TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3120, 22 February 1909, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

TO REPOPITLATE PRANCE. The Nantes Municipality has hit upon a novel idea for the repopulation of France in view of the declining birthrate in that country. It has decided to allow all muncipal employees, whose saiary is not more than £BO a year, an annual gratuity of £2 for each of their children. Those who will benefit by the municipal liberality are the firemen, police, and octroi officials. As they have amongst them 450 children, the town will be called upon to proj vide £9OO year for this purpose. As an encouragement to marriage, the municipality will also give £4 to an employee of the description named who wiH engage in matrimony. WOMEN IN FINNISH PARLIAMENT. Dr. Thelka Hultin, member of the Finnish Diet, and the first woman M.P. who has ever visited London, is now on a visit to England. The party to which Dr. Hutlin belongs is the Youne - Finns, and besides

being a member of the Diet she I holds an appointment under the State at tne Statistical bureau. During ! the Parliamentary session, which lasts three months, her work at the bureau Is allowed to be carried on by another official. "The women's movement in Finland," said Dr. Hultin to an interviewer, "began in the eighties. It was greatly helped by the fact that most of the schools are mixed—boys and girls working together, and thus acquiring a common respect for each other's abilities and sympathies for their aims. The result of granting adult suffrage was to demonstrate in a remarkable manner the strength of the women. At present there are f,wenty-five women members of the Diet out of a total of 200. The 200 include three married couplps who take their seats in the Diet together. Twelve women are married. One is a baroness, while another was a cook, and now represents the Finnish servants in the Diet. The cook's name is Mme. Miina Sillanpaa. She has done wonderful work in organising the servant i movement in Finland."

IMMIGRATION. The subject of immigration was briefly referred to by the Minister of Labour (Hon. A. W. Hogg) in conversation with a "Post" reporter. "Although we are putting a large number of people on the land," he remarked, "the men who go on are not employers of labour, they are workers themselves, and conseqently their going-.on the land does not relieve the labour market to any extent, beyond this: th<*t a certain number of workmen are withdrawn to other pursuits. My opinion is that we should avoid anything likely to bring about even temporary congestion, and our endeavour should be to make the labour area in New Zealand attractive, so that workers would come of their own accord. At the same time, the opportunities for employment and advancement in New Zealand should be set forth in our handbooks in such a way that a good class of immigrants might be attracted. But there should be no exaggeration of any kind, and the difficulties of settlers as well as the chances of improving their position should be clearly set forth. As far as I know, the Minister of Immigration has the matter under his earnest consideration at the present time, and the number of people being despatched to New Zealand will vary likely be reduced. The desire of Ministers as a body is to assist the workers rather than to bring unnecessary competition to bear against them."