The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887. THE UNEMPLOYED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1534, 16 April 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887. THE UNEMPLOYED.

We publish m another column of this issue a very temperately written and sensible letter by " A Laborer," m which reference is made lo the statement of Cr Harrison at the recent meeting of the Borough Council, that a number of '" unemployed " had been sent from Christchurch to work on the Mount Somers railway extension, although there are many good men wanting employment m the district. He points out that the same thing happened last winter, and urges that this is not a right state of things, and that jus; ice demands that a fair share of the Government work m the district should be given to men residing therein. We quite recognise the difficulties of the authorities m finding work for the unemployed at all, and as there are unemployed m Christchurch as well as Ashburton, it follows that if local work is m all cases to be provided then often comparatively useless work — at any rate unnecessary work — must be undertaken. It is, therefore, natural that when they have unemployed on their hands that the Government should send them to where work can be given without absolutely making work for the purpose. Still m all cases it must be better for the Government to have resident labor rather than to have to carry the labor to the spot, and when there are unemployed m the district m which the work is situate, then certainly these should have the preference — class for class. What we mean by the last term is that married men with families should be employed first, those resident on the spot having first chance, next those married men with families resident anywhere else, and after then single men m the same order of priority. Some such arrangement would, we take it, be quite satisfactory to out correspondent, and it is to be hoped that the whole matter will be brought before the authorities with a view to some such definite principle being laid down.