BIRTH-RATE AND IMMIGRATION.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 5, 21 January 1937, Page 6

BIRTH-RATE AND IMMIGRATION.

The Science Congress ■which has just disbanded after nearly a fortnight's sitting a.t Auckland has cliscussed many subjects of both academic and practical interest. A mong the Ijatter to none has been given more time and consideration than the question of intra-Imperial migration. Almost coincidentally we liad yesterday a Londqn message telling us that the Secrtary for the Dominions, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, is shortly submitting to Parliament a Bill which is described as "dealing with Einpire settlement," which means about the same thing. As a preliminary lie is asking for a vote of £l£ million to provide funds for carrying out the purposes of his measure — seemingly a substantial increa.se on the amount appropriated to the same end last yehr, and open to be further auSmented should need arise. At the same time, it is to be noted that Mr. MacDonald intimates that any active movement will depend greatly on the oversea dominions indicating a readiness to co-operate with him. S.o far as this country is concerned, it is generiaJily accepted that not only is it capable of carrying a much greater population than at present but that some scheme of immigration is needed in order to supplement the continuously diminishing rate of imtural increase. This latter, as the Government Statistician informs us, has fallen steadily from an average of 29^ per thousand for the years 1876-80 to something under 8 per thousand in 1935. To some extent this has been offset by a gradual improvement in the death-rate figures which are the lowest in the world. But, even giving that in, the natural increase in population is proceeding at a miserably slow pace, while during the years 1931-35 some 10,000 more people left the Dominion permanently than came into it with the intention of staying here. In the broad result we find that during the whole of the decade preceding last year's census the aggregate increase in population was slightly short of 11 per cent., or a yearly average that may be put at one per cent. This is something appreciably less than half of the percentage for the immediately preceding decade, which fairly well maintained. the average for 40 years before that again. These are very striking records even if we take into account the clieck which four or five years of severe economic depression have pla.ced upon both natural and introduced increase in the population. The return of more prosperous times may be expected to show, is indeed already to some small extent showing, some improvement in the figures of natural increase — excess of bi'/ths over deaths. But, even so, there is no prospect of any adequate increase in population from this source alone, for the records show that the tendency to restrict family numbers is common to all classes and is, in fact, most noticeable among the well-to-do. It thus becomes fairly apparent that the natural increase will have to be supplemented by immigration if the country is to play its part in maintaining anything like a fair proportion of the many millions that inhabit even Christian countries alone. Much the same has to be said, and in a much bigger application, with regard to Australia and, despite the Dionffe quintuplets, to Canada also. It is, of course, very easy to state the problem in this way, but it is admittedly far from being as easy to find a satisfactory solution. Especially is this the case when it seems to be pretty well established that there is no very great inclination on the part of even those feeling the pinch of povertydn the Old Country to lend themselves to seeking betterment of their conditions in the oversea dominions. Then too, in the dominions we are set to exclude all but the best, the very element which the Old Country wishes to retam, These considerations led one of the speakers at the Congress to suggest that the solution of the problem might eventually have to be found in the freer admittance of immigrants from over-populated and prolific foreign countries such as have already shown themselves and their offspring as, tf.apable of conversion into good British citizens.