IMMIGRATION TO N.Z.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 195, 3 September 1937, Page 14

IMMIGRATION TO N.Z.

"Not Practicable at Present Time" PR0F. TOCKER'S V1EWS i'l do not think it is practicable at present to resume immigration, ' ' said Professor A. H. Tocker, answenng a question at a meeting of the Eoyal Empire Society in Christchurch. "If we want to resume it the method is not by elaborate Government schemes, but by creatmg conditions whieh will naturally attract migrants." Eeferring to the maldistribution of population among the countries of the world, Professor Tocker asked if it wero possible to maintain indeitnitely such a state of unbalance. "We possess New Zealand. Can we hold it? I do not thinlc, there is any great possibility of further migration to New Zealand. Our population has reached a stage where it is beginning to fall. And if we do not occupy the conntry will someone else do it?" At present the Dominion was not maintaining its population. At oue time the rate of increase had_ been sufficient to double the population in 25 years. But the rate had slowed down enormously since. Many economic prob' lems were caused by this slowing down of population increase. The calculations of people in business and on the land were based on a eontinually expanding population; as in the normal expectation of eontinually rising land values. People had not adapted thenn selves to think in terms of a shrinking population. The decline also complicated the Government 's taslc in devising a national superannuation scheme; fot as population decreased there developed a perponderanee of older people requiring support over younger people who were actually engaged in production. "One can oniy record the facts and wonder where we are going," Professor Tocker ended. "I don't lmow."