TRAINING FARMS FOR EMIGRANTS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 2, Issue 109, 11 July 1913, Page 1

TRAINING FARMS FOR EMIGRANTS.

Overseas Premiers' Approval.

The "Morning Post's" proposal that trainirg farm? should be established in the Old Country by the overseas Dominions now seeking population in Great Britain, seems to be creating a good deal of interest in Arglo - Australasian circles here. Most of the leading lights among our Dominions' "visitors" apparently approve of the principle that some preparatory training shoJld be eiven, but some—Mr Wstt, the Victoinn Premier, for txampk—seem to be uncertain whether it would be better to give the training in the respective Dominions or in the Mother Country. Among others wto have given tongue to their vc.ws on the subject are Sir Joseph Ward, the ex-Premier of New Zealand, the Hon. A. H. Peake, the South Australian Premier, and the Premier of Alberta, Canada. In both these latter states there are, of course, institutions which have been established for the trainirg of young farmers, tut both Mr Peake and the Alberta Premier are cf opinion that any preparatory training that might be given emigrants before they leave this country woulJ be 'all »o the good."

SIR JOSEPH WARD'S OPINIONSSir Joseph Waid said tnat the proposed scheme appeared to contemplate giving th 3 emigrant some degree of practical farming education before he leit tnis country to go on the land in the Dominions, so far as such a schema was practicable there was a great deal to be said for it. Indeed, he would go so Tar as to say that if a system of that kind was established there would be a plajs waiting for every young man so trained, even before he stepped ashore in the Dominions overseas. That was beyond doubt, at least as far es New Zealand was concerned. The farmers in New Zealand were always wanting farm workers, and were often glad to take untrained men, but if they could get young men from the Old Country with a certain amouat of specialised training for the kind of farm work which they would be expected to do in the Dominion, obviotuly they would be given tha preference, "There is, however, one important question which suggests itself to me," eaid Sir Joseph Ward, "and that is, whether the training farm in this country should be devoted solely to the interests cf oce Dominion. I mean whether there should te one farm for New Zealand only, another for Australia, ar.d another for Canada; this is a practical question which would have to be settled at the initiation of the scheme. I can foresee difficulties if the proposal contemplated a training farm on the joint behalf of, say, Ausraha and New Zealand. Then, again. if we in New Zealaad contribute to the upkeep of this training farm, we would want to have an assurance that we were going to get En adequate return on the capital expended in this way. It would be disappointing .to us if the men trained at our cost were to go to some other Dominon which had, perhaps, contributed nothing. Of, course if thtss voung men had already arranged to take up land, or had already engaged to go on a farm, and were merely undergoing trartiirg on a farm in this country preparatory to carrying out their engagements in the Dominion, the difficulty would be simplified, However, these are questions of practical management which could no doubt be settled once the principle of the scheme was accepted, Nuw Zealatd wants land workers badly, and if we can get them with some preparatory training that will fit them tor farm work in our country, we shall gladly take as many as you can send us."