PLAIN SPEAKING TO NEW ZEALAND

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 95, 8 May 1937, Page 10

PLAIN SPEAKING TO NEW ZEALAND

AN ILL-BALANCED ECONOMY * Country "Has Failed To Pull Her Weight,, CARDIFF MAN GIVES HIS VIEWS Althougli he admired New Zealand as a country and. greatly liked the people he met here, Mr J. E. Emlyn-Jones, had sOme "hard words" to say ahout the Domjriion's economic policy, wrhen .addressing his fellow townsmen at Cardiff, Wales, on his return from attending the Congress of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire at Wellington. He said that New Zea-land, considering her resources, "had failed to pull her weight/' The views he expressed were considered so important by.the "Weekly Mail and Cardiff Times" that they were printed in full. They are reproduced below: —

Lof us bricfly cousider the history of the Dominion, said Mr EmlyaJones. In the dim and distant past New Zealand was part of a great Oontinent in the Southern Ocean, and the Polynesian people- — the Maori raee — voyageu in long canoes* from the midI'acilic eenturies ago.'When I contrasted our voyages of coxnfort to yeach New Zealand and saw in the Auckland museum roplieas of tho canoes in which the Maorie arrived I wondered why a cruel fate had decreed that they should as a race have become nearly extinet, for to-day only four per ceut. of Ihe population is Maori and their influence jidl. The high-born Maori is a natural orator, and Maori speech, in which eA'ery syllable ends with a vowel, is very pleasant in tono. It is certainly truo that in the old days thofMaoris were cannibalistic and indulged in decapitation. At b.anquets in .New .Zealand it is customary to submit the toast of " Our predecessors • in title, ' ' meanIng, of "course, the Maorisi At the banquet in honour of the Chamber of Commerce delegation in Christchurch Ihe proposer of the toast referred to that disagreeable custom of beheading, to which the responder, assuming the role of the native, facetiously reterted that, after all, it was -uot such a bad custom, for in view of the failure of so many in authority to solve the problems of the world in recent years a 'ittle decapitation might be a very good thing. In 1840 British Sovereignty wae offlcially proclaimed, and organised colonisation commenced that year. New Zealand is certainly the most British of the Dominions, for 05 per cent. ara of British and Celtic origin. I spent altogether one month in New Zealand, travelling froni Auckland to' Dunedin, and had ' many ' int'eresting talks with the Prime Mjnjster, the Speaker of tho Parliament and- other leaders in public and commercial affairs, Congress Unanimous. I am afraid I had a degree of promx uence which I .did not deserve, but it so happened that the Cardiff Chamber of Qommerce was the only chamber in tHo United Kingdom to subinit a resolution dealing witii the proulem of migration, although, strangely enough, similar resoiutions had been submitted by a number of chambers of commerce in New Zealand itself and in Australia. Migration becatiie the most vital topie that was discussed, and as I had travelled some 15,000 miles to make my speech, I was allowed to move the main resolution dealing with that vital question, which was seconded by an Aus*. tralian delegate. On most other topies on which I spoke I found myself there, as I so often find myself here, in a hopeless minority, but on migration, although many" of them said afterwards they were not sure whether they agreed with me, I carried the Congress unanimously. I am supposed to have made what the Press called an impassioned oration, and from that moment there was no peace, for, having said some pretty hard things, I was invited to say them over and over again, and had the rare privdlege of broadcasting a talk from the Dunedin Station to implore tho people of New Zealand to take a more realistic view of their duties to the mother copntry by relaxjng the restriction on immigration dnto her shores.

I had a large number of lettcrs from 'all over1 the country — niostly encouragingj but some decidedly abusive. As that was no new experieneo for me I was quite unperturbed. I was, however„ very amused by ono letter which reached me. A xnan, tuxknown, wrote to say \ he was on the balcony when I spoke in congress. He agreed that New Zealand should have a much larger population, but he added that if the men I intended sending out were anything lik§ the delegates at the congress, "for God's sake don't send them.' ' I do not know whether hc was thinking of the Welsh delegation, but the liumour of the observation appealed to us all. I ^vas very uearly — and I'm a ■veteran now — the baby of ihe congress, an'd tlio timo for settlemeht in the Do-' minions is past when a man reaches fh'e'age of -10.

What Are the Pacts?? i Now what are the facts about New Zealand? At every banquet We wero told to excuse shortcomings, for they were only just reaching their hundred years. The general impression thiey sought to convey was one of contentment and complaeency in their achievement. Thoy point to Auckland aird Wellington in the North Island, to Christcbureh and Dunedin in the South— all in their way magnilicent cities — but take these four plaeea away andf there are only some 900,000 people in an area of 103,415 sqnaro miles, about a seventh larger than tho area of Great Britain. The North Island, with its million population, eovers 44,281 square miles. The South Island, with only half a million, of which half is in two cities, covors 58,092 square miles. It must be remembered that nearly the whole of New Zealand is habitable. The latitudo bounds approximately correspond with those of Italy. The climate is equable, the rainfall well distributed. It is certainly one of the healthiest countries in the world, a paradise for the worlcers and the- sportsman. It is a scenic won derland, assembling all kinds of beauty and grandeur in mounfains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, fiords, glaciers, and forests. Yet with all these advantages after nearly a century of colonisation it provides a home for what is little more than the population of one of onr biggest provincial cltics. You will not be surprised, thercfore, going as I did from this distressed area to press the question of migration, that I indulged in some plain speaking. I told the New Zealanders that just as it was a crime to corner any commodity vital to htunan existence so it was wrong that so beautiful and resourceful a portion of the Empire as is the wonderful Dominion of New Zealand should be cornered by so few people. The truth about .New Zealand da that not in any ono year in this country has there been an exeess of arrivals over departures of 14,500, and only iu three years has that figure come anywhere near being reached. Por the past nine years the departures have exceeded the arrivals, and the small natural increase in population can be

ruled out of consideration as a vital t'actor in the problem. There must ue a reason for this state of aft'airs in a country of such vasf natural resources, and my explanatiou of the plienomenon is to be found iu the f act that New Zealand has concentrated too much upon industrial activity and too little upon agricultural and ugrarian enterprise. biie ha-s thns created an ili-oalanced economy, and although not alone dn experienciug the modern tendency towards urban aggresaticn, seems by the very nature vx uer .esou.-ces to be least able to stand it. New Zealand is essentially by nature a primary producing country, yet iigures published in 1926 (and the eituation has worsened since then) showed that the primary produeers and those engaged in industry were almost xdeutical in number. Little wonder then that her absorption of immigrants has been so small, for with so meagre a population and a geographical situation which will always preclude her competing industrially with the outside world, saturatlon point must have been reached. If it is true, as I believe it to be truo, 'that a. country is great only as it provides opportunity and comfort for a maximum number of people, then New Zealand has failed to puil her weight in relation to her resources not only as concerns Great Britain, hut also as regards tSe outside world.

Little wonder that Mr. Savage, the Prime Minister, in welcoming the delegates, referred to this problem, and said, "If we do not know how properly to develop our own land, then someouo else will come along and do it for us. " Ominous words for a Prime Manister'to use, and yet there appears little readiness to abaudon the cohditions which have led to such an ill-balanced national economy. Prankly I am not hopeful of the £uture, for voting strength is now concentrated in the towns, and politicians iu New Zealand, as elsewhere, think in terms of votes rather than politics. The small number of workers are well paid. They are afraid of the effects of more population, although what their position would be if New Zealand had licver been able to borrow cheaply from the mother country they do not pause to conisider. There is, of course, some unemployment, especially in the four large centres of population, but what is not realised is the help in the shape of new wealth which would be created by the admission of a steady stream of immigrants to increase the ratio of agriculture , to industry and stimulate the development of primary produets. Iu the IcCng run it is population that will eount, and without a reversal of the present mood of complaeency in the face of impending tragedy one may well gsk what in a generation or so is likely to happen to what is called the Britain of the South. With a land hunger in the overcrowded countries of Europe and Japan one wonders whether Mr. Savage's words were not pregnant with wisdom. Great as is my admiration for New Zealand as a country, for I think there is none finer in the world, mucli as I enjoyed contact with New Zealanders, I must record it as my opdnion that instead of a century of progress since the early British colonisation it had. been a century 9 of lost opportunities during which other countries with f ewer natural resources have made far greater progress. 3It is only fair to say that this opinion is very largely held by the thinking people of the Dominion, but they seem powerless in the face of inass complaeency and selfishness. Many inflneneial New Zealanders suggested, more seriously than joeularly, that the ; speediest solution would be by the re- ! conquest of the country by Great BriI tain. One realises that this is out of the question, but it is well to remeniber that since the Statute of Westminster we have no more control over our Dominions than we have * over foreign countries, and any collaboration on a policy of migration to assist in solving the question of unemployment at home must be a voluntary act. • Speaking quite frankly I see no immediate prospect of such cooperation, for New Zealand, like Australia, is like a spoiled child willing to take everything she can from the Mother Country and givo as little of practical value in cxchange as possible. Hard words I know, but I Lelieve that every delegate from Britain . attending the Congress would express the same opinion.

Apart from the natural beauty of the iountry aiid the neglepted opportunities L!or rural development, what impressed me most ih New Zealand was the high standard of education of the people. Never in my experience have I heard English so well spoken by the worlring classes. Not only was the grammar — whether of the chambermaid or the taxi-driver — correet, but there was a softness of accent, perfection of phrase and dignity of manner which we associate in this country with those who are privileged to receive what is called a higher * education. New Zealand is indeed in that respect a favoured country, and I was at pains to discover scmething about an educational eystem which produced such visible results as perfection of speech — so sadly lacking, if I may say so with respect, even in many of the produets of our secondary schools. "Free, secular, compulsory" is the historic deseription of New Zealand 's State primary system of education, which conforms as nearly as possible to the democratic prineiple of equal opportunity. The way to free secondary and teehnical education in public schools has .also been made easy aud the free course can continue in the university colleges for intelligent students who take pains to qualify for the priv'ilege. Tho State is thus aittimately linked, financially and otherwisc, with the %whole system of education from primary school to the university. Whatever the cost to the State thc results appear satisfactory. Ne-^ Zealand haB no State Chureh, and State aid is not given to any religious body. The Church of England appears to have the largest number of adherents,..followed elosely by the Presbyterians. I met during my travels most of the Welshmen in the Dominion, and addressed meeting of the Welsh Societies in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Wdth oue or twb exceptions ' I cannot say that my f ellow-country-* men in New Zealand have amassed much material wealth, but they have made good citizens, and have contributed by common consont to the reli-. gio'us and cultural actiyities of the localities in which they reside. I imagme that thero cannot be anywhere Ise in the world such a large country with so small a population carrying such an elaborate system of Government and mnnicipal services as is the case dn New Zealand, for remember the population is only 14 million3. There are two Houses, of Parliament. The upper House is known as Legislative Coun.il, and consists of some 28 members. The House of Kepresentatives consists of 80, which includes four Maords. At the present moment there is a Labour Government in power under Mr. Savage, the Prime Minister. He has for long been a leading figure in Labour politics in the Dominion. The State-owned railways involved a capltal expenditure of £60,000,000, to serve what is virtually the population of ohe large city. The National Debt is £300,000,000, or, say, £200 per head of population, most of which— that is 60 per cent. — is external. - As the number of adults of 21 years. and ov.er is less thau 1,000,000 dt will be seen at once how great is the burden which is being carried, and how vital is a spreading af that burden .over a much larger population in the interests of financial safety. The facility with which she had been able to borrow on the London marlcet has no doubt stimulated an ■ expenditure iu excess of what would have followed a more gradual development. When all reievant factors are taken into consideration, I think it can be said that the workers of New Zealand and their familie^ have a better . standard . of living than people in similar positions in most other countries.