POPULATION FOR NEW ZEALAND.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 27, 2 April 1907, Page 4

POPULATION FOR NEW ZEALAND.

.. Dr Chappie, who has been on a journey

abroard and returned to Wellington on Thursday, made some interesting observations to a reporter on the subject of peopling New Zealand. In travelling through the United Kingdom and Ireland, one of the prominent matters in his mind was the question of the Old Country's power to supply suitable settlers for New Zealand. For years, he says, he has had a rooted conviction that the progress of New Zealand ) can only be promoted by an increase in ) productiveness brought about by closer settlement of the back country, with a corresponding improvement of population in the city centres. If the people were placed on the land increased population for the cities would follow automatically. In Dublin, he found that the clergy were preaching about emigrating from Ireland, telling the people that it was disloyal to country to emigrate to a foreign land when their own country needed them. The North of Ireland was too busy to think about emigration. The country people of England moved on to the cities, and did not desire to travel any farther. The North of Scotland, and perhaps Germany, were the only places that were willing and able to spare a proportion of their best agriculturalists tor countries with a climate more congenial than their own, His own opinion was that if New Zealand’s country districts were settled by people willing to till the soil, 'increased population for the cities must, follow without the stimulus of assisted immigration, but assisted passages for farmers and country workers were an immediate necessity for New Zealand, and that was a fact that had been impressed on every young country in (he world. They realised that they must have population even at a great national cost. New Zealand could afford to select, and she had the best opportunity to get the best country workers and farmers from the countries he had mentioned. New Zealand was in better odour there than Canada or Australia; that was obvious. He believed that widiin the • next few years a strong tide of immigration would come to this country from the Old World, He considered that the Scandinavians were the best of all. If he had to deal with the problem of securing suitable settlers, he would choose a Scandinavian resident from here and send him away to get others. They were a thrifty, industrious, healthy race. Dr Chappie thought that though the High Commissioner was doing all that was possible by the advertisement system, much better results would be gained by the employment of an agent who would actually see the intending immigrants and inform them about the actual conditions in New Zealand,