"CONSUME YOUR OWN SMOKE."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 199, 20 February 1914, Page 4

"CONSUME YOUR OWN SMOKE."

It is an excellent rule that has been enunciated by the Westminster Ciazette in discussing the subject of the deportation of labor agitators from South Africa. These deportees have been sent to England, and may appeal to the British courts; and thus (says the Westminster Uazette) '"we may become legatees of the South African trouble; but, as a general principle, the self-governing dominions should consume their own smoke." The general principle might well form the subject' of international agreement; at any rate it ought to constitute the basis of a friendly understanding among "the company of nations" that we call the British Empire. l>y all means let each country accept th# full responsibility of dealing with its own criminal, pauper, insane, disorderly. disaffected and worthless elements, and not evade a disagreeable duty by shunting its subjects on to its neighbors. But this is a matter in which there must be complete reciprocity, and until this is arrived at 110 country is in a position to throw stones at another. Least of all is Great Britain entitled to complain against her oversea dominions. It is not forgotten how the British authorities deported or transported thousands of convicted criminals to New South Wales, Tasmania iand Y\ estern Australia, leaving 011 these regions what Kipling has described as a "birth stain." It is true that Britain consumes her own smoke," so far as criminals are concerned; but what of the hundreds of wastrels, drunkard.-,, broken gamblers, debauchees and "black sheep" of all degrees that she annually sends to these southern lands? How often do we not read of habitual rogues und vagabonds being given ''another chance" if their friends will only send them to Australia or New Zealand? flow many of England's failures are sent here, not fith any hope of their being ncnetited, Out simply with a vie-.v to getting rid of them and burying them out of sight of their respectable or titled relatives? The ''remittance nii«i'' in often as great a curse to the community as an anarchist or criminal. If Uritain wishes tlie dominion to stop deporting "undesirables," Jet her cease sending us the moral and physical wrecks that come here to swell our statistics of crime, pauperism and insanity. Our Parliament has legislated against the admission of consumptives; it may be necessary to pass further self-pro-tective laws if Britain does not agree te "consume her own smoke." If c-.ua country faced its own problems, we should find that greater care would be taken to prevent the growth of lawle;», disorderly and useless elements in the population and the better days of which the idealists dream might be all the sooner realised. It might be well, therefore, if the casual suggestion of the Westminster {iazette were acted upon and each country were made to ,-onsuiiie its own smoke, subject, howaw, ti the proviso that criminals and inciters of sedition who may have come recently from other lands might be sent back to their own country. There i'< already a law in England under which foreign criminals are deported. If it is desired to make that law apply to the British dominions, all we say -isj Let it be reciprocal, and let it apply to worthless "wasters" as well as to criminals.