38 



The Review of Reviews. 



AN IMPERIAL EMIGRATION POLICY. 



Of course the root system must come in the schools 

 for future generations, and no reform is more necessary 

 than that national education should teach Imperial 

 lessons and conditions. But generally what can be 

 the objections to an Imperial policy of emigration ? 



The great weakness of the present time is that there 

 is no Imperial Migration Department Policy. Such 

 policy as exists is confined to paupers and unemployed, 

 and it is carried out on most haphazard lines. The 

 Home Office can emigrate from reformatory and 

 industrial schools, and the Board of Trade can also 

 utilise the Labour E.xchanges. 



The Boards of Guardians who emigrate Poor Law 

 children — children, by the way, who are trained at 

 heavy expense to the ratepayers — do not, however, 

 effect much in this direction, and a little stimulation 

 from above would do no harm. If they really exercised 

 the powers they possess they would emigrate on a 

 large scale. 



2511837 PAUPER CHILDREN. 



In June, 1912, a memorandum of the Local Govern- 

 ment Board as to the number of children under the 

 Poor Law shows that on January i there were 251,837 

 in receipt of relief. This is nearly 20 -i per thousand 

 of the estimated population under sixteen. Nor is 

 the number a diminishing one, since the figures for 

 January, 191 1, show 20^5 per thousand and for 

 March 31, 1906, 20-9 per thousand. And these 

 charity children will remain handicapped with the 

 stigma of having received relief from the Guardians, 

 and thus their task of becoming useful citizens is made 

 many times harder. Even in the case of the remainder 

 of the children the task is hard enough. It is a remark- 

 able coincidence that the number of British subjects 

 who leave the country annually is about equal to the 

 numi)er of children in receipt of relief. Beyond the 

 coincidence there is probably no connection, but, there 

 should be a connection, and there will be in the future 

 under organised emigration. These children will not 

 remain as charity children in this country,but. properly 

 educated for their task, will go to people other parts 

 of the Empire, and thus supply young and vigorous 

 life-blood for the continuous and ever - increasing 

 development of these new British nations beyond the 

 sea.s whose greatness will later be the real greatness 

 (if 'lu; l'',mpire. 



THE KICVNOTE OK EMPIRE'.S ITIT'RK. 



Tiic emigration of the young is the keynolc of the 

 Empires future. Young countries need young birjod,' 

 and it i- surch more imperially sound and humanly 



kind to give to the young boys and girls, reared here 

 amidst pessimistic surroundings, a chance of optimistic 

 development. It is a startling fact that 20,000 more 

 children than were sent are applied for every year 

 by good farmers in Canada This did not have any 

 effect upon the Boards of Guardians in England and 

 Wales, who prefer to keep the majority of the children 

 under their charge. These children cost the ratepayers 

 from £20 to £50 a year each, so that the refusal of the 

 Canadian applications costs the country something 

 between £400,000 and £1,000,000 a year ! And why 

 were they kept from the open and free life of the new- 

 countries ? In order to be thrown on an already 

 overcrowded labour market, after having cost tVe 

 ratepayers some hundreds of pounds each. This may 

 be a clever and thought-out policy on the part of the 

 Guardians, but to us it seems stupid folly and criminal 

 waste as regards the ratepayers and cruel inhumanity 

 towards the children. Of the crass ignorance it displays 

 towards Imperial exigencies we do not think it neces- 

 sary to speak, since Boards of Guardians in this country 

 are not able or expected to think imperially or even 

 nationally. 



PREPARATION FOR EMIGRATION. 



We do not suggest that the children should l:e 

 exported en bloc without any preparation and without 

 it being ascertained that the country to which they go 

 has need of them and that they are fitted for the life 

 in that country. It is self-apparent that it is abso- 

 lutely necessary that young people should be prepared 

 here for emigration. As about 300,000 a year wcrr 

 leaving the country, it follows that 2,000.000 of tin- 

 children now in our elementary schools would probably 

 find themselves some day in one or other of our oversea 

 dominions, and such instruction on Imperial affairs 

 a.s was -extremely necessary for them would ccrtainly 

 be beneficial to the children as a whole. 



BOARD SCHOOLS TO TRAIN EMIGRANTS. 



Everything points in one direction, and that is that 

 preparation for emigration must form a very vital part 

 of the curriculum of the board schools of the country. 

 Let some of the other subjects drop out whose principal 

 object seems to be to afford reason for examination 

 papers, and in their place teach the boys and girls to 

 know the Empire, to learn the condiuons of life and 

 work in every part of the dominions across the seas, 

 and later to fit themselves to be worthy and useful 

 citizens of the Empire after they haxc left this country. 

 Since so large a proportion are bound to go aw-ay, for 

 Heaven's sake let them be given the best chance 



