boys and girls, whose chances of becoming effective producers will be better overseas than in Great Britain. They wish to go overseas, but cannot do so without the assistance which the Empire Settlement Act contemplates. Their departure would be in many ways a loss to this country, but their going would be to their own advantage and a gain to the Dominions. In the Dominions there is scope for unlimited development, both in primary production and in industry, but the existing populations are not large enough to develop their lands and exploit their resources. To cite one extreme example, Western Australia is eleven times bigger than Great Britain, but has a population of only 333,000, about equal to the population of Cornwall. This State contains great tracts of country which might, if adequately developed, carry a large agricultural population. Industrially its development has hardly begun. Hesitation Overseas. Why then are restrictions imposed upon assisted settlers, and how far is it compatible with the best interests of the Dominions and of Great Britain that they should be modified? The chief reason is the attitude of hesitation, amounting in practice to opposition, which is adopted overseas. The line of argument usually followed in the Dominions is that whilst the introduction of settlers is desirable in principle, it is objectionable so long as unemployment exists in the Dominion concerned. Unhappily some measure of unemployment appears to be inevitable in all large and closely-settled communities. It has proved to be so, not only in this country, but also in the large towns of Canada and Australia. The reasons for this attitude of hesitation are easy to understand and deserve sympathetic consideration. They are based upon the belief that a rapid increase of population tends to congest the labour market and thus brings about a fall in wages and an increase. in unemployment. But the history of the United States affords striking evidence to the contrary. There the door of immigration stood wide open for more than a century, during which period, subject to temporary fluctuations, vast developments in agriculture and primary production took place side by side with unprecedented industrial expansion. The opportunities of the Dominions to-day are not dissimilar from those of the United States fifty years ago. They, too, possess almost limitless natural resources and industrial possibilities which seem only to require population for rapid development. The Objects of Oversea Settlement. Were it the aim of oversea settlement to provide a means of dealing with the immediate unemployment problem of Great Britain, the anxieties of Labour overseas might be justified. Its object, however, is not to solve this country's internal difficulties, but to develop and strengthen the whole British Commonwealth 1678 A 5 by stimulating development and production overseas, thus increasing the supply of foodstuffs, raw materials, and manufactured goods, and increasing the exchange of commodities between Great Britain and the Dominions. It is felt that a policy of this nature must ultimately have the effect of stimulating employment and minimising the risk of unemployment both in this country and overseas. At the same time, it is recognised in Great Britain that it is impossible to move large sections of the population to the Dominions without adequate arrangements for their settlement and good prospects of suitable and permanent work on the other side. Canadian Problems. At this point it may be well to refer to some features of the problem of settlement in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Canada, in addition to its long established population derived from British and French stock, has in recent years received (see Section I) a considerable inflow of immigrants from various European countries and from the United States, as well as settlers from Great Britain. The winters, which cause a suspension of work both in agriculture and to some extent in industry for several months, are apt to create an unemployment problem in the towns during the winter months and make it necessary to restrict any large inflow of settlers to the spring and summer. The difficulty of winter employment in Canada is a serious one. In comparison with Australia and New Zealand, Canada is near to the Mother Country, the ocean journey to the eastern ports of Canada taking about a week. The rates for assisted passages, even allowing for the shorter distance, are low in comparison with those to Australia and New Zealand. but the restrictions on these passages are more severe. The rule which allows nominations only to those who are going on to the land extends to the wives and families of new settlers. This means that those who have left this country ahead of their families and have settled down to any occupation except land work may not nominate their families for assisted passages. Consequently, however satisfactorily they may be employed, they are unable to get their families out soon unless they are fortunate enough to obtain a loan from some philanthropic organisation. Even in such cases the loan is a crippling obligation which militates against their success. Australian Problems. In Australia there has been some unemployment amongst the population of the towns during 1927 which has been a cause of anxiety. There is, however, no indication that this unemployment is due to immigration and, speaking at Sydney in November, on the eve of his departure from Australia, the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs described as fallacious the argument that the inflow of settlers causes unemployment and lowers the standard of wages. It arises, he said, from a confusion of ideas as to who is the employer of labour. Every new citizen who engages in productive work spends his wages upon consumption in Australia and thus employs labour and assists in maintaining wages and employment. On the other hand, in September last the Melbourne Trades Hall Council passed a resolution criticising the immigration policy of the Commonwealth and State Governments as economically unsound, and imperilling the Australian workers' standard of living. The resolution went on to demand that the recruiting of immigrants in London and elsewhere should cease and that no Government should spend further money for these purposes until work is provided for the thousands of unemployed already in Australia. Australian One of the difficulties of the of the Australian authorities in connection with the recruiting of settlers which was referred to in the Report* of the Oversea Settlement Sub-Committee of the Imperial Conference 1926 is "that whilst, by agreement between the Commonwealth and the States, arrangements for selection and recruiting are in the hands of the Commonwealth authorities, the number of assisted settlers is dependent upon requisitions received from the State Governments. Owing to varying seasonal conditions the State requisitions fluctuate considerably from time to time, with consequent discouragement to intending applicants and disorganisation of the recruiting machinery and the shipping arrangements. It is understood that the Development and Migration Commission are discussing this matter with the State Governments. New Zealand Problems. In regard to New Zealand, it is enough to say that the policy continuously followed by the Dominion Government after the passing of the Empire Settlement Act, 1922, until the end of 1926 resulted in a steady increase of State-assisted settlers from 6,086 in 1923 to 11,800 in 1926; that difficulties in connection with the marketing of New Zealand butter and other primary products have caused a temporary setback to prosperity, and resulted in some local unemployment, and that consequently the number of State-aided settlers fell, as has been stated in Section I, from 11,795 in 1926 to 4,451 in 1927. More Vigorous Policy Required. After full consideration, the Oversea Settlement Committee are of opinion that the policy of developing the Empire by the transfer of population from its congested to its thinly-populated areas is Appendix X. (A) in Cmd. 2769. 1678 A 6 one of ever-increasing importance. As matters stand the numbers at present going from this country do not meet the need either here or overseas, nor under present conditions can any large increase be expected. Consequently, it would seem that the restrictions now in force might be modified to the mutual advantage both of Great Britain and of the Dominions, and that the present policy is capable of developments which should materially increase the openings for British settlers in the Dominions. The Committee feel that there is a strong case for extending passage assistance generally to those who wish to try their fortunes in the Dominions, and also for a reduction of ocean fares for all passengers. The Imperial Conference, 1926, expressed the view "That inquiries might usefully be set on foot in the Dominions, if adequate information is not already available, with a view to ascertaining how far additional opportunities can be found for an increasing number of settlers from Great Britain, not only in connection with agricultural employment, but also in industry and in other directions. Such inquiries, which would presumably throw light on the requirements of the labour market, the possibilities of employment in industry, the extent of such unemployment problems as may exist and the possibility of trade expansion overseas, should afford a solid basis for determining how far it is possible to accelerate the present rate of absorption of British settlers." It is, of course, clear that the extension of existing facilities should be gradual, and that it would be fatal to transfer overseas larger numbers than can be absorbed upon the land or in other employment. CONSULTATION WITH THE DOMINIONS. The problem of Empire settlement is closely interwoven with that of Empire industry and Empire trade, and one of the first steps to be taken with a view to making passage assistance more widely available should be to ascertain, in consultation with the Dominions: (a) what occupations exist throughout the Empire which could be enlarged and provide increased employment if further man-power were made available locally; (b) what new industries, primary and secondary, can be created within the Empire and developed by men and women of British descent; (c) how far it is possible to extend the preference for British settlers in those parts of the Empire which require fresh settlers for their development. A satisfactory answer to these problems would go far to solve present difficulties, but the ideal to be kept in view is that any British subjects in this country who can secure assurances of work, whether in agriculture or in any other employment, in one of the Dominions, should be able with their families and dependants to be brought within reach of the employment in question. make this possible it is necessary that assisted passages should be To available more widely than at present and that the amount at present payable for unassisted passages should be substantially reduced. SECTION III. Trade and Population. It is sometimes argued that an increase in population tends to reduce the standard of living and to lessen the chances of the individual. It is interesting in this connection to consider the following statistics, showing the increase in the external trade of Canada, Australia and New Zealand as compared with the increase in the population between 1891 and 1921. 42,942,443 87,771,270 38 5 0 1,218,913 72 0 2 It will be seen that in Canada the population increased by 80 per cent. between 1891 and 1921, whilst the total value of the external trade was more than eleven times as great and its value per caput in 1921 was over six times that of 1891. In Australia, the population in 1921 was 70 per cent. greater than the population in 1901, the total value of the external trade was nearly three times as great, and its value per caput increased by 116 per cent. Comparative figures not available. |