THE LORDS AND EMIGRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 300, 13 May 1911, Page 4

THE LORDS AND EMIGRATION.

The discussion in the House of Lords, a piece of which was cabled recently, is useful as showing that the hereditary chamber favors immigration to the colonies. Britain has a large number of children ' who, lacking parents—or the right kind of parents—are thrown 011 the State or on charity. Although it lias lately been asserted that all attempts at the reform of children of criminal tendencies, bv placing them under decent influence and in sweet environment, have failed in Scotland, there is the Canadian success as an offset. Canada does not rise on its moral stilts about, its immigrants as long as they are good, healthy' flesh and blood. No trades unions use angry words because hundreds of Barnardo children go to Canada and prove that 93 per cent, of them make fine settlers. The Duko of Marlborough said

in the Lords that the colonies would welcome poor law and reformatory children. One imagines the horror of the average labor leader at the landing of the first batch in New Zealand. The UnderSecretary for the Colonies showed that if the dominions requested it the British Government would do its best to insti-: tutc a comprehensive scheme of emigration:- It is to'be hoped that the New Zealand Prime Minister at the Colonial Conference will mention tho emptiness of this country and invite the British Government to" tender the help Lord Lucas says would be forthcoming. Lord Solborne, with some knowledge of the subject, said it was useless to dump townsmen on the hind, but it has never yet been proved in the colonies that there is any essential difference between the strong determined townsman in a new country and the strong determined rustic. The resolution of "the MH)7 Imperial Conference in favor of encouraging emigration to the colonies 'rather than to foreign lands" resulted in no practical benefit to Australasia, simply because no scheme was evolved. For "foreign countries" one may read "the United States and the South American republics." A real desire on the part of Australasia to divert the human .stream to these countries if aided by the British Government would do more to solve the problem of emptiness than anything else.