- THE CHURCH' AND EMPIRE SETTLEMENT:
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—On April 23rd last, St. George's Day, was inaugurated an attempt to link up, through the offices of the Church of England, the cause of Empire Settlement with the day appointed for commemoration of the national Saint. Some explanation of this new movement may interest your readers.
The chief incentives and the chief obstacles to migration within the Empire are, we think, psychological. Fear of the unknown, a shrinking from possible isolation in far lands among strangers, or in sparsely inhabited "open spaces," militate against many a youth's longing to launch out for himself, and against many a parent's wish to 'give his child better chances than he himself had. Even those who have made the venture are sometimes cowed by these bogies into regrets or the retracing of their steps.
For these emotional ailments the appropriate remedies are also emotional—the promise, namely,- of accompanying human fellowship ; the discovery of brotherliness and willing- ness to help among the dreaded " strangers." Now, brotherli- ness and human fellowship are not qualities that can be demanded from a Government Department. Officials may, and many do, possess such qualities ; but qud officials they
are more usually limited to administering definite policies, along lines laid down by routine.
Yet these qualities—these notable stimuli to the venture of migration—are inherent in the life of the Church. To Churchmen, therefore, we who are deeply interested in the apt and adequate redistribution of the Empire's population may rightly appeal, and we have taken the name and day of the National Saint as a symbol of our migrants' claim on the nation.
• But they are symbols only, not limitations. Our persistent appeal, culminating year by year on the chosen day, is this : that in 15,000 parishes of the Mother Country, one Sunday at least in the year—preferably that. warest to St. George's Day—shall be used to spread information about the con- ditions through which success is , attainable by migrants to the Dominions ; and that each parish, according to its powers, shall thereafter support the Council, appointed by Church Assembly, for the promotion of Empire Settlement. At the same time their "opposite numbers," the 10,000 parishes of Canada and Australia, shall be urged to consider the duty of making known and creating openings for would-be migrants, and of welcoming and befriending those who arrive to fill them. Success in this appeal means that the hesitating venturer into new countries will leave England fearlessly, equipped not only with some knowledge of his future surroundings, but also with certainty of employment and of a friendly personal welcome ; while the friends left behind will have a new means of keeping in touch with the absent.
So, on St. George's Day last, the first appeal was made.
We have no reason to be other than encouraged by the response. To intensify it, and make it more than a mere aspiration, it was coupled with the foundation of a St. George's Day Empire Settlement Fund--£12,000 to be raised this year, for the planting and housing in Canada of 100 families under the scheme arranged between Lord Lovat and the Canadian Government. At present we have just under £1,000 in hand ; the two first families under the scheme (from the 800 families waiting) are being despatched forthwith. Bishops in Canada and Australia are urging its wide support. Individual City firms, parishes, and well- wishers are making themselves responsible for a single migrant family. And on the following points we are quite clear :—
The ideal unit for migration is the family; since responsi- bility anchors and spurs the parents, while parental pro- tection allows the children to assimilate easily the new atmosphere.
Any success achieved by the Church of England along these lines will be encouragement for other religious bodies in similar enterprises.
The personal touch, as between migrant and helper, is all-important. Migrants must be thought of as individuals, not as groups, and this is most naturally done by voluntary, not by Government, assistants.
It goes without saying that we shall welcome any help your readers may be able to give, whether towards the £12,000 or towards spreading knowledge of the appeal, which we repeat is continuous, St. George's Day being the point of maximum stress.—! am, Sir, &c., ARTHUR G. B. WEST, Intelligence Committee, Council • Great Tower Street, E.C.8.
Previous page
