EMIGRATION ATTACKED.

Shannon News, 19 March 1929, Page 4

EMIGRATION ATTACKED.

DENUDING SCOTLAND OF HER YOUNG MEN. AN OUTSPOKEN DOMINIE. A recent jopy of the John o' Gloats Journal, published at Wick in Ciithness, North Scotland, contained the following report: —■ At a largely attended meeting in Stemster School an interesting lecture, illustrated by lantern slides, was delivered by Mr Beatty, of the Canadian Emigration Department. Mr Beatty, who is a fluent lecturer, was accompanied by one of the emigration agents, and he waxed eloquent about the prospects and inducements held out to prospective emigrants. ■Mr Mackay, teacher, who was called to the chair,'said that whenever ho saw a flock of crows hovering over his garden he knew at once that there was crows' business on hand. (Laughter). When'he-saw (pointing to the emigration officials) these crows he knew that there was similar business on hand. (Laughter.) These emigration officcials, he said, were like the devil—they were everywhere' from Dan to Beersheba, .vith their posters, lectures, and advertisements, luring our be&t men and women across the sea. (Laughter.) He (Mr Mackay) confessed — and he would make no bones/about it —that he was clean out of sympathy with this emigration stunt "in their sparsely populated country, districts. He failed to see how any man with a spark of patriotism about him could look upon it "in any other light. 'The best blocd had already been drained away by it; the cream of their manhood* and womanhood had already been skimmed off by emigration; the.backbone, of the country was gone. ";In fact,' as far as Caithness was concerned, he thought the orange was about sucked dry already by emigration. (Applause). People whe helped directly or indirectly ta denude; the country ,'of its manhood had a good deal to answer for; ,they ought long ago to have been laid bv the heels. (Laughter). 'BILLS AND POSTEES, The last time that agents were here, he said, they succeeded in inveigling two of their finest young men across the sea. And what do you think the emigration agents .gave us in return, he asked. Nothing, except an atlas of .Canada and a fresh bundle of bills and posters for distribution. (Laughter). He observed that when a Caithnessman migrated tc Sutherland shire, or Boss-shirs, his friends as a rule gor something in return, perhaps a poached salmon or a haunch of venison, or at the least a chunk of salt mutton or braixie —(laughter) —out these emigration agents gave nothing in return except more bills and posters;. That was not good enough. (Laughter.) Continuing, Mr Mackay said that what their-rural districts ""required was not emigration but emigration. Their schools and churches were all half empty in the country, and at the present state of depopulation tke half of them might close their doors in a few years. Business establishments, too, might soon put up the shutters. It was simply tragic to see the land everywhere going to grass owing to emigration and bad laws, and —what was equally tragic—few people seemed to care. (Applause). Unless, he said, they had v the gumption to organise and fight for their interests they might soon all have to bundle and go. THE CLASS FOE CANADA.

The people whom these officials ought to send to Canada were the ■ workshy's and the type of man who, when he waa not on the booze, was sure to be on the dole or on the cadge. "And why should Canada," he said, "not take her share "of the bad eggs?" (Laughter). He (Mr Maekay) was disapointed with the type of young man springing up in the villages and towns. They took no intelligent interest in what was a matter of life and death to themselves and their country. They were interested in Jttle except cinemas and dancing or in football and rifle clubs. (Laughter),. God pity them!

He admitted that Canada was an ideal country for people with some capital,- but capital was precisely what his hearers had not got. (Laughter). The fact, as he saw it, was that, the big farm proprietors of Canada wanted drudges to go out to Canada to do the navvy work ov the donkey work for them" That was the short and long of it.

Hearty votes of thanks were accorded to Air Beatty and to the chairman