EMPIRE BIRTH-RATE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 238, 2 July 1919, Page 8

EMPIRE BIRTH-RATE

SIR RIDER HAGGARD ON EMIGRATION

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute, held in London, Sir Rider Haggard said 'hat they cou'.tl not blink tne met that there was a very largo section of the nation averse to emigration. It was complaiued that men who had served their country were being forced overseas. Of course no one wanted to force one single wan out of the country; on the contrary, they wanted to retain all the good Jiien possible, but if men would go away, what then? After the Boer War an enormous number migrated, and half .of them went to America, but net one single man could be spared to go to any country except where the flag flew. ' 1

Therefore it should be the object of all wise statesmanship' to try to arrange that every mail who willingly emigrated went to a country where the King's writ ran. He believed that the present Government would do all. that it could in that direction. He understood that a new Bill was to be introduced, and they were all agreed that the sooner the matter was put upon a sound basis the better.

There was now a great outcry against population. One of the latest fads was to say that the population was too great. A learned bishop had told them so. Ug did not agree. Had it not occurred to the people who were earnestly advocating the restriction of the output c-f the greatest race the world had seen what a heritage they had beyond the seas, which their surplus population could occupy? It was said that Great Britain was overcrowded. Thoy were not overcrowded in Australia, which had room for 50,000.0(10 white people. Nor in the other colonies. It was great foolishness, to say they had too much population whom these empty lands were hungering to receive every one of their blood that could be sent.