vigorous type and specially suited for life in a young country; ancl these are, broadly Speaking, just the. sort, of people that the Mother Country wishes to retain. As a matter of fact the steady drain of agricultural labourers who arc being attracted to the United States and the British Dominions is (already being severely felt in certain parts of Kngland and Scotland, ancl efforts are being made to check the exodus by increasing the wages and in other ways improving the lot of the farm workers. Both political parties' admit that something must be done in this matter, though they may disagree »s regards method and details. In any case the emigration of this section of the population cannot: be allowed to go on indefinitely without serious consequences to the nation. It wij'rtkl bo' mud; better ■ from the point, of view of the United Kingdom that the main stream of ' migration should flow from the'great centres of population instead of the country districts, and the report of the Commission makes reference to this aspect, of the question. It is pointed out that ' Australia mainly requires lads "capable of adapting themselves to new conditions of'life, and this remark also applies to New Zealand. The report gbes on to-say that, ''this requirement could be met by youths equally from the towns as from the country, if suitable training were provided.".

This point is well worth consideration, but under present conditions the Dominions seem to prefer' the country youths, though the career of the Sedgwick hoys has proved that healthy city lads of suitable age and. disposition easily adapt themselves fo country life. If some workable method of training them before they leave the Old Conntry could be established, so much the better; but the main thing is that- they should be sound in mind and limb, and not too old to learn. Another suggestion made by the Commission is that it would be advantageous to divert to Australasia some of the present Irish migration. The probabilities arc, however, th-it tho exodus from Ireland will not be so large in the future as in the past, owing to the great improvement in the conditions and opportunities of the country population. The Roman Catholic authorities in the United 1 States are so impressed with- this fact that they ■ recently stated < thai those who were thinking of emigrating from Ireland to that country Would probably be better off if they remained in their own landIt is, of course, a great pity that these Irish emigrants, who do so well in the United States, should ba lost to the Empire, for they are drawn to a very large extent from the most vigorous aftd enterprising section of the people, and they would be a welcome addition to the population of any of- the Dominions. There is j plenty of room for these people in Australasia and Canada, ! an,d it Would be well worth while to make an' attempt to keep the stream of Irish migration within the founds of :-tho British possessions.' It ought not to be .impossible by systematic eo< operation and interchange of information between the authorities at Home and the overseas Governments to direct and regulate the movements of the people from one part of the Empire to another in such a way that the demands of the Dominions will not- materially weaken the United Kingdom. The Commissioners recognise that the problem of migration must be dealt with from the point of view of the Empire, as a whole,'and they have endeavoured to indicate certain broad lines of policy by which apparently conflicting aims and interests may as far as possible be reconciled.

A striking illustration of the need, for full and accurate information is provided by the reference made in the report to the_ question of female emigration. It is, of course, well known that thero is a- surplus of women in Britain's population, and an excess of the male element in the Dominions. It would, therefore, - appear at first sight that the obvious thing' to do is to encourage the emigration of women from the Old Country. But a niorc careful examination'of the posit ion shows that the problem is not so easily solved. In the first place the British surplus consists very largely of elderly people quite unfitted to adapt themselves to new life, while the demand for domestic servants is almost as keen in Britain as it is in Kew Zealand, and. the supply is being decreased by the new "avenues in industry and commerce which have been opened to women in recent years. It is not the, mere excess of women that has i to be considered, but the surplus available for emigration, and tho (Joamiissitm ha Rearranged for the compilation of further information on this point. Another matter to- which attention is drawn is. the. excessive growth of the town p'opu-" laiions in Australia and New Zealand vilien Compared with the settlc- ■ Blent of tiio'cf&'ntry districts* This is a, phase of our national life which is already receiving much consideration from the present New Zealand Government, and the policy' of the Reform party is to increase the facilities for land to provide a more complete and scientific system of agricultural education, and, generally speaking, to_ make the country a more attractive' place to live in." Many other important questions are referred to in the Commission's report, and the suggestions, and recommendations which it contains arc -sure to be of .great value, being the opinious of specially-select-ed experts based on personal inquiries and evidence taken on the spot during their recent tour through the Empire. Each Dominion is naturally inclined to consider the problems dealt with by th#Commission from its own point of view ; and the report should b* a wholesome reminder that wo hare Imperial as well as local responsibilities. The self-governing British communities are not isolated and self-contained units, but interdependent parts of a world-wide J3nipire; and, without in any way surrendering our right 'to manage our own affairs, it is our manifest duty to co-operate as far.as possible with the Mother Country and the other Dominions in tho control of those Imperial matters upon which our mutual welfare so largely depends.