The Sun MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1928. ASSISTED IMMIGRATION

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 289, 27 February 1928, Page 8

The Sun MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1928. ASSISTED IMMIGRATION

IMMIGRATION is not considered by administrators to be a burning question just now in New Zealand. Because of the serious extent of summer unemployment and the too palpable inability of the country’s industries to absorb immigrants, the Government has raised a thin dam against the inflow. Indeed, the Prime Minister asserted a few days ago that “the immigration figures for the past year were practically negligible.” Other people, however, and particularly the large number of unemployed throughout the industrial centres of population, are inclined to take a different view of the position. They observe with some concern that, in spite of the check on assisted immigragration, the official tally of “immigrants intending permanent residence” during eleven months of last year exceeded 10,000. Of that total rather more than 8,000 were over fifteen years of age, and looking for early employment. It looks as though the immigration dam is merely a structure of red tape. Possibly all of those immigrants are now employed and doing very well in a delightful country, but against that pleasant possibility must be set the actual fact that no fewer than thirteen hundred unemployed persons registered at the Auckland Labour Bureau last tVeek. Their registration proved to be a pathetic act of faith in the promise of the Government to provide relief employment for the registered unemployed. Only 53 men were placed in employment by the helpless and nearly hopeless department. It is true, as announced with a flourish of trumpets by the Hon. O. J. Hawken, Commissioner of State Forests, that another department of the State has designed an exceptionally large forestry planting programme for this year, but the Minister has been compelled by the laws of the seasons to confess that the employment of a thousand men on the afforestation areas will not begin until June 1. In other words the great programme is entirely a winter scheme of unemployment relief. What will the unemployed do in the long interval? Some interest may be taken by New Zealanders in the effort of stalwart Tories in the British House of Commons to push through ’Parliament a private bill to amend the Empire Settlement Act in order to quicken the sluggish flow of emigration to the Dominions. The principal Act has not been a conspicuous success. The Dominions have not been able to absorb all the assisted immigrants from Great Britain. Canada wants thousands of farm workers, but does not want, half a dozen other industrial workers. That Dominion has more than enough unemployed artisans and town-dwelling industrialists on her hands. Moreover, Canadian administrators are openly suspicious of the type of assisted emigrant sent from Home to turn the wilderness into a garden. As the Minister of Immigration bluntly told the House of Commons at Ottawa, he was afraid that some municipalities were not above capitalising the dole and paying the passage of those drawing relief in order to get them out of the country. In Australia unemployment is rife, and Labour is hostile to immigration. Their opposition is exceptionally active in respect of the “Big Brother” movement which aims at bringing little brothers from Britain and employing them on selected farms at £1 a week, displacing go-easy Australians who want £3 a week. In every way the story of immigration is a poor one. What the Dominions need is more capital and less taxation. If money were made available for industry and enterprise the unemployment problem would quickly solve itself. EXIT: “SUMMER TIME ” ON Sunday next, New Zealand will say good-bye to its legislative summer time, and the clock will be put back to standard time, of which it is now an hour in advance. The reversal will be welcomed by most people, now that the days are shortening and there is a growing disinclination to arise early in the morning, but the question of daylight saving is by no means silenced. It will arise again this year, probably more controversial than ever, for the consideration of the last session of Parliament. It was agreed when daylight saving was approved by a majority of the House of Representatives that the Bill was merely experimental, and that the question whether it be retained as a permanent measure would depend upon its working in the initial season. It will be for Parliament, therefore, to decide before November of this year whether, in its collective opinion, Summer Time should be restored to the Statutes. In some quarters it has been urged that the question should be made the subject of a referendum at the general elections, but one Minister at least opposes that method, on the ground that it takes the matter completely out of the hands of Parliament and makes it impossible to meet changed conditions, should such a need arise, until another plebiscite be taken. It is probable, too, that a majority of the members representing country constituencies will oppose a referendum, especially where the farmers of their districts are against Summer Time, as the vote to a large extent would be one of town versus country, and it is not hard to foresee the issue. Though a large section of the farming community has expressed a dislike for the change, it may fairly be considered that much of this opposition is rather the result of a dislike of any disturbance in the settled order of things than to actual hardships suffered from the operation of Summer Time. It is true that some real disabilities may have been imposed in isolated cases, but the general opinion is that the change has been very much for the better so far as the health of the community is concerned and in affording increased’opportunities for sport and recreation. In any ease, the season has been such an unusual one that it would not be fair to judge the innovation from it alone, and the experience of another summer at least should be courted before Summer .Time is either condemned or permanently approved.