In my last letter figures were given concerning - immigration which one paper described as "damning and perfectly damnable," as they showed that Canada had, in spite of immigration, lost over 2,000,000 people during the last 10 years. That is.to say that, while the census of 1911 showed a population of 7,206,643, and there had been a natural increase of 1,836,407, the 1921 census returned only 8,769,494 people, meaning a loss of 273,556. During these 10 years, 1,975,393 people came here, and they were lost to the country as well. This has surprised and alarmed the country.
There has been a great demand made for a vigorous policy ta obtain settlers, and the Government has made public what it intends to do. First of all it will not agree to spend a very large sum of money, as Australia, has done, in ce-operation with Great Britain, to obtain British settlers.
The Government will endeavour to obtain British farmers with capita] to purchase farms here: try to get farmers who have too much land; to let some of it to labourers "on shares," so that they can in time become owners: conduct campaigns in the United States and the Scandinavian countries for the good farming classes: bring over British domestic servants, and boys and girls to place in homes here, and endeavour to induce Canadians in the United States to return.
As to other classes, the announcement of the Government is by no means as clear as it might be.
No reference is made to the immigration of the natives of India, China and Japan. This may mean that the subject will be discussed when Parliament meets in Jamuary. It is a difficult one to handle, but it must be said that Canada. wants to be "a white country," and British Columbia is doing her best to strengthen that wish, for she is demanding the exclusion of these natives. She is doing so because she claims that they are on a fair way to drive the white. people out of the Province in consequence of the hold they have obtained on so many industries. There may be some exaggeration in the. statements made, but there has been enough proved to show that the question deserves very serious considerer tion.
There are said to be 6,000 Chinese in Toronto, and a Chinese
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.