The Need for Immigration.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 244, 13 November 1903, Page 4

The Need for Immigration.

During the last twelve or eighteen months Mr Seddon has, on several occasions, referred to the need for an increase in our population. There was a time when his watchword was —New Zealand for the New Zealanders, and whvn he set his- face resolutely against any scheme for assisting immigration. The question which was asked during the present session by Mr James Allen with reference to certain advertisements appearing in the English provincial pbpers, disclosed the fact that a change had occurred in the views of the Government. It is true, remarks the Hawke's Bay Herald, that Mr Seckion was able to show that they had made no absolutely new departure, but there was evidently a very marked change in the policy of the Government. Mr Reeves has clearly been. instructed to boom New Zealand as a field for intending emigrants, and artful advertisements have been devised to set forth the advantages which this colony has to offer. The advertisements, as was pointed out in the House at the time, were in some respects calculate ed .to be misleading. As a matter of "tact, however, they do not appear to have misled anyone, for our present immigration is of so small ail amount as to be perfectly ncgligaible.

What is true of New Zealand is true of Australia. The Federal Premier, Mr Deakin, in his big speech at Ballarat the other day, made special reference to this point. "Australia," he said, "needs an increase of population. Practically there has been- no immigration for the past decade. During- the nineties Victoria was struck heavily by bad seasons, bank failures, commercial crises, and depression in mining. In addition, the golden west opened its treasures, and our population was tempted. We lost heavily in that decade simply because the amount of Crown lands available for selection 1 did not suffice for the expanding families of our farmers. Numbers of families left Victoria because across the border they were offered not only larger areas, but an area for each member of tbeir families. We want white people, and we want them on the soil." Mr Deakin then went on to refer to the declining birth rate, and asked where Australia was to obtain white men and women If she neither produced them herself nor attracted them from abroad.

The difference between the policy of these colonies and of a colony like Canada is very remarkable. It is true that Canada has immense areas of good country unoccupied, while in this colony our Crown- lands are by no means unlimited, and in Australia the waiit of water is a serious drawback. But it is evident that the example &f Canada has forced Australasian statesmen to consider whether it would not be well "to draw some part of the great tide of European emigration in this direction. It is not, of course, to be done unless we can ofter something more than, in this colony at all events, we are at present prepared to offer. It is useless to ex-i pect practical men with small capital to come here unless we can guar- j antee that they will readily find a holding. The present land policy is practically prohibitive of all chance of the small farmer emigrant coming our way.

There are, however, many reasons why some attempt should be made to attract European emigrants. We say European, for there is no reason why only English or Scotch or Irish should be sought. The Canadians, for_ example, recently extended a welcome to ten thousand Finns, whom the tyranny of Russia had driven to leave their native land. The Dukobor experiment is even better known, though perhaps not so satisfactory. When one considers the names on any list of American notabilities the first thing that strikes one is the great variety of nationalities represented. It is obvious that much of the intellectual alertness for which Americans are noted springs from the variety of stocks which have been Introduced into the States. The remark has often been made that England owes much to the foreign emigrants, French, Dutch, and German, who from time to time, found refuge on her hospitable shores. The experience of America shows that the older families tend to die out. The birth-rate of the nativeborn population is not so great as that of the newer arrivals. Recent investigators believe that to some extent climatic and other conditions of life have an influence on the birth-rate. The question is too thorny a one for profitable discussion, but it is on any view pretty certain that a country must reap an advantage from a continual infusion of new blood. It seems a great pity that a - small part of the continuous stream of European emigration could not be diverted to our own shores. To put it at the lowest it is evident that the commercial progress of the country depends on an increase in the population. During 1903, according to the Year we had an excess of nearly 8000 arrivals over departures, but this is almost entirely accounted for by the influx from Australia which has frequently been remarked on Just over 1000 of the arrivals were foreign born, Germany, France, Austria, and the United States furnishiw ® re « ter nuniber - It is plain that these figures do not indicate any very great anxiety on the part of the emigrant to make New Zealand kis adopted home.