122 THE FUTURE 



become more and more self-supporting in regard to 

 manufactures ; and their increasing population will 

 consume an ever increasing amount of food. There 

 is no doubt in my mind that if such a policy is 

 adopted, and sensibly and energetically carried out, 

 it will be of incalculable service in the consolidation 

 and development of our Empire. 



We have in our Overseas Dominions vast areas 

 of unpeopled land. This is a serious weakness 

 from the point of view of Defence. If we 

 cannot devise a means of settling these areas with 

 English-speaking cultivators they will ere long 

 be settled by aliens — to the lasting injury of our 

 Empire. 



In the past our Dominions have had their 

 Emigration Agencies here at work, each trying to 

 induce as large a number of men as possible to 

 emigrate. In the earlier days the conditions of 

 settlement were not very favourable to these 

 emigrants, and many of them were forced to lead 

 isolated and unprosperous lives, but of late years 

 the Overseas Governments have been making their 

 land settlement scheme more and more attractive 

 and they are for ever improving the conditions. 



The type of citizen that they all want is the 

 tiller of the soil. But the Dominion Govern- 

 ments themselves are now beginning to realise 

 that as our agricultural population is so seriously 

 depleted they will not be able to continue to 

 get agriculturalists from this country unless we 

 first rebuild our agricultural population at home ; 

 and their representatives are anxious that the Home 

 Government should do all in its power to further 

 the growth of its agricultural population. Further, 

 there is no doubt that since the outbreak of war 



