THE LABOUR MARKET.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 6

THE LABOUR MARKET.

:<; UNEMPLOYED in canterbury. ;;: ' (BI: TEUJBUATH—BPZCIIL COEEK3PONDKST.) .•;■';''',"■.■ Chrlstchuroh, January 22. "It is not very clear," says, the "Times,", "why _ the Wellington Trades,. and: Labour Council should be specially concerning itself, about the state of the [labour market in, this province. Speaking at. a ;meeting '.of, the, council, the presiderit.-said;that numbers of men in Canterbury were practically starring. Another speaker declared that 'things' were 'very- bad in Canterbury,': arid that: evcri r 'Jim Thorn' had'gone- grass-seeding. : .Of course, the late season.-has kept many hands idle that' otherwise: would; have been 'employed, but'so;faras;'we : caii.:learn' there..is no more inconvenience being suffered on this account than everyone,' ; ; ought ;to have ex-; pected. Hundreds' of men come from other provinces to, Canterburylfor-the harvest, arid ', if! the grain is .delayed a week or two ; in ripening it means'that.isome of theria must feel the pinch -of,waitirigl'.'This.is,what is happening just- now, but with a' few ' more". days of sunshine all the available labour will' be, employed. We, .do- not-: know that there is anything very, alarming 'in the. fact that. Mr. Thorn has gone grass-seeding.. The .secretary of the, Farm Labourers' Union is a young gentleman : 6f boundless energy,, who finds most of his' rest in: a..change of occupation) and very likely ho is merely taking his: summer holiday on the delightful hillsides of Banks Peninsula; In any case he will not complain of any honest work his hand may find to do. Possibly he has-gone, out into the country merely to set. an example to the less courageous men who have remained, behind. :It would be idle to.deny that there are a certain, number of unemployed. .Under our present industrial conditions, 'they must always|be ; iwith.us,' but we do not believe that the', problem is more serious in Canterbury than it is in any other part of the Dominion. The 'hundreds of nien' who, according to., the. Wellington Trades and Labour Council, are'looking for' work in' Wellington are inj a much-worse plight than those who are waiting for the harvest in' Canterbury- and | yet we do riot suppose that it has pcourrea to any large proportion of them-to'got away, from the city, as Mr. Thorn, has don«,'and look for work in the.country. It seuris to.us that the workors would show morel wisdom at the present juncture in persistently agitating for a'wide, extension of ths land Settlement system than in peevishly containing of an immigration policy which amounts to nqth-, ing more than giving legitimate »ncouragement to our own people to; ope here and assist us in developing the resources of the country." - . - >\-