IMMIGRANTS

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

IMMIGRANTS

AND THE RECENT COMPLAINTS. Some public complaint has been mode in the past few days about the arrange' ments made for the reception of immigrants coming to this country, and also as to the class of people some 01 tho immigrants have proved to be. The trouble seems to aviso from tun fact that immigrants are coming through various agencies, and not all through the New Zealand Government agency at tho High Commissioner's Office. Those, who "aro approved by the High Commissioner are really the only persons for wlucll tho Government hero has any direct responsibility. Advice about .these people is sent by tho High Commissioner, and their names find description 'arei knows before they step ashore. When they arrive at their first port a Government officer is on hand to meet them. Ihe statement that any such immigrants havo come here and not been met 011 arrival is not c6rrect, said Mr. Massey,refeiring to the matter. He said that those people coming out under the _ British Government scheme for ex-servico men and their families were not so closely watched by the High Commissioners Office and it might >e that some ot those'had landed without having anything done for them. But the Government would do all it could to find employment for these people. His wformation -was thot, most of them did ■not want to settle in cities so that their coming would not affect the housing problem, but many of tlieni appeared to have had little or no experience of country life, and for this reason were a little difficult to place in employment at once. The story that some people had landed without being met by an immigration officer might have arisen Jrom the fact , that a number of people had come via Australia, and so had arrived here unknown to the New Zealand authorities. Mr. Massey thought it. might be possible to arrange that immigrants to be assisted by the Government should be required to obtain a nhnracter to the satisfaction of tho High Commissioner.