H—ll

(13) The initial agreement with the International Refugee Organization provided for the selection of 1,000 displaced persons, of whom 200 were to be unaccompanied -children and 300 single women. However, when the New Zealand selection mission ■commenced operations in Europe it became apparent that these quotas could not be .adhered to and some variation in the categories was necessary. The final composition •of the draft is expected to be as follows . 0 Total Xumber of Persons. 130 single women for employment in hospitals, &c. .. .. 130 170 single men for heavy work of national importance " .. 170 100 family groups, comprising man and wife with one or two children. Men for heavy work of national importance .. 320 100 widows with one child .. .. .. .. 200 80 elderly persons for light employment .. .. 80 6 unaccompanied children for adoption .. .. .. 6 Total .. .. .. .. .. 906 (14) Although the number of available and suitable orphan children was •disappointingly small, the draft will include some 220 accompanied children. The majority of the persons selected are of Baltic origin, although smaller numbers of Ukrainians, Czechs, Poles, and other nationalities are represented in the draft. These displaced persons will be transported in shipping provided by the International Refugee Organization and are scheduled to arrive in New Zealand in June, 1949. On arrival they will proceed to a reception centre which is being established at the Pahiatua camp, where they will be given a basic course of instruction in language, citizenship, and customs to facilitate their assimilation within the new community. Most of the displaced persons selected already have some elementary knowledge of the English language. It is anticipated that these immigrants will spend a minimum period of four weeks in the reception centre.' (b) Analysis of Immigrants (1) A total of 879 males and _649 females arrived in New Zealand under the assisted immigration scheme during the year ended 31st March, 1949. Partly because of the difficulty in obtaining adequate numbers of suitable tradesmen under the assisted immigration scheme, a larger number of the berths available to the New Zealand government on commercial vessels have been allocated to selected migrants paying their ■own fares, including family groups. Priority passages are made available to selected married persons only when suitable accommodation is available for them in New Zealand. New settlers who have been granted priority passages include key technical and professional people urgently required for work in New Zealand. Almost half the men and women arriving as selected fare-paying immigrants during the last year have entered secondary industries. Berths for fare-paying immigrants have been allocated as follows during the last year : Men .. .. .. .. .. 597 Women .. .. .. .. 703 Children .. .. .. .. 543 Total .. .. .. .. 1,843 Details of all permanent arrivals and departures, whether Government-assisted or not, are shown in Table VIII of the Appendix to this report. (2) A large proportion of male Government-assisted immigrants are employed in sawmilling, coal-mining, and other primary industries and on hydro-electric development schemes, in all of which associated accommodation is available. Similarly the majority

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