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NOTES OF THE DAY

To the frequent inquiries made regarding the intentions of the Government in the matter of immigration Ministers continue to speak of future intentions as though nothing could be done bo-day. For instance, the Minister of Defence, in replying to n question in the House of Representatives yesterday as to the encouragement of Imperial Reservists to come to New Zealand to settle, said: "It was proposed after the repatriation of the New Zealand troops had been completed to ask New Zealand employers to state if they were willing to offer employment to Imperial men, anxious to come to this Dominion." This means apparently that >s to be done to get into touch. with intending immigrants until the most, entermjising of them have already made their plans to go to some other overseas Dominion. Why should the Government wait 'to consult private, employers, when it has employment for years to enmcfor hundreds of men on public works, housing, etc. 1 Our noint, is this, and we have made it often enoufh of late: the labour shortsee. due to the los? of our young manhood in the war nnd to the ii»rii"s of miblic and private _ works, also arising out of war conditions, h nor, m<""elv a thing of the moment. Tt will take years to catch un arrears, and in the meantime deve'i'inifnt, work of all kinds k h'.ire up; discontent is fostered, and the country is suffering. Our own soldiers of course must come first, but it is obvious that when they are provided for the shortage of labour will still continue, more especially the classes of labour required for yoad and railway works and building operations. Why not. then, t"ke steps vnw to pnsnre that in due course New Zealand willwcnrn its share of the classes of immigrants it requires from the Mother Country?

Probacy the mason for the Government's disinclination to commit itself to any definite immiirat'on scheme is to be found in the fael that Ministers am, over-burdened vUh other matters mnuiring immediate attention, and have not had tim° to matnm_ thei' - plans for securing population from oversea' When' Sit Joseph Ward and hi." Tiber.il colleagues broke away frn-n the National Government nn tfw eve o f the meeting of Parliament tlipy tli'-ew a tremeidons burrW vMr. TvhssKY n n, l his fellow-Minis-ters, for, in addition to the ordinary work of the session, the remaining members of the Ministry had at a moment's notice to take over the control of Departments wlijcli for practically the whole period of the war had been in charge of Liberal Ministers. Sin Joseph Ward's action was so timed as to make it as difficult as possible for the Govern ment to carry through_ the work of the session and left Ministers little opportunity for the consideration of the many great questions of polic,associated with after-war problems. The Liberal Leader, however, is noi. likely to profit by his tactjes, for it is apparent to everyone that in the step he took the interests of the country were made a very secondary consideration to the interests of himself and his party, Moreover, the Government, in spite of the difficulties placed in its wav, has made considerable progress with theheavy tasks it has' in hand. That better progress would have beer possible and the interests of the country better served by unity of effort on the part of Hie two chief political pnvKes must be o'n'ious t" evervone. The rei-nnnpibP 1 '" for wlptever the Country lis"! "liffemd or vill suffer in the im>ii"d ; .'<fe future throuixh delayed action due to tlw return In partv warfare nii"'t rest on Sir Joseph Ward's shoulders.

The national 'jampaign which has been opened Great Britain to support the League of Nations is timely and woil advised. It is by this time fairly evident that the future peace of the world and the security and welfare of nations de pend upon success in building up the League and making it a real

force in international affairs. There is an unwise tendency on the pare of many people who speak allc.vdly from a "practical" standpoint to ridicule the League of Nations as Utopianism carried to an extreme— an attempt, foredoomed to failure, to make altruism the ruling force in international relationsllip'ftj|(ijkteli people, even when they recommend vigorous military preparation by this or that nation, afe in fact.nilvocating a policy of spiritless "acquiescence in the evils of the past. The appeal to the League of is less to altruism than to comnuijii sense' and to the rational seiiin(.crest of the people of the world. Peace has not yet been attained, and conditions which threaten to give rise to new wars arc only too plainly in evidence. The idea underlying the League of Nations is simply that nations which appreciate the advantages of order and security should pool their moral and material resources to the end of promoting general harmony. That progress on these lines is opposed by tremendous difficulties is the strongest possible argument for doing everything that is feasible to strengthen the League. The alternative is to allow the world to sink into such a condition that no more hopeful prospect will be opened than that of irreconcilable conflict. 1g is the simple truth that no more severely practical proposal was ever set before humanity than that of establishing an international organisation which, as Loud Kobe in Cecil has said, will continual 1 v care for the interests of peace throughout the world.

A "Wellington returned soldier (Mr. K. T. who had an opportunity of _ visiting Norway after the armistice, has made some interesting observations on the rapid industrial progress made possible in that country by the extensive -utilisation of hydro-electiie energy. In Norway, as he points out, hundreds of thousands of horsepower arc developed and turned to profitable account in industry and to household purposes. The interest of those observations rests largely on the fact that prior to the modern development of water-power Norway was an extremely poor country. So far as national resources are concerned it is, apart from its timber, rich in little else than the sources of hydro-electric energy it has turned to such profitable account. New Zealand is<nearly as well endowed as Norway with similar sources of power, and, in proportion to population, it has an infinitely hotter field in which to develop tluin. The object lesson of Norway, with- great and prosperous industries and extensive municipal services, based on the utilisation of water-power, is therefore one that may be studied in this country with all. possible profit.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19191015.2.28

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 17, 15 October 1919, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,096

NOTES OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 17, 15 October 1919, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 17, 15 October 1919, Page 6

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