EMIGRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1920, Page 5

EMIGRATION.

FREE PASSAGES OVERSEAS.

OPPOSITION TO THE SCHEME,

LOSS OF BRITAIN'S BEST.

By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.

Received Dee. 30, u.o p.ip.

London, Dec. 29. j The Australian Press Association learn 3 that Mr. Lloyd George's emigration speech'was entirely unpremeditati ed. Cabinet was not consulted, and even the Premier's colleagues in the House were not informed. He merely used the discussion on the unemployed as the occasion for suggesting co-opera-tion between Britain and the Dominions in the distribution of the population within the Empire according to the economic potentialities of each part. A Cabinet committee has been considering the unemployed problem for some weeks, but the emigration question was not included in its recommendations. Strong opposition to State aided emigration is developing in Parliamentary circles, the Labor Party denouncing the using of British money to deplete Britain of the best men and women. It is believed a large proportion of Commoners sympathise with the Laboritc views, and Ministers themselves ar& not unanimous.

It is pointed out that the Government has consented to a year's extension of free passages only at the reiterated requests of the Agents-General. There will be no further concessions, except if thejv are requested by the Prime Ministers' conference in June.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable 4£3n.