UNEMPLOYMENT.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18904, 20 January 1927, Page 11

UNEMPLOYMENT.

RELIEF GRANTED,

EXPENDITURE AT AUCKLAND.

[THE FEESS Special SclTice-]

AUCKLAND, January 19. "If that is the position now, what is it going to be like next winter?" asked the chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, Mr W. 'Wallace, at the Board meeting when pointing out that almost 200 persons in Auckland were at present in receipt of charitable relief, and that the Board had spent in tho nine months ended December 31st the whole of the amount provided on the estimates for relief for the full year. "In tho nine months," MrWallace said, "we have spent £20,000 in relief, and that amount is actually £6400 more than was spent during the same period of the previous financial year.- It would be an eye-opener to anv member of -the public to come along to a meeting of the Relief Committee of the Board. It is no use saying that the men who apply for relief • because thev are out of employment will not work. They are decent hardworking men, and they cannot get work."

Mr Wallace said that if the Government contended that tho giving or relief to the unemploved was the duty ot the Hospital Boards then the Boards should have some say in the question of bringing immigrants to the country. Immigrants were welcome, but not while there were numbers of men out of work. Mr Wallace added that the total relief granted during the financial year would amount to about £27,000, the sum provided on the estimates being £20,000.

POSITION IMPROVING

Unemployment in Christchurch has been decreasing slightly during the past few days. Thirteen new registrations were received at the Government Bureau yesterday morning, six from married men with 20 dependants, and seven from single men. Work was obtained for 16 men, leaving r total of 160 men still unemployed.

ENQUIRIES BY MINISTER,

ITHE TBESS Special Service-J

WELLINGTON, January 19

The question of unemployment, with particular reference to the timber industry, was raised by a deputation which waited on several representatives of the Government this afternoon.

The Minister for Labour (Hon. Mr Anderson) said he had been investigatin the unemployment situation generally, and he hoped in the next few weeks to place certain recommendations before his colleagues for discussion. He had not made special enquiries in regard to the timber industry, but he.could say that amongst the timber workers were the most efficient country employees in New Zealand, and ho did not think many of them would be thrown out of work. If unemployment became more serious he was quite satisfied there was a large amount of work to be done in tne country- districts, which the country peoplo were only too anxious to have done. His main difficulty was to place in positions the men who registered at the employment bureaux in the cities, the great majority of whom were n6t accustomed to country work. The problem was how to get them used ito it.