In the early years of the 20th century, the Newfoundland government tried to bring more settlers into the country. But the government did not want to welcome just anyone. Because of Newfoundland's close ties with Britain, immigrants from the United Kingdom were thought to be the best. In 1909 and 1910, Prime Minister E.P. Morris tried to work with the Salvation Army in London, England. The Salvation Army said they would send British immigrants to live and work on new farm settlements in Newfoundland. In 1909, members of the Salvation Army came to Newfoundland and toured the island. Many people were happy that new British immigrants might be coming to Newfoundland. The editor of The Daily News wrote on November 13th, 1909 that "... there is plenty of room in the 'gardens' of Newfoundland for emigrants of the class that the Salvation Army sends out."¹³ The Daily News approved of the project because the Salvation Army immigrants would be white and Christian. They thought these people would fit in well with the rest of the population. In the end, the Salvation Army was not impressed with Newfoundland. Nothing ever came of this idea.

In 1909 there was another plan to bring British immigrants to Newfoundland. A man named Kingsley Fairbridge had started a group in Britain called "The Society for the Furtherance of Child Emigration to the Colonies." Fairbridge thought that all of Britain's colonies should have strong ties to England. He wanted to send British orphans and abandoned children to the colonies. In a talk to the Colonial Club at Oxford, England he said, "Great Britain and Greater Britain are and must be one... This will not be charity, it will be an imperial investment."¹⁴ Once again, Prime Minister Morris and the Newfoundland government were excited about the idea. So were many other Newfoundlanders. The editor of the Daily News said the idea had "a real imperial ring to it."¹⁵ But the plan did not work out. Fairbridge and his friends thought the Newfoundland climate would be too hard on the children. Some years later they sent children to Australia.