OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 August 1939, Page 8

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

RAKING UP THE PAST (To the Editor.) Sir,—Poor Mr Butler. He objects to “statements made by Ministers of the Crown months previously being trptted out at a conciliation meeting,” and I suppose being used in evidence against Mr Butler. —See your Press Association telegram in Saturday’s paper. I would suggest that Mr Butler listen in to Parliament sometimes and he would hear every member who takes part in the debate, including Ministers of the Crown, raking up bits from the past. How often do you hear something like this: "Mr Speaker, in 1924 the hon member for said so and so and in 1926 he said this and that.” Surely Mr Butler must agree that the sort of thing that goes on in the House should be good enough for a conciliation meeting.—l am, etc., X.Y.Z. POPULATION & PROGRESS (To the Editor.) Sir, —Your leader “Population and Progress” is well timed. It has often amused me to hear politicians glibly announce that the population of this country should be doubled, trebled, etc, as the case may be and leave it at that. Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? You strike the nail on the head when you say -that the details of an immigration policy are all important. As Mr Gordon says, increased population would mean increased production, employment, etc, but he does not say how the increased population is to be landed here. I wonder if it has ever struck Mr Gordon, or, with all due respect, you, Sir, that to treble our population by immigration is an almighty big task. Roughly our present population is millions. Suppose we wish to increase that, by immigration, to 4| millions. All right. Just suppose New Zealand could absorb 1,000 immigrants per week, that jobs on farms or public works or what you will could absorb that many people per week from overseas, and that 1,000 people landed in New Zealand every week of the year. I wonder does Mr Gordon realise, or you, Sir. that it would take approximately 60 years to land 3 million people in New Zealand. Just work that out. No wonder details are all important.—Yours, etc., H.S.B.

We are alive to the facts instanced by our correspondent and have never indulged in any dreams about trebling the population in some limited period. The article to which he refers advocated a practical study in detail of immigration on the scale on which it may be found practicable. Our correspondent’s statement of the position is in some respects extreme. Foi- instance, to treble the present population it would not be necessary to bring in anything like three million immigrants. Account has to be taken of the factor of natural increase in the present population and in the additional population gained by immigration — Ed.