A WARNING TO IMMIGRANTS. Get Off This Soil, Young Man !

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 130, 27 December 1902, Page 8

A WARNING TO IMMIGRANTS. Get Off This Soil, Young Man !

TIIK population of Australia and New Zealand, if concentrated on an airea of ten square miles, would not equal the* population of London. If sucih a concentration could take place, it would leave an area of land unattended to capable of sustaining perhaps a hundred millions all told. Those hundred million® of people would have to hustle to live. At present, the population of that imaginary town is spread over a vast area, and, on the whole, it is fairly comfortable, droughts and other natural visitations exoepted. • • • If you want to find out how the colonies intend to deal with any invasion of immigrants who might fill up an infinitesimal portion of that area, watch the papers for the 1 rows that eventuate when (Continued on page 16.)

a few people belonging to a specific calling endeavour to get a footing on this side of the world. Australia, by ite conduct in respect to those English hatters, who might have earned money that Australians should earn, is an instance of the foolish policy of restriot'ing population. It is another instance of what an American friend of ours the other day described as "fool legislation " • # • Everyone is familiar with the long face of the working-man of New Zealand, who hears that a few Austnans are coming to New Zealand to dig gum. He sees ruin staring him in that long face. It never strikes him that all he has to do in an ordinary way is to show himself, in open competition, a better man than the foreigner. Of course, labour legislation in New Zealand prevents any body from being a better man than anybody else, but the average employer, labour legislation or no, is not a fool, and he will still pick his men if possible. # • * It is an admission of weakness for an Australian felt>-hiatter, or the felt-hat-ters' Government, to fear the English or foreign workmen on colonial soil. It is grandmotherly of any Government to 'protect" a country whose crying need is for population. America did not reach her present eminence in the mr dnstrial world by excluding artisans, and these colonies are not going to move along with any great celerity if they aire going to trust to natural increase for the population that is needed to increase productiveness, and bear taxation. • • • An ordinary, evexy-day person, who is not a politician, might imagine that colonial legislators would offeor every inducement to desirable immigrants. Of course, politicians are ruled by ipublio opinion, and public opinion, under grandmotherly legislation in the colonies, looks upon an outsider who is seek'ng a billet as an enemy. This unpleasant trait of the colonial character is observable not only in relation to oversea immigrants, but even to intercolonial visitors. The introduction of New Zealand shearers to Australia, and Australian shearers to New Zealand, has been the cause of many small labour wars, and it is deplorable that a selfishness which stunts the growth of budding nations is responsible. • • • We in the colonies feel great, and, on paper, we look a decent size, and we are very willing that the world shall assess us at our paper value. We cannot live up to a fictitious importance if we persist in excluding people who may help us to b& great by teaching us something we don't know. We are jealous, too, in the colonies, and we do not like other people to know more than ourselves. Also, we do not like them to earn money that we are perfectly able to still keep on earning, providing we refuse to be coddled^ and compete properly with whomsoever may come along. » * • Imagine a Home industrial union prohibiting an Australian or a New Zealander from entering into his trade in England. The thing is too absurd. Of course, the idea of contracting with English artisans to come to the colonies, at a less rate of wages, is wrong. However, this should not be a reason for not allowing them to work at their own trade. The exigencies of colonial life would soon convince them that the only course open was to become colonial unionists — and the Arbitration Court is always wide open on both sides of the Tasman Sea! With reasonable exceptions and exemptions, no person should be unwelcome to a British, colony. The colonies are proud of the fact that they exist under that emblem of freedom — the Union Jack. Let it never be said that the time has arrived when am Englishman, may not dump his swag on these Pacific shores, and call it "home."