The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1885. The Unemployed.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1489, 16 March 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1885. The Unemployed.

Messrs Powell and Corley, two members of the Commission appointed to enquire into the condition of the unemployed in Canterbury, have threatened that unless the Government publish the whole of their report they will do so themselves. From this ii would appear that the authors of the report are not satisfied with the summary which has already been furnished to the press of the colony. We should have been surprised if Messrs Powell and Corley had been satisfied by the publication of anything short of what they considered necessary to make the results of their labors intelligible } gentlemen of their class are not likely to allow an opportunity to parade their own particular views to pass without availing themselves of it. We think, too, that in bare justice to the authors the report should be published in full. It may be very flatulent, pleonastic and impracticable,—probably is ; but even an able report may suffer by contraction, and besides it is possible that it will be all we shall receive for the expenditure connected with the Commission. We never expected, nor do we believe that the Government ever expected, that the labors of the Commission would alleviate the condition of the unemployed or lessen their number. The enquiry was doubtless in part instituted to pacify a tur bulent section of the community ; and so far it has served its purpose ; malcontents have been tranquilised by the knowledge that they had a Commission sitting in their own special interests, and by an

official assurance that the amelioration of their distressed condition was at hand or at least receiving the “ earnest attention of the Government.” The Cabinet probably hoped that the delay they had secured would bring some happy solution of what was, and unfortunately remains, a very formidable difficulty. A bountiful harvest, a large expansion of mining operations, the institution of large public works or private undertakings, were all contingencies that would, by absorbing the surplus labor, have rectified the condition of the market. But none of these contingencies have been realised; distress if it existed six months ago exists now, and the positioi is aggravated by the absence of any immediate prospect of relief. As Messrs Powell and Corley have expressed their disapproval of the published summary of their report, we shall for the present refrain from commenting upon it, beyond expressing our strong disapprobation of at least one of the remedies they propose to apply. By what mysterious course of reasoning they conclude that Protection would benefit our workmen or our agriculturists, in fact anyone but a small number of manufacturers, we shall not attempt to discover. Most sensible men have long since satisfied themselves of the fallacy of such a conclusion, and those who still support it are either wilfully blind or deplorably simple. The Commissioners, who suggest relieving the distressed condition of our working classes by raising the price of their clothing and the agricultural implements of their employers, had better have confined themselves to the collection, of facts in connection with the unemployed, and allowed some more enlightened authority to prescribe the remedy. The report of Mr J, D. Mac■pherson, the Chairman of the Commission, who is understood to dissent from the report of his colleagues, will be looked for with interest. It would be strange, but would doubtless be very agreeable to the Government, if Mr Macpherson were to impugn the facts of the summarised report. But it is more probable that the Chairman, who is not imbued with anything approaching socialistic ideas, and is too well grounded in political economy and practical commerce to entertain the fallacies of Protection, was induced to make a separate report as he found himself unable to concur in the remedial suggestions of his colleagues. At Christchurch on Thursday evening, Sir Julius Vogel referred to the report, but only in the briefest possible manner; his reference gave no indication of the view he takes of it; but it the Commissioners are unanimous in affirming that distress does exist, prompt and effectual measures will be demanded for its relief. The unemployed question, although no more difficult of solution than some very prominent features in the ipimsterial programme, will not brook the delay that those items have already suffered

The Borough School.

Barely six weeks have elapsed since ye had occasion to congratulate, the householders of Ashburton upon the election of a School Committee, which we ventured to hope would speedily reduce certain complications that had arisen at the Borough School. We did not at the time profess that the result of the election was entirely satisfactory to us; we deplored the exclusion of several gentlemen whose presence upon the Committee would have raised its

, ■•" c and increased its efficiency. It L‘ l -••nerfluous to say that one is almost SU| » , • the time of writ name in our mind vtaunr ing was that of his Worship me * By a curious operation ol the curoula-

live vote, Mr Friedlander, although supported by a substantial majority of voters, was amongst the defeated candidates. Since the election we have learnt nothing to estrange our confidence from the sitting Committee, but we understand that their recent action in connection with the dismissal. of the headmaster has excited the hostility of a large section of the community. It will be recollected that a communication ftom the North Canterbury Board of Education with regard to the headmaster, and the condition of the school was considered in camera at the last meeting of the Committee. It is generally reported that the members of the Committee were not unanimous in the decision ultimately arrived at ; at least one member —Mr Thomas— has repeatedly applauded the work done by the headmaster. We regret, however,

that the friends of Mr Dempsey have thought it wise to make an organised attempt to set aside the deliberate determinations of the Education Board and the Committee. The attempt

must prove futile and can only delay the removal of long-standing troubles, and prejudicially affect the future of the headmaster for whose official zeal and scholastic attainments we have sincere respect. Let the friends of Mr Dempsey rather display the esteem they bear towards him by some tangible testimony of the fact that in their opinion his failure here

has been more his misfortune than his fault, that he is likely in some other sphere to discharge similar duties with advantage to his .pupils and credit to himself.