THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1902. WANTED—POPULATION.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 163, 8 February 1902, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1902. WANTED—POPULATION.

When the Dnke of York, or, as be now is, the Prince of Wales, was being entertained at Guildhall after his world-wide tour of the'Brifcish Empire, he declared that the cpjoplas one and all lacked jpppulatipn. A portion of his memorable speech is weW

worth quoting : —“ No one who had the privilege of enjoying the experiences which we have had luring our tour could fail to be struck with one al!-pre Vailing and pressing demand —the want of population. Even in the' oldest of our colonies there were abun* dant signs of this need. Boundless tracts of country yet unexplored, hidden mineral wealth calling for development, vast expanses of virgin soil ready to yield profitable crops to the settlers. And these can be enjoyed under conditions of healthy living, liberal laws and free institutions, in exchange for the overcrowded cities and the almost hopeless struggle for existence which, alas, is the lot of many in th® Old Country,”

No one can doubt that this judgment ie a sound one, or that our fruitful land can support many times its present population. In a century or so, of course, the number of our people may have doubled by the natural increase of population, but this method is too slow. Our policy should be to encourage t.he immigration to New Zealand of suitable

colwniais iu whatever numbers wo can get thorn. No doabt the Labour Party would eay that ever/ new arrival is a competitor,, but it must not be lost Bight of that he creates work as well as shares it. We are never done praising, admiring and wondering at our great cousin, the United States of America, and we all cherish the hop© that oar litiie colony may some day be a similar nation on a small scale, bm at the same time, with r»-

gard to immigrants, wear© carrying out a policy the very opposite of that country’s. How much the United States owe to the aoustant influx of immigrants can scarcely bo expressed in figures, In the year ending Jane 30, 1891, the United Staies received 582,863 immigrants, This is equal, in a single year—and every year—to two-thirds of the population of New Zealand. These immigrants in one sense equal our population* as amongst them there are uo old men, no paupers and very few infants ; they are nearly all in the prime of life, nearly all know trades, and most of them have money. Of course, many of the immigrants to America belonged to the cheap races : —Hungarians, Poles, etc., and these are not the most desirable citizens, but it would not be a hard mattep to get the best class of men and women to come to the colony It is very largely the policy of encouraging people to settle in the country that has made the United States the giant among nations that she is to-day. Canada is taking up this question iu earnest and it is time for New Zealand to. go and do likewise.

OFFICERS FOR THE CONTINGENTS.

The Defonca Department has received over 500 applications for commissions in the Tenth Contingent. Everyone on military service bent thinks himself a budding Baden-Powell, if he could only get a chance to show his peculiar abilities to the world. The war is spoiling many men, for almost every returned trooper thinks himself entitled to a commi&ioa if be decides to go back, even if a strip® were more than his deserts. Tb impression that anyone is good enough to lead men to face death is one that should be dismissed as speedily aa possible. Even the much-decried British subaltern has to hfcve a thoroughly good educatioa and be well up in tactics, so that for a raw youth from behind a counter or the ploughlines to bo indignant because he cannot get a commission for the asking would be a trifle amusing, were it-not such a serious matter. Thera has been a great deal of trouble in the various contingents with the subordinate officers, chiefly because they had never handled men before, and had the impression that they were still talking so their sheep dogs, when giving an order. They usually drop into their places after a few months, but it would make matters much easier for the comamnding officer if his material were not so raw. This was what Lieut.-Col. Davies bad in mind when be complained that he had received no voice in selecting the officers for tho Eighth Contingent, but as in everything else the Minister for Defence carried the day. If, as is almost certain, he selects the officers for the Tenth, it is to be hoped that bo will exercise a littlo discretion in his selection. Good officers can do something with raw men, but vtfry raw officers and raw men form neither: abi agreeabfe nor asktißfao tory combination*: . '■ r , 7