COLONIAL TYPES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 153, 27 December 1911, Page 4

COLONIAL TYPES.

Lord Dudley, late Governor-General of Australia, lias lately advised the people in the Old Country that as there is likely to be a variation of type in Australia. Biitish blood should be constantly infused. He, of course, spoke from the point of Imperial unity. There is no doubt whatever that because of the climate, the typical Australian is becoming more and more distinct from the Old Country type and that his ideals must in time be different ideals to ihose of the Britisher. The Australian of the third or fourth generation is easily distinguished by an acute observer from the New Zealander, who is more distonctly British in appearance, mann :r o'" thought and in ideals. The Australian i* much more volatile than the New Zealander, a great deal "gayer," not nearly so serious-minded. He is almost Latin in comparison. In Xew Zealand the Biitish type is not so likely to vanish as in Australia, mainly, one may believe, Ucause of the nearer similarity of the climate and the sinallness and insularity of the country. By far the largest proportion of the people in New Zealand have been born in it, 702,779 of the total being true New Zeaknders of the soil. There is no distinct deviation from type yet, although it is possible that there may be in the course of time. New Zealand gets most of its imported blood from the British Isles, the total being 228,084, the supply from elsewhere being remarkably small and chiefly recruited from Australia and the British possessions in the Pacific. It is inevitable, too, that the comparatively small natural internal increase must be augmented from without and that the larger proportion of this increase will come from Britain. This is necessary to preserve the British racial characteristics which will, it may bo presumed, very slowly disappear in a humid climate and among people feeding similarly to born Britons. The matter is of extreme importance from an Imperial point of view, but it is not pressing at tlu; moincnj. The deviation of type from the parent stock is most marked in Soutli Africa, and in possessions held by other Powers or administered by them there is a much more rapid deviation. The earlier maturity reached by white people in warm climates is the strongest of ;s romim* <liil'erentiation,and without tlie < 1 ill'ii-■ i<iii or blood of which (he ex-Governor-lii'.'ieral speaks there would be a most mailed dill'erence in the course of a few mure generations of Australians.