[Editor: This article, regarding the White Australia Policy, was published in The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 23 June 1924.]
White Australia.
Anglo-Saxon Migration.
During the course of an address at the Lyceum Theatre, yesterday afternoon, on the White Australia policy, the Rev. F. Darling said that if we attempted to maintain it for economic reasons only great difficulty would be experienced. The argument that the policy was necessary in order to maintain high wages and congenial conditions would not hold.
Japan’s population of 70,000,000 was increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 a year, and she was unable to find an outlet in either Korea and Siberia, as both were poor lands. There was no room in the Philippines or China.
The population of the great land of Australia was about 6,000,000, and the annual increase was only about 130,000.
Instead of basing our claim on economic grounds, we should approach the subject from a moral standpoint, and say that we were out to maintain the purity of our nation. We should extend a hearty welcome to our kith and kin of the Anglo-Saxon race, and increase tenfold our population.
Source:
The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 23 June 1924, p. 8 (Late Edition)
Also published in:
The Scrutineer and Berrima District Press (Moss Vale, NSW), 25 June 1924, p. 2
Editor’s notes:
Anglo-Saxon race = the collective demographic of people of British ethnic background; the ethnicity or race of people who are (in large proportion) descended from the West Germanic tribes (Angles, Jutes, and Saxons) who settled in Great Britain; in a wider context, can also refer to North Europeans who appear to be ethnically or racially related to the West Germanic tribes
F. Darling = Frederick Augustus Darling, a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church; he was born in South Melbourne (Victoria) in 1864, and died in Lindfield (Sydney, NSW) in 1930
See: “Rev. F. A. Darling: Death announced”, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 22 May 1930, p. 12 (Late Edition)
kith and kin = friends and family; in a wider sense, “kith” refers to friends, neighbours, acquaintances, and countrymen, whilst “kin” refers to family or relatives, especially referring to blood relations; the term “kith” comes from Old English, with the original meaning referring to “friends and neighbours”, “knowledge”, and “one’s native land” (or “homeland”); the term “kin” comes from Old English, meaning “family”, “kind”, or “race”
See: 1) “kith and kin”, Oxford Reference
2) “kith and kin”, Dictionary.com
3) Candace Osmond, “What is Kith and Kin – origin & meaning”, Grammarist
4) Gary Martin, “Kith and kin”, Phrase Finder
5) “kith (n.)”, Online Etymology Dictionary
6) “kin (n.)”, Online Etymology Dictionary
Rev. = an abbreviation of “Reverend” (a title given to a minister of a church, a priest, a member of the clergy)
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