R.S.A.

Southland Times, Issue 18839, 4 June 1920, Page 4

R.S.A.

THE WELLINGTON CONFERENCE. IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, June 3. The question of immigration was considered at the sitting of the conference of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association to day, when the Repatriation Committee submitted the following resolutions:— ia) That conference draw the attention of the Government to the increasing number of Hindus that are arriving in New Zealand, and request tha* the Immigration Restriction Act be amended to stop without further delay the immigration of Hindus and Chinese, and affirm the principle of a white New Zealand, and that all associations throughout New Zealand be requested to convene public meetings in their distri* ts prior to the meeting cf Parliament to pretest against the unrestricted influx of Hindus and Chinese. •b) That (he immigration policy should he controlled by and he entirely secondary to the repatriation policy (cl That the policy of permitting and encovraging (he immigration of ex-imperial "Oidiera’ widows with young families, or any other persons who are -ikcly to become a charge on the taxpayers of the dominion or upon patriotic societies’ funds, is strongly objected to. The report was agreed to. The report of the Repatriation Committee dealing with the admission of incapacitated men into all State services was submitted to the conference. The committee found that many soldiers had been refused employment by the State on account of war injuries. It urged—(a) That employment at a wage comparable with what they would have been receiving had they not enlisted should be found for them, and that men who resigned (heir positions in order to enlist should be reinstated in the same way' as if leave had been granted to them. (b) That a separate superannuation fund, subsidised by the Government, should be (established in order 1c remove any difficulty in connection with superannuation. (c) That no soldier so re-employed shall lose by reason of his war service any annual increment to which he would otherwise have been entitled. (d) That the association demand preference for returned soldiers, sailors and nurses when public appointments are made, and recommend that preference be given by private employers also. The report was adopted. Dissatisfaction with the administration of the High Commissioner’s Office in regard to immigration matters was expressed by this conference. The following recommendation was submitted by the Repatriation Committee; “In order to encourage the most desirable type of immigrant to the Dominion, the benefits of the Repatriation Act should be extended to all Imperial soldiers who served in the Great War and who settle in New Zealand.” In moving the adoption of the recommendation, Mr C. W T . Batten, convener of the committee, said that no fault was to be found in so far as nominated immigrants were concerned. The High Commissioner’s Office in London was not taking sufficient care to see that suitable immigrants were sent out to New Zealand. The recommendation was adopted. The Repatriation Committee's report : trorgly emphasised the following resolution, and particularly in view of the grave tourem which the pos’dion of land settlement is to-day causing returned soldiers, asked that the pledge given by Mr Massey (o the last conference be endorsed by Parliament ••—“That the Association ask the Government and Parliament for a pledge that land settlement and repatriation benefits generally shall not be rendered inoperative until such time as every soldier has had ample opportunity to train himself or to otherwise arrange his affairs in order to allow him to take full advantage of the said benefits.” The committee also made recommendations as to the training of soldiers, including apprentices and subsidised workers, as weU as fit men. The report was adopted.

The election of officers resulted as follows President, Dr Boxer; treasurer, Mr C. W. Batten; vice-presidents, Messrs B. Blackwell (Canterbury). P. Watts (Auckland), D. S. Smith (Wellington), and Dr M. Harrison (Dunedin) ; executive, Messrs W, E. Leadley, T. E. Y. Seddon, M.P., and L. M. Ingles (Canterbury/, T. Long, E. F. Andrews, and N. A. Ching (Auckland), T. E. Graham, A. Y. Glass, and C. Laing (Otago), J. D. Harper, J. S. Hanna, N. Vercoe and J. A. Cowles (Wellington). The Auckland and Otago delegates intimated that their representatives on the executive would retire in the event of the district conferences deciding on fresh nominations.