GROSS EXAGGERATION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5374, 14 January 1929, Page 3

GROSS EXAGGERATION.

LABOUR CONDITIONS, IN DOMINION HIGH COMMISSIONER REPLIES. Sir James Parr, K.C., Hilgh. Commissioner, for New Zealand, in an important letter to the ‘’Mail” (Hull), clears away misunderstanding's) and corrects what he terms inaccuracies occurring in a letter from a corre-t spondent, appearing in the “Mail,” in which the writer, drew a rather gloomy picture of the labour conditions in the Dominion. Sir. James writes:— “May I, as the official representative of New Zealand, say a word or two in reply to yd.ur article of November 8 headed *A Gloomy Picture of Nqw Zealand,’ and written by a Hull man who states that he spent 2% years in travelling through New Zealand. I hope none of your readers will accept without a very bilg grain of salt the conclusions of this itinerant gentleman. His report is, indeed, little less than a tissue of exaggeration and inaccuracies. I desire space to deal with, two or three rather fine specimens of. the ar.t of mis-; representing a great Dominion. “ STARVING IMMIGRANTS.” “Your contributor states, to quote his own’ words, ‘that thousands of superfluous immigrants, are being brought out to cause a drug on the labbu,t market.’ Later on, he talks about immigrants ‘starving in Nqw Zealand.’ Both statements are contrary to fac.t The tr ( uth is that for the past 18 months my Government has accepted scarcely any men immigrants at all under the assis,ted-pas-sage scheme- My instruction’s; for nearly two years have been to send no immigrants unlesg each has a little capital. Your writer’s statement about people starving, jn NewZealand is' ridiculous nonsense. Ko one need starve or does starve in New Zealand. There is no country in the world with a higher level of individual prosperity. Further, there is no other Dominion, relatively speaking, that has so few unemployed. “His statement that the farmers of New Zealand arq ‘all mortgaged up to. the hilt ’ is also a gross exaggeration. The plain truth is that the farmers of New Zealand during the past year, or two are dicing better than farmers in any ctner part of the British Empire. Prices for dairy produce and wool and meat ar.e extrejmely go.od, and New Zealand is prospering accordingly.. Of course many farmers who started with very little capital do owe mortgages, but most fanners own their own freeholds and pay interest on the mortgage, a much better method than being merely a tenant farmer, as unfortunately is the case in other countries. Young English lads of .16 and 17, under, the Flock House scheme, after a few months’ training in New Zealand, start work on farms at 15s a week, with yearly increases. One of these) boys has saved over £lOO out of his wages. GROTESQUE INACCURACY. “ Your correspondent’s, most grotesque inaccuracy consists in the statement that foreigner of. all de- '■ scriptions are getting in on the ground floor whilst New Zealanders and Englishmen are utterly starving.’ The fact is that there are; comparatively few foreigners in New Zealand, for my country is even more British than Britain. Indeed, there; are fewer foreigners in New Zealand, relatively, than in any other Dominion. Moreover, such foreigners a's> we have) are fairly paid, notwithstanding your contributors statement. “ Lastly, while it is true that a couple of years ago, New Zealand, owing to low prices for its produce, suffered an economic setback, and had some unemployment, I should like to inform your readers that the conditions have since vastly improved. Last year there was a record tradq balance—vilz., a credit of £11,000,000 of exports oyer imports—and l there are signs of a return of the former, abundant prosperity. Just at present my Government will hot assist emigrants without capital, but boys anxious to learn farming, men with small capital, and young women .domestics are all welcome .to New Zealand. Sometimes it happens that an immigrant, of his own volition and at his own expense, goesi to New Zealand and is a failure because he is utterly unsuitable for colonial conditions. For one such failure I may truthfully say there are 20 men who suepeed and praise the country of their adoption. After all, so much depends on the individual immigrant.”