MANY MIGRANTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 38, 7 May 1927, Page 16

MANY MIGRANTS

ARRIVALS IN N.Z. 1926 ALMOST A RECORD SECOND ONLY TO 1863 (From Our Resident Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. The arrival of migrants from overseas during the year 1926 reached a total which has only once in the history of the Dominion been exceeded. In a statistical report issued to-day by the Government Statistician, Mr. Malcolm Fraser, it is shown that excluding crews of vessels, some 45,685 persons (25,508 males and 20,177 females) arrived in New Zealand during that time. Compared with the previous year this shows an increase of 3,839. the only occasion on which this was exceeded being 1863, when arrivals totalled 45,730. Of the arrivals last year some 17,868 were immigrants intending permanent residence in the country, compared with 15,704 with similar intentions who arrived in 192 5.

“The figure for 1926,” the report states, ‘‘constitutes a record for the five complete years during which information regarding the various class of migrants has been available. Of the remainder 14,375 were returning from abroad, 9,509 were tourists, 1,993 were on business, 994 visited New Zealand in connection with entertainments and sport, and 343 were in transit.”

The departures are shown to be 33,825 as compared with 29,172 in the previous year, an increase of 4,653. Of these 2,581 were shown to be New Zealand residents departing permanently, as against 1,946 in 1925. The figure for 1926 is the highest recorded since information regarding classes of departures has been available.

‘‘These figures,” the report goes on, “are based on statements of intention only, and a certain percentage of immigrants finding the conditions in the country unsuited to their particular requirements may after a short stay depart elsewhere. These persons on their arrival would state their intentions of becoming permanent residents but on departure might not be classified as permanent residents departing permanently. “It will be seen therefore that it is not possible to state exactly what the permanent gain in population to the Dominion through migration may be. The percentage referred to, however, is known to be practically negligible, and by comparing these permanent classes of immigrant and emigrant, an idea of the permanent gain in population sufficiently accurate for practical purposes may be gauged. It is these classes of immigrant and emigrant with which the statistical tables principally deal.” In a reference to foreigners the report goes on to say: “During 1926, 756 persons of foreign nationality out of a total of 17,868 arrived as new immigrants, intending permanent residence in the Dominion, as compared with 894 out of a total of 15,704 in 1925. The remaining persons, 17,112 in 1926 and 14,810 in 1925, were British subjects. “The influx of foreign nationals from the three southern European countries of Yugoslavia, Italy and Greece, which was very marked during 1924 and 1925, has been maintained as far as Yugoslavia is concerned, but the number of Italian migrants has fallen from 262 to 88, and of Greeks from 22 to 16. “Immigrants claiming United States nationality increased from 44 to 72.”