The Waikato Times MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1936. THE CENSUS RETURNS

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19900, 1 June 1936, Page 6

The Waikato Times MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1936. THE CENSUS RETURNS

An increase in the population of only 165,343 in a decade (’annot be regarded as satisfactory, and it will certainly attraCt attention in the Mother Country Where a better distribution of the population is being keenly discussed. The increase in the North Island has been more rapid than in the South Island and if the present trend continues it will not be long before two-thirds of the people of the Dominion will reside north of Cook Strait. It would not do, however, to assume that this difference will always obtain. The adoption of new methods of farming, especially the extensive irrigation schemes that are being planned, will make it possible for large areas in the south to be sub—divided, and closer settlement in (‘an—terbury is 21 distinct possibility. Those who have made :1 close study of the matter are confident that once these schemes have proved a success the drift of population will be from the north to the south. Some irrigation schemes have already been approved. The idea is not to irrigate the whole of the properties in the area but to deal with a section on each farm, forming a reserve that would be in the nature 0‘; an insurance against prolonged dry weather. The experiments made have been instructive and if a practical scheme is worked out then close settlement should be possible over an extensive district.

If the latest census should result in the number of seats in the South Island again being reduced there will be an outcry from the electors there. Already some electorates are very large, but that is not the handicap it once was. “'ith modern forms of transport available it is possible for a. member to keep in touch with a large electorate without much trouble. There may be a. loss of community of interest, a thing usually sought for in any constituency, but the matter is not vital, and may indeed have the effect of subordinating purely local to national interests. The final figures of the census must have the close attention of the Ministry. Mr Savage has said that increased man-power is the best basis for defence, and it is significant that the ultimate object of the new trade policy of the Commonwealth is the resumption of immigration from the Mother Country. That course would, in turn, increase local markets and the importance of those markets has been demonstrated fully during the years of depression. It would be interesting to have the views of the political leaders of the country on the facts disclosed by the census and an outline of the steps they consider necessary to enable the country to increase its man—power.