MISTAKES IMMIGRANTS MAKE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 22, 19 February 1909, Page 4

MISTAKES IMMIGRANTS MAKE

WHY THEY LEAVE HOME. AND WHAT THEY MIGHT DO. .Many arc the misconceptions under which the immigrants labour .who are regularly arriving on the shores of New Zealand from Great Britain. That at all events was the opinion expressed by a recent arrival to a Manawatu Times reporter, and he further maintained that if the true position was known to intending emigrants numbers of them would be deterred. " I do not maintain," he said, " that New Zealand is not a good country, nor that the bulk of the immigrants who come here do not better themselves, but they do it by changing their habits, as it were, aad they could do this equally

well at Home." " How is that 1"

" Well, it's like this. Tlii! immigrant to New Zealand lias it dinned into hint whenever lie reachus the Dominion, and often on board ship beiore lie lands, that lie must be prepared to take anything that may Jinn ti|>, must not lie too particular, nitist take to farm work il lie cannot get a sale for his pictures, or to nuvvying if he cannot get office work. Often lack of money drives him to this whether lie is willing or not. He accordingly goes to a labour bureau, hears of a job 100 miles up country on a farm, and off he goes, leaving his wife and family in Wellington, or whatever centre he happened to be in. Jf he is lucky enough to get it permuient billet lie may be able to arrange for his wife anil family to join him later, but tliis process of separation goes on very extensively after each ship arrives at New Zealand. 1 can think of unite a large iinmbcv of men who came out with me who have had to go into the country and leave their wives in Wellington. Now mv I lioint is this: If these men bad had sufficient initiative to go from one part of Kngland to another, leaving their dependents behind, they could have got work without coining to Xew Zealand. They do not do this. The average liritish working man does not think of turning to another occupation or another part of the country when work in a particular occupation fails: lie thinks first of emigration. I believe many of the men who are emigrating would'obtain work if they only showed in fireat Britain the same enterprise as they are compelled to show here. Farm labourers are scarce in the. Old Country, just as here, and a man can get up to' 18s. a week on a farm —a fair wage if the comparatively high value of money in Britain be considered. There arc large areas of farm laud lying out of agriculture in the Old Country and one of the reasons is the dillicnltjv of getting labour." "lint don't the emigrants know that ill tin' colonies the demand is chiellv for labourers V

" N'o. they don't. The cotten spinner expects to get cotton spinning here, and thai is just the mistake emigrants make As far as I can see you colonials like to keep the trades and professions to yourselves and the only chance for ' emigrants is naivying or farm laiionr.''

"You speak «f emigrants labouring under ;i number of misconeepl ions '!" '■' Another is the failure to appreciate the low value of money in New Zealand. Emigrants probably know that things are dearer, lint they no not know Unit money is worth about 50 per oenl. mure in Britain than here, and eonset|iiently when they hear that a working man makes 1"! or C 4 a week in New Zealand their envy is aroused. I myself made oiily IBs a week at Home, but I could live on that and it was a life billet, so 1. am not yet convinced that Tiny proved myself by coming here, although mv relatives in the Dominion were urging me to it for years."