The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. POPULATION PROBLEMS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2263, 24 September 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. POPULATION PROBLEMS

When a nation. is put to the test of war—a fight to a finish—one of the most important factors in determining the result is population. The fate of nations is in a large .measure decided by N tho birth-rate. 'All other things .being equal, a country with a population of 60,000,000 might confidently expect to prevail against one with only 40,000,000 inhabitants—though as a matter of fact all other things are never equal. It is quite obvious that the nation which contains the largest number of active-minded and healthy-bodied men in tho prime of life is placed at a great advantage over its rivals.. This advantage may be counterbalanced by a number of .other essentials for successful warfare, such as greater readiness, better organisation, more completo equipment, and .stronger finance; but in no circumstances can population bo regarded as a negligible factor in the competition of nations either in peace or war. . The present European struggle has impressed upon the British communities the urgent need for putting the enormous resources of the Empire to the best possible use in order that our reliance on foreign countries for food supplies and other necessary commodities may bo reduced to a minimum. O;io of tho, principal lessons of the war is the desirableness of greater self-sufficiency. We must try harder than ever • we have tried before to keep the Empire's trade within tho Empire, and it is equally important that i*n effectual oheek should be placed on tho drift of British people to foreign countries. , : -If the resources' of; he. fmpire are to be adequately developed so that it will be in a position to feed and clothe itself at ail times and in all circumstances, n,nd piovide for its other needs without outside help it cannot afford to lose any of its producers. There is ample room within tho Empire for every man, woman, and child of healthy British stock. One of the surest ways of defending our great possessions in all parts of the-world is to populate and cultivate them, and yet while many British territories are crying out for more people Hiousands of men and women are leaving the United Kingdom every year for foreign lands. The productive capaoity of the British Empire has not nearly reached its bounds. It is oapablo of supplying almost all the commodities which we are now buying- from otter countries, and the strong desire for greater Imperial co-operation which this time of danger has evoked will probably lead to the fuller development of its almost limitless resources. This would enable profitable employment to be found within the King's Dominions for every British-born man and woman. It is satisfactory to find that the proportion of emigrants from the United Kingdom who remain within the Empire is steadily increasing. In a recent article in the United Empire, Mr. J. Saxon Mills tells us that the proportion has risen from 44 per cent, in 1902 to about 68 per cent, in 1913. This' estimate is based on tho following figures:— To the To Foreign Empire. Countries. 1902 92,223 113,«9 1903 130,950 128,999 1912 331,063 136,603 1913 321,604 148,087 The trend of emigration as disclosed in the above table must be regarded as satisfactory, but the Empire cannot afford to lose 148,000 people every year. Every one of them who is sound in mind andhealthy in body is a valuable asset, and the reason why so many should find it necessary to seek a livelihood in strange lands instead of among their own kith and kin is well worthy . of careful investigation. There are indications that the overflow from the United Kingdom is likely to steadily diminish in the years to come, especially as far as the rural workers are concerned. British statesmen bnv-3 realised for some time past that the exodus of agricultural labourers has become excessive, and in order to check it, the lot of this, section of the community is being improved in many ways. As the outflow decreases tho necessity for keeping an increasing proportion of it within the Empire will become greater, for nearly all the Overseas Dominions are in urgent need of more people than can be supplied by the excess of births over deaths. Mn. Mills reminds us that "men, not walls, make a city." These words arc just as true in the twentieth century as when they were first written by the Greek historian. The British dominions arc realising that "men, and not wastes and solitudes, make an Empire." Those wastes and solitudes must be cultivated and made productive if the British Empire is to be as self-supporting as it ought to be, and this cannot be clone without population. Our race has dominion over something like a quarter of the earth's surface, and our occupation, of such vast territories carries with it an obligation to pufc (

them to good uso. The New Imperialism is not merely concerned with naval and military problems. In addition to co-operation in matters of defence, its aim is to develop more fully the resources of the British dominions; to buy within the Empire everything that can be produced within the Empire; to make it unnecessary for British folk to settle in other lands and increase the wealth of rival nations. In this way it is hoped to strengthen the ties which bind the British States together, and greatly solidify the political, industrial, and social foundations on which the Empire haß been built.