WOMEN IMMIGRANTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1922, Page 5

WOMEN IMMIGRANTS.

DOMESTICS FROM ENGLAND. SALVATION ARMY SCHEME. Among the passengers who left Auckland en route to England this week wee Adjutant E. Eadson, of the Salvation Army Immigration Department in Lon-j don, who recently made an extensive tour' of New Zealand with a view to finding out what type of woman worker could best be sent here from Britain. Adjutant Eadson explained that her particular work was in connection with the immigration of war widows and orphans. During the past year, 400 widows and domestics had been sent to Australia by the army, and in a recent visit to that country she found that they had settled down to new conditions remarkably well. She stated that in Australia no difficulty whatever had been experienced in placing widowed mothers with one or two children. Only those who were likely to take kindly to colonial life had been sent, the army authorities exercising strict superviaou oyer all those it undertook to assist in this way. Every application must be accompanied by two references, a report from a Salvation Army officer, and a medical certificate. The army made srmngements for passage, and undertook to look after every immigrant until comfortably settled. “So far, we have only sent about 30 widows to New Zealand,” said the adjutant. “My trip through the country hasconvinced me that New Zealand can absorb a large number of domestic but we shall have to make sure of sending only the kind of woman you really warn. What I mean is this: there seems to bo very little need in this country for what) I may term the domestic specialist, girio who are housemaids only, or cooks only, The need here is for good all-round workers, women who will go into your homes and give a hand with the cooking and) the housework and make themselves generally useful. There are plenty of women in England only too ready for such woifc, and those are the workers we shall try to send you. Then again, you need women for the country districts, and there are plenty of country girls in England who would be glad to go there, wbo are notf? afraid of work in country homes undey fair and kindly conditions.

So far, we have not sent out many domestic workers, and the small number that.has been sent has been divided between the four centres. I believe New Zealand could well do with at least 200 capable domestic workers a year, and shall base my recommendation on this number for a start. This number could be increased as need arose, but it would not be wise to launch out with too laxge a scheme at once. But lam going to emphasise the point that they must be good general workers, and not afraid of work.” Speaking further of the work of her department, the speaker mentioned that thousands of women workers had been sent by the army to Canada since the close* of the war. From March to November of each year, weekly parties of not less than sl> men and women had been personally ennducted by army officers from? England to Canada. Excellent reports had been received from them, and while in Canada she would make personal investigation as to the manner in which they were settling down to life in the Dominion