The Dominion. MONDAY, MAY 31. 1920. ATTRACTING POPULATION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 210, 31 May 1920, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, MAY 31. 1920. ATTRACTING POPULATION

SoiiFi detail weaknesses which havo been disclosed during the last few clays in the arrangements made for the introduction of immigrants call for prompt attention and treatment. There is no reason to suppose that more serious difficulties havo arisen than must be expected in the early development of a polioy which , aims at introducing new population on a considerable scale, but it is, of course, essential that where mistakes and shortcomings are disclosed no time should bo lost in correcting them and providing against their recurrence. Immigration is very definitely ail enterprise which calls for foresight and good planning and in which as littlo as possible ought to be left to chance. There are satisfactory indications that a great majority of the people brought out since immigration was actively resumed aro _of tho right stamp and havo readily found employment. Definite evidence on the latter point has been supplied by the Labour Department. On the other hand it has been shown, nqtably at recent meetings of the local Hospital and Charitable Aid Board and the War Belief Association, that in some cases immigrants have been introduced under conditions 'that call for inquiry. Both bodies have been asked to grant assistance to' immigrants—some of them Imperial ex-soldiers and their dependants—and such calls ought not to be necessary if the immigration scheme is soundly administered. In commenting on tho facts the chairman of the War Relief Association (Mil. Tripp) observed that:

In some cases men have corno to New Zealand who have not recovered from their wounds. They are without money and almost unable to work for themselves. ' They should never have been allowed to come to this country. . . .

Some Governinent Department must look after tlieae men, many of whom will make very desirable settlers.'

Mr. Tripp's observations and a statement by the Prime Minister which appears to-day equally suggest that there is rooin and need for more effective co-ordination than exists at present between the different bodies which are organising emigration from Great Britain and the High Commissioner, as representing the New Zealand Government. Mit. Massey says, amongst other things, that those who aro approved by the- High Commissioner are really the only persons for whom the Government here has any direct responsibility, and also that immigrants, coming out under the British Government; scheme for ex-Service men and their families are not so closely watched by the High • Commissioner's Office, and that some of these may have landed without having anything done for them. Evidently matters cannot be left at th.is point. It is doing no kindness to invalid soldiers to bring them out to this country unless they are possessed of adequate means 01 support. 1 The apparent remedy, to which Mr, Massey gives tentative approval, is to extend the arrangement under which some immigrants are. required in the first instance to be approved by tho High ComI fnissioner. 'There ought to be no difficulty in making this arrangement fully comprehensive so far as immigrants assisted oither by the New Zealand Government or the British Government are concerned, and on the facts lately disclosed the establishment of this measure of coordination ought to be regarded as a matter of urgency. Careful selection is necessary as much for the sake of the immigrants themselves as in the interests of the Dominion, and in conjunction with the free dissemination of accurate information about the employment and other conditions offering in this, country would go far to eliminate the possibility of any well-grounded complaint. While it is satisfactory that most of the new arrivals, as information stands, want to take up country life, and not to settle in cities, a difficulty appears in that many of them are found to have had little if any experience of rural pursuits. Lack of experience is not necessarily a disqualification, but the circumstances' raise some difficulties which must be dealt with in a systematic way. In the case of ablebodied men, no serious problem ought to arise. They are offered at the outset an ample scope of employment on. development works, and ought to have no difficulty in establishing themselves under good conditions. It is reported, however, that some of the immigrants who have come out hoping to take up farm work are shop and office workers, and evidently the principles of sclcction ought to be applied carefully before such immigrants are accepted and assisted. So far, as exService men, assisted by the Bri-

tish Government, are concerned, it ought to be a fairly simple matter to arrange, in the case of those who have had no experience of rural life, for some i, s5 of qualification and possibly for a measure of training, before they leave the United Kingdom. It should be quite practicable, also, to make arrangements in this country for the elementary training of immigrants desirous of obtaining agricultural employment. On the whole the Dominion offers very wide scope for immigration and there is no doubt that the degree of success achieved in this enterprise, will exercise a very important- influence on tho progress of the country in the immediate future and in years to come. It is so much the more necessary to adopt sound methods and

avoid .mistakes 'which, apart from

their immediate results, would seriously prejudice this Dominion in its competition with others which are bidding eagerly for the overplus of population from the Mother Country. •