EMPIRE MIGRATION.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 118, 28 January 1926, Page 7

EMPIRE MIGRATION.

DISTINGUISHED VISITOR. Commissioner D. C. Lamb. A Call at Matamata. Commissioner D. C. Lamb, who, at the request of General Booth, is undertaking a world tour to investigate the opportunities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other places with regard to immigration of British settlers, paid a visit to his nephew, Mr. M. Lamb, of Matamata, a few days ago, when on his way to the settlement farm at Putaruru. This distinguished visitor (of whom it is an open secret that he refused the offer of a title for his services to the Empire) ip full of interest in his mission, and despite his strenuous career he maintains that buoyancy and alertness common to those whose lives are dedicated to the service of their fellow men. Mrs. Commissioner Lamb is also a very noted social worker, one of the most prominent in Great Britain. Both have had many honours heaped upon them.

During his brief stay, Commissioner Lamb supplied to the Matamata Record some very interesting, instructive, and reassuring information in regard to the Salvation Army’s emigration and settlement scheme, which is quite apart from the Salvation Army’s social work, for the Army believes in sending the best men out to the Dominions, and not the outcasts of society ; the latter are kept at home as far as the Army scheme is concerned. Moreover, Commissioner Lamb has ail along endeavoured to promote the steady inflow of a good class of settler from the Old Country, believing that one of the essential factors in the progress of the Dominions must be the continual renewal in their population of the British stock who were the pioneers of the Dominion’s greatness and from whose deeds and traditions'*, their loftiest ideals have sprung'. At the same time he holds that it is the absorbing- powers of the dominions which should' determine the strength of the immigation movement, and not home economic conditions, be they good or bad. The Founder of the Salvation Army, the Late General Booth, was a man of great prescience, and he foresaw that the sending out of wastrel types of emigrants would ruin the whole scheme. He enunciated his policy in the following admirable statement: — “ I hold that the governing principles of the Salvation Army policy with respect to migration, transfer, transplation—call it what you like—must be:— “ 1. Helpful to the individual, “2. Acceptable to the Old Land; “ and, 3. Advantageous to the new country. “ Failure in any one respect, I hold, would mean failure in all.” CONFERENCE AT HAMILTON. In view of the conference in Hamilton it is desirable that people should have a good grasp of the Salvation Army scheme and methods. INSPIRING EMPIRE HERITAGE.

“ There is no gainsaying the truth that environment moulds men, and this truth universally applies. Environment is the mould for every living' species in creation. In so far as the environment is g'ood, so too is the species. Where environment is bad, the species is bad. You see this application everywhere, daily in flowers, in birds and beasts, and in men. If we would have an orchard fertile and fruitful, we select choice ground. We do not plant our young trees in stony ground, but we choose land that is naturally fertile and enriched with all the blessing's of nature; land that is properly watered and favoured with sunshine. In short, we choose the best possible environment. . The doctrine applies equally to mankind. Where conditions and environment are good mankind prospers and is happy, mankind is the better able to think ancl aim high, and to enjoy the blessings which are here for his comfort. In some parts of the British Empire there is overcrowding' and environment is bad. In other parts overseas there is need for population and environment is good. The Salvation Army Migration and Settlement Department believes that it is doing' a I signal service to the inhabitants of the Empire by endeavouring’ to mitigate the overcrowding' and by bringing within the reach of all the means to migrate to a better environment. It knows no party, and, apart from the wish to be of service to humanity, has no ulterior motives. Christian ideals and a better standard of living are its sole purposes in initiating and carrying out schemes of migration and set-

tlement within the Empire. The good work brings its own reward in the smiling faces and the hearty handgrips of the settlers whom we have transplanted. ONE GREAT FAMILY. Peace and prosperity in the constituent parts of the British Empire are necessities, and migration and settlement schemes which have these purposes in view should not be lightly cast aside. The Empire is one Great Family. Our ideals, however expressed, are Christian, and our modes of living, though differing in circumstances, are substantially the same. But we brothers and sisters are separated by thousands of miles, and it may sometimes be difficult fully to comprehend the viewpoint of our kin overseas. In the Homeland some of us languish for want of opportunity. In a lesser degree, too, brothers and sisters overseas languish, not because of want of opportunities, but because, help being needed, those opportunities are not being fully exploited. ’Here, then, is a case for active and close co-operation. The family tie, the bedrock of nations and Empire, must in the broader sense be more closely knitted. In the sympathy of kinship we must help each other. At the plough, at the bench, in science, in art, and in service, we must woi’k together, knowing full well that the wonderful heritage our fathers bequeathed us is overflowing with opportunities. Those who languish in the Homeland should take their place by the side of their kin overseas. They should learn their points of view. They should assist in attaining the peace and prosperity which is the right of all peoples; and the migration and settlement schemes which the Salvation Army have the pleasure of successfully organising are directed to that end. Conjure into your minds the glorious heritage which is ours. Look North, South, East, or West, and see —what? An Eden in the making; fertile lands uninhabited except by a I few pioneers. These hardy pioneers are struggling toward success, but are handicapped by lack of help, and the need of friendly co-operation. No such fertile lands have ever before been entrusted to a Commonwealth of Nations, and it behoves us to he worthy of that heritage. In honour of our fathers, ancl for the sake of our children and our children’s children, we must develop these lands of unparalleled resources. The vast sunkissecl meadows, the thousands and thousands of leagues of fertile praires must be cultivated. The almost illimitable forests, the water powers thundering in mighty strength, noble navigable rivers, the bread lakes, an dimmer.se seas of fish, must all be turned to service. Only by these means will 'he virile Anglo-Saxon Commonwealth of Nations the British Empire, prosper and continue to prosper.” Further reference to the Salvation Army Empire Migi-ation ancl Settlement will appear in a later issue of this paper.