The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1916 LAND SETTLEMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 62, 17 June 1916, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1916 LAND SETTLEMENT.

Speaking at Auckland the other evening, Sir Rider Haggard, who is on a mission to Australia and Now Zealand for the Settlement on the land of soldiers alter the war, frankly stated that though the Germans may be defeated <as they undoubtedly will he) the German people cannot he crushed, and that they will seek revenge in the future. Further with their passion for organisation, they will continue to bo very formidable enemies. .Britain, ho further says, does not hold her Umpire by any law of Nature hy hut her strength, and she must continue to he strong and grow in strength. With many other thinking men, Sir Rider Haggard holds that we must keep emigration within the Empire to fill up onr"waste places with good British settlers, because \ve need, and will continue to need, every man and woman of our own race that we can get. The Auckland Star strongly endorses Sir Rider Haggard’s views, and in so doing reminds us that U( . will have to maintain our armies and navies, .after tho \var, and must develop our resources iu the wisest way. The material progress ;unl strength necessary for safety depend on man-power, and the. Empire must see that that power is conserved hy every possible means. Emigration to places beyond the Empiic must be vigorously diseomaged. 1 ioceeding on these lines the Stai sats. •‘Sir Rider Haggard let tail a remark indicating that Ids mission for the set-1 tlenient of soldiers had not been vei\ j favourably received here. He t\as told, ho said, that we had no room for anybody, in which he probably referred to the attitude reported to he taken up bv the Government that oui own soldiers must be consideied fiist. But tho question is vastly greater than the mere settling <d soldiers <>n the him!. It covers the whole policy of immigration and encouragement ol | land settlement. H is absurd to sug--1 .rest that the placing on the land ol some thousands of New Zealanders i will exhaust our capacity in this direction. The country, so exceptionally j well endowed hy Nature, lias an area 'of 108.0! 10 square miles and a population of only 1,100,000. The United Kingdom, with an area of 121,000 j square miles, lias a population ol .16,000,000. Belgium, with an area ! about the sire of mu- nrnv : ”co of CVn- ! terhury. before the war had a p'-puln- ■ tion of over 7,000,000. The mainland 1 1 T Jnn.-m. mi an area ol Is < .000 square

miles, carries about JV-,000,000 people. The great island continent of Australia has only between four and five million:; of people. These contrasts should ■ini: into the mind of people m this fai mired countin'. It would he folly indeed to leel sure that v, hen this war is over covetous eyes in crowded countries will never be cast upon these southern Dominions, with their un-tii'-'l lands and small populations. Both in Australia and in New Zealand a considerable and powerful section of the community is strongly opposed to. immigration. The argument apparent-i lv is that as there are, say, 1,889,981; persons in Australia, there are exactly 1.889,981 jobs for them, and that if another person conies from outside one of the -1.889.081 will be thrown out of work, dhis attitude on the whole—though certain safeguards are quite ]iro]x>r - is as absurdly untrue as: it is selfish and shortsighted. History will have little sympathy for a 1 nation that, after neglecting to take advantage of its opportunities, sue-; climbs to a. nation that thinks it can do better with them. But immigration, is only one part of the problem. I here must be land lor immigrants as well as for our own people. So great aj number of large estates is a luxury: which this country cannot afford, j Large holdings have played an important part in our development, and they can never be entirely done away, with, hut subdivision is becoming j more and more necessary. We must; do everything we can to encourage j the right sort of people to come to I our shores, and to place people on the; land. A more vigorous policy must be directed against large estates.”