7 MAY 1954, Page 5

The in Britain i nd l .he increaSe in immigration into England from

the West h les has only recently been in the news, but for some time "ow the sight '4, toe sight of numbers of these immigrants has been an 16„-reasingly familiar one in certain parts of London. In the i„'IgY, snack-bars and pin-table saloons of the Charing Cross sh'ao. around King's Cross and Paddington, in. Stepney' and unc,°reditch there is ample evidence that this country has rather fr0`xPeetedly become the promised land for adventurous youth two the Caribbean. The present level of immigration is about lre" thousand a year, but this year that figure has already been eached by the beginning of May. Of course, it is quite under- exkinclable that the flow should increase : in Jamaica, for toamPle, there is much unemployment and traditional outlets pr,Ther. Caribbean countries have recently been closed by a peIessive tightening of immigration laws. It is, therefore, the:ectlY natural that Jamaicans should come to Britain where Iti„L'e is a shortage of labour, where the standard of living is the country at home and where the only requirement'to enter 11 .7 country is a valid passport. And this development should Steit," facie be welcomed. A recent survey carried Out in till l'ueY gives little ground for the belief that many of these Tbnligrants live on public assistance or take to a life of crime. re ey Can be useful members of the community and should be aSarded as such. However, it is just for that reason that the ti".0„angeinents for the control of West Indian immigration are ,.'.atisfaetory. A West Indian arriving in this country will Fora4 little help in orientating himself in a terribly strange world. dust job he must go to the Labour Exchange, for housing he So take his chance: in both fields he is at a disadvantage. volliunethhig to remedy this situation has been done by various Work tarY bodies, but surely it is time that such responsible be d,,was placed on a less haphazard basis. Something could rilcoliee'rneet)Y the Colonial Office and the Colonial governments to ensure that more migrants have jobs aid accom- `41ation before they arrive migrants have