EMPIRE MIGRATION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 43, 6 March 1937, Page 7

EMPIRE MIGRATION

Matter Wholly for Dominions Themselves

MUST ACT QUICK1.Y

That if New Zealand desires to embark upon a Bcheme of immigration of people from England it must act as soon as possible, is the opinion of Professor T. S. Sterling, M.A. (Cantab.), of Ehgland, who is at present visiting Napier. He aaid tliis morning that tho armament and housing constructiou boom in England was rapidly absorblng vast i)um.bers of the people who w-uld be ideally suited to settle in thia o.cuntry in pursuance of a sound policy of migration. PvoiesKor Sterling, who for eighteen years was professor of English at the University of Calcuttu, India, i«, during the eoufse of his travels round tho British Empit'e, investighting in a ptlrely voluntary capncity the possibilities of England and New Zealand from the point of view of immigration. In the hopes oi' being able to oller some useful information he is makiug a eareful examination of aocial and living conditions in this country. "To my mind ihe whole question of smpire migration depends on the Dominions themselves," he said. "It is for the Dominions to make the great JeOision in tho xqa.tter. Tho people eontrolling them for instance, must decide upon the type of people Which is to be drawh from the Mother Country. Unfortunately, many of the younger people who would make the best immigrants are rapidly becoming absorbed by work brought about by the development of housing construction and rearmament in England. As only one instance of the tremendous activity going on in regard to housing, a few years ago the London CouUty Council erectod a new housing estate within twelvo miles of London comprieing 10,000 houses And close by another estate with 8,000." In view of this, he added, if the NeW Zealand Government eventually approved of a scheme of immigration, it must act hastily while there was a suitable typ-o of Englishman still available. He made it clear that he waa in NeW Zealand not in any offieial capacity, but merely to gather information as to living and social conditions and as to the general pssobilities of a migration scheme being brought to a suecessful conclusion. After being in India for eighteen years the Professor held office in London as secretary of the Universities Bureau of the British Empire. Later he held the chair of English for four years at the University of Cairo, in Egypt, and was for some time dean of the faculty of arts. During his period in India he wa(s given many opportunities of studying the fine qualities of the people. He has found them on the whole always eager to improve their lot, as is illustrated by the fact that -many of the students desire to learn and speak English. He is of the cpinion that English is rapidly becoming a more popular langridge in countries where English is not the mother tongue. "In India all the Government servants have to pass an examination in English, which is compulsory for the B.A. degree at the universities. You would .be surprised at the number of Indian students who are studying English," he said. "In evety tiny village you come- apross someone • who speaks the langua,ge. 1 g,m inclined to think that eventually English will become universal,- although of course races will still speak their own particular tongue." When talking of India, he mentioned incidentally that the population was increasing ,at a tremendous rate. During the ten years between 1921 and 1981 it had increased by. about 30,000,000. The 1931 census showed .the population to be 356,000,000— three times that of> the United States. ■ ProfesSqr Sterling is remaining in h^apier for nearly a weelc before proceeding south. He hopes to include a visit to the South Island .during his ' stay in New Zealand,