Empire

At the close of the World War it was felt that the prospect of settlement overseas would appeal strongly to ex-soldiers and the British Government granted free passages to ex-service men and their dependents who desired to settle overseas within the empire. Under this scheme 82,000 souls were assisted to settle in the dominions.

The conference of prime ministers of the empire held in 1921 recommended co-operation between the home and dominion gov ernments in a comprehensive policy of empire land settlement and empire directed migration. In accordance with this recom mendation the Empire Settlement Act was passed in 1922. This Act, which forms the basis of the British Government's policy of State-aided overseas settlement, remains in force until 1937 and empowers the British Government to spend up to £3,000,000 per annum in co-operation with the government of an oversea domin ion or with public or private organizations in Great Britain or overseas in schemes for assisting settlement in the dominions. The contribution of His Majesty's Government must not exceed one half of the cost of any scheme.

The assistance granted towards oversea settlement under the Empire Settlement Act takes various forms. Assisted passage schemes have been arranged which considerably reduce the cost of travel to the settler, free passages are granted to young persons, and to single women in many cases. Assistance is given to enable suitable persons to settle on farms of their own in the dominions, and courses of training and testing in the United Kingdom have been arranged to prepare men and boys for farm work overseas, and women for household work. Under an arrangement between the Home Government and the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia the latter has agreed to raise loans for the purpose of making advances up to £34,000,000 at a low rate of interest to the State Governments in Australia for expenditure on ap proved schemes of settlement and development. The British Gov ernment contributes as a free grant towards interest on the loans one-fifth of the total amount raised, and Australia undertakes to absorb a total of 450,000 settlers from the United Kingdom within a period of ten years.

The work of voluntary organizations both in the United King dom and overseas is subsidized by the Governments on both sides. (See also OVERSEA SETTLEMENT COMMITTEE.) The table in next column shows the total migration from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the total to places within the empire, and the total number of persons assisted under the Empire Settlement Act during the years 1923-27.

In each of the years 1926 and 1927 of those who went to places within the empire 5o% were assisted. The proportion of assisted migrants to Australia was 73% and 71%, to Canada 42% and 55%, and to New Zealand 71% and 56%, in 1926 and 1927 re spectively.

It is

generally admitted that the results which have attended the working of the Empire Settlement Act have not been entirely satisfactory. In spite of an immediate surplus of population in Great Britain and of the grant of State-assistance on a liberal scale both the total migration from Great Britain and that to the dominions are less than in the period before 1914. The effect of the grant of State-aid has to a large extent been offset by the severe restrictions which the dominions have found it necessary to impose on the classes of persons to whom assistance can be granted.

Whilst it is impossible to say what would have been the rate of migration since 1919 in the absence of State assistance it is cer tain that the grant of State-aid has not resulted in any increase in the numbers of persons proceeding overseas, and it is very probable that had it not been for the United States quota restric tions the outflow to the dominions might have been smaller than it actually has been. In this sense the quota law has furthered Great Britain's policy of diverting people to the dominions. But whilst the United States absorbed large numbers of industrial workers, in the dominions the main openings for British settlers are on the land. For this reason the dominions do not offer to a mainly industrial people (safeguarded by extensive systems of social in surance) the same attractions as the United States. Great Britain has large numbers of skilled industrialists surplus to her immediate requirements who could with advantage to Great Britain be set tled overseas. The dominions are, however, unable to encourage the immigration of industrialists as such, partly on account of the undeveloped state of their secondary industries, and partly on ac count of the attitude towards any form of immigration except that for agricultural work of the urban populations in the domin ions, who naturally desire to safeguard their own position and to protect their standards of living. The door is open into the do minions, of course, for all classes of workers from Great Britain who can pay their own passages, but the high cost of ocean pas sages, particularly in the case of Australia, acts as an effective bar to any large stream of unassisted migration.