IMMIGRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 155, 29 December 1911, Page 3

IMMIGRATION.

'flu- question of immigration we re ( fewed to by the Mayor of Auckland (Mr C. J. Parr) at the meeting lield on Monday for the purpose of welcoming' Sir John Kirk, the well-known philanthropist. In referring'(reports the Herald) to the present work being done amongst the poor children of London, he said he did not see why soine of these children should not he secured as an addition to Xew Zealand's population. "Here we are," lie said, "with barely 1,000,000 of white people, whereas our country is capable of supporting 10,000.000 or even 12,00.000. I often wonder why we are so sUr.- in tilling up our empty spaces." We could not. he went on to say, 'hope to hold our country against Asiatic hordes for ever if we did not fill it ourselves. The yellow peril, he said, was a very serious one under present circumstances. He thought an attempt should be made to divert a portion of the large stream of immigration that was now flowing to Canada to the lands'beneath the Southern Cross. Years ago there had been some talk about getting adult agricul-. tural laborers from Home, but he held that they were in many ways unsuitable for colonial life. What would be better would lie to get some of the cute, precocious youngsters in London. It they, caught them young he was convinced that they would make the best possible colonists." Mr Arthur M. Myers, in referring to the same subject, said that in Australia the demand for boys from Home was greater than the supply. Dr T. Hope Lewis, in expressing hi* approval of the Mayor's remarks, said "If you can get the young Londoners, the little nippers, and eateli them young, you will find that they will walk round a great many youngsters, even in this part of the world.'' Sir John Kirk, in his reply, said that the question brought up by the Mayor was worthy of consideration, and that it would not be his fault if a large mmilier of boys and girls were not sent to Xi'W Zealand in the future.