AUSTRALIA'S EMPTY ACRES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 22, 20 October 1917, Page 6

AUSTRALIA'S EMPTY ACRES

. $ PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE NEED OP POPULATION The Prime Minister (Mr. Hughes), speaking at the annual conference of the Australian Women's National League in Melbourne recently, directed attention to problems of great social and national importance confronting the Commonwealth as a consequence of the war. Uβ stressed the fact that tho altered conditions would impose upon women a far greater share of the world's work. There were, he snid, certain duties which the women of Australia had to perform, and these duties had become moro real, more obvious, and heavier as a consequence or' the war, and no woman could do her duty as a citizen of this country unless she recognised clearly that the. war l,ad changed things very considerably, ;,nd had imposed duties which she' must carry out to tho best of her ability. After referring to tho'part which women could play iu helping to relieve the sorrows of the stricken and bereaved who had lost relatives at the front, he pointed out ..that the toll of Jives which hiid been taken by the war must crea'to a most pressing. demand for such social, conditions, such reforms, and such action as would enable Australia to be kept up to its full strength, both by thestiiniila, lion of the natural rate of increase- nnd by making the country sufficiently.'at-; tractive to invite immigrants from over-,, seas. They had a continent hero which they could not by any possible means hold with 5,000,000 people. They were living noK- happy and free—free, at any rate—by virtuo of the fact that they were oiio of a great family which stretched in a detached but unbreakable cordon round the vhoio/ earth. (Applause.) But (here wns only one way by which a free people could remain free, and that was by being able to strike a blow for theij- freedom. Therefore a population virile and numerous was essential to the safety of Australia. (Applause.) That was the first >;reat problem confronting Australia—the creation of such conditions its wmld enable a virile population to progress and'multiply in their midst. Then there was the problem of immigration, and it v;a» necessary that they should devise a policy that would attract to Australia tho tens of thousands of British soldiers who werci now fighting for tho Umpire, and who would, when the war was over, seek wider fields than Britain could offer. Equally important was the conservation, of infant life in Australia. It was imperative that they should devise somcj means that would reduce infantile mor-° tality to an absolute minimum. They must also safeguard tho welfare of tho growing children, and create such surroundings as would permit them to grow up healthy in mind, as well as healthy in body. (Applause.) It wns, however, very evident that they could not have a virile population, nor could they hope for such an increase of populatiou us was necessary to safeguard the future of Australia, unless conditions were such as to naturally promote such a result. The other day ho had read that there were girls iu Melbourne who were only receiving wages amounting to ,Us. a .week. (Cried of Shame.) He would not criticise any particular person, hut hi- would say that that was a wage thai; was incompatible with conditions that .must exist iu this country. It; was, indeed, a waqo that was not compatible with tho standard of living in any country, and such » thing should not be.allowed to pass unnoticed , by any organisation in which women were bunded together lor a great national purpose. (Jlenr, hear.) He did not believe- for one moment thai euch an organisation as the: one before which ho was speaking had any other desire than to promote tho -weltaro of tho whole community; nor did he believe that it would be silent when an injustice wns done, even to tho poorest of its sisters. Speaking for the Government, ho remarked that they were in power by virtue of the undertaking given to the people of the country to deal out even-handed justice to all people. Uiat, he declared, they would do, neither allowing men to band themselves together in unionism to tyrannise over their tatlow citizens; nor, on the other hand, would they nliow others to'take advantng» of tiie condition of their iel lows to sweat thom-oipplanse)-by paying thorn wages on which they could not live Uβ concluded with an appeal that tho Women's National League should bo just and fearless in ail its undertaking, rve.v oaßcr to seek justice for tlicirle* fortunate- sisters, or SwiffiU* ihSy VouVTbring into their ranks very many « f .. ,?' ?. had been loudest in denunciation ot then organisation. .