UNEMPLOYMENT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 529, 9 June 1909, Page 8

UNEMPLOYMENT.

CABINET DISCUSSES THE POSITION. RESOLVES T(j AUTHORISE BUSH- . " FELLING. STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER. -Among tM; matters; which engaged tho at!s-.-., ■' - tention of .the Cabinet yesterday v.-as tho unemployment, difficulty." a Interviewed -by; a " Dominion reporter, the ■; ' . PnmaMituatcr (Sir Joseph Ward) said that

t . -V, . w responsb to from' hiui, the Seci rotary for Labour had supplied a relurn 1 .. .. - It appeared .that..the: total immbcr, ot -meu employed by tho. Roads Department for the . '... . •'.'' first three., months .'of. this j year;, was almost; double tho numbor employed during the corH • <" responding, period; of ■ any, previous ■ year diirwg tho.past five years. The latest information obtained from the various centres showed . that in Auckland for. the week .ended June 5 42 married andlo6 single men - registered -v. their names with, the: Department ,as' appli- ; , cants for work. In Wellington during tho . same week there wore . 131; applicants, of ' r >... , - whom 30 were married. The figures with respect to Chnstchurch Here 117 married men -v. .44 - single men.. At Dunedm .there wore only twelve applicants, of whom eight were married men. /According to..tho Pnfno Minister .tho-num-rL1 * omplftycd by; tho Governmentv^:;Vr'^ithroughout•;thov'country,; wasTover"Booo; -as' i against* under 4000 m 1904 All tho men in | v-';iK'C ''vQ u ®®^ engaged* upon In addition w \ tnosevrworks.y tho.. Had v hMsen. pushing on.tho contract foT'the Auckland Post Office, and tho building of the founda.v; ; tions of .tho Wellington Post Ofßco, besides ;v'nv^i 8 :' - nbniber ? .of":'other 'works: which : had : beqri been: ; pushed; tihead -objeet-' of > giving ; as "employ-; ."'Jnont as possible, and that policy had been j cpntirixieci.vV;lt was;noi:^of;(wursej : ; ; ;keep' suoh a large niimber ofr raen he had .indicatM iii constant emplo.vment, : ''' * ji?', -f""" 1 3' ea to .yoar's end, and • . : thore must of necessity lie fluctuations, : as',': i ;1 ; when works were; completed;'".' * •''' ' , '® ir . Joso .P,! l .Proceeded to 'say . that Cabinet' a^!^' on bush.v•'be earned ;6ut ,in various districts, v, In'\ the > - ther© ; "wofo about S ■ ' 100.000_ acres of bush. /Milling timber was ' Vto bo; found on: 50.000 acres. - -There' Was,- - -.however.- fully; 30,000 acres; that could bo. ;- ,;;.7.i : ,';; f®),lpd.. iTho. work (civc : occupation to; a > ,larg;e number; of.- men,.^who -were; desirous "of . , . nndertakins; work of that .natnre. 'When cleared and, burned; that land 'would be avail- ' . S P :purp'oses.'*>so: that;it wonld - , .be legitimate work upon which to give emi plovment. > ■ ■. The .Government Jiad, he added, nil through ■;?;V; td:help:legitimntely-those desir-; j : ous of. obtaining work.'" One of. tho great • . . .difficulties which was experienced .was the '?®j i ;t'iat large, numbers of- : a pd n ot; unnatnrally, from their ,point of;' v-.; to remain : ;in t-ho towns and'. cities,.-iu'i'.v-f 1 ?.: m.that way there' was ajvoybr-supply• of. ■ .flpcal^conirei;; ->> ! ..tion.. New (Zealand ,wak not sirignlar .in' that ■ whioh.iie ; M?; ,- ™ncd '.confronted'eyery:: developing;-'c6nhtry,- ; .- In tho oldor conntrios ifc was the . source" of nircjrarafc'd,trouble that led to many nndesir,v ■; . able conditions that wore hapnilv not to bo found m tho towns and cities in the colonies In conclrsion, Str Joseph said- "Wo have .; 'v' ( been.doing all that..,we;rcasonably;couldi' and : will continuo to do so."

i j STATEMENT BY THE" LABOUR/ 1 MINISTER. THE DIFFICULTY "NOT ACUTE " * ' r T ha ® on ' Hogg .(Minister for ..... Labour),; told a Dominion.'reporter - yesterday r T." "Jat; tan had': madei inquiries ,of 'the -Labour j ■5)' Dopartmont andwas-iniormed that tho uncm- ' P 1 difficulty -had not reached what might ! ..bo called an acute stage, There woro a considwablQ of /th©:bureau at Ghnstchurch; a .week or; two ago, 7 but tho i.••.•books TForonow clearing, and there wore ovi-V-y:¥ ; "'dences that\thb-labour market" wis''-getting ;X: :;^ nt 9]a •. tetter ; condition: • Tho number',apply;r ior.employmont at Dunedin. was comparasmalWand;.work''ha^ majority, of;ythem,; vWoUingt6n-- ap- v : ' v.: >peajed/to be a - ' .wor&d • srtato i than : any' other' oentro, but ihe officers of the Department -thought great. likely>to ; . v'"p ao - . Roporte from Auckland showed :that ... was a , n ? n,b «r of unemployed at the . jßortbem centre, bnt the position . did' .not growing any worse. In the courso ■:v ;i: ® l the next fotr weeks he hoped to ho .able A;;;w Place a -large nunibor of men -on road■ & J™ 1 * 5 W. different parts:; of. the : country. -'- ' • K ,oV°S-' a Ere ? t as cn,a P d b ? local bod "« for. v : ; v,"® ucll .;.seaß6n',; ..though not favonrablq to metalline, offered no hindraneo the alleged :exodus to-Australia largely .to a provmns mflus of workers who hid been m ; <? f^New: Zealand's pros- ! ™ , a " ma, great dogreo to tho ■v '' WD ?.P,^ 6 Roarers, slaughter- :'; ~ m pii> and other classes of nomadic labour.

RURAL I 'LABOUR. CONDITIONS- AT TAIHAPE :i V 1,10 of. the Vorkors.in tho Taihape district was tho subject- of a conversation which a Dominion reporter had yesterho stated,- : .isolated instances of such acufq" distress as siioh.condi--V'i™!i-M?1104 e«nferal;,'evon ' :,: among .those-workers., who were out' 'of e'm- ¥ t ployment.;Sawmill hands earned i such' cood v.:. : : irages:;,that: they;'should ; be .'able 'to'tideVover - x? 1 ? ' ,Bushfellers,-'who' VV ha iI T la T Iy ' . b ? en ;looting''fqf.i work, v?,; settle!^.-appeared'-to Muffling V>aa»nt' , any reduction .of tho rate per acre.. •• -Farm* r'.V'SiW o"*'0"*' was .naturally nbt:imieh;in/domand.at • *niß time of.year,; but a moderato number of' '' experienced men . might reasonably hopo 'to tuid employment atLthis class: of Work. "

/ "NO LAND FOR THEM." STATEMENT BY MR. TVRIGHT. Some pertinent remarks on the question of unemployment were made by Mr. "Wright,.'tEe , ~ neiv; member for" Wellington, South,: at'-fhe. . . informal meeting of Parliament on Monday : evening. In reply: to his-query, as to what could bo done to alloviate the-distress of the - ' Worklesa, sevoralmemberscried: -.'-'Puttiiom : •on tho. land!. Put them on . the ;land!" Mr •; is ! -ho: ; land : ifot : them,, and that ii why so maiiy- pcoplo aro "goinp .to. Queensland. lot of .men are moving .. about from placebo. placo and :gottiiig"b,'i.l- :. loted-.out : every time they try to get a Bec- ' H 0 "/' I , He P rococcle d >say that the army : ..of : landless and w.ould-bo industrious people was being largely .added to by the numerous inoinb€rs of. tho Cited Sorvico who woro losing . employment in consequence of'tha rc- • trenchment scheme. Later, when' lie doclarpd that, the. Government had really no : idea of the. number of unemployed and tho : in obtaining work,; several members :. ; on .the Ministerial; side indicated'that they he. was :stretehing the facta.'-: "If I ' bring you fifty unemployed, men to-morrow ~ could you find work for them ?" rejoined Mr •-.^Wright. ; Tho silence,which folbwod this an-peal-was eloquent.-. : - ■ - ■

PROPOSED RELIEF WORKS

THE CANTERBURY UNEMPLOYED.

(by TiiLEQH-APH —PP.E.S3 AB3OCI ATli)'i ) ■■■•,■■ ■ : . v Chrtstehuroh, Juno'B. .■.- In response) a deputation that . waited , on tho Mayor, of Chrisichurch on Sunday to . Urge the . putting .in 'hand of relief .works for « nel "P lo y e( i> Mr. Allison" convened a meeting of ,the. Works and General Water Supply Com- . ( .. mitteos .of tho City Council to discuss ' tho matter. It was .deoidejd td telegraph to tho Prime Minister, : asking s for "'a Government , subsidy for relief works,:to.bo undertaken by tho council. It wss stated that if a .subsidy .1. was granted, _tlio council could start one or two relief works. , y

... A .deputation waited on the combined coro.mittecs, and presented a list containing tho names of 180 person? who woro stated to bo out of work, thirty of them being recent arrivals in the Dominion.' •

.Speaking to a reporter, Mr, Wilson said ;that it was useless to attempt to lelieve only neeeaßitouo cases, as , the secretary of tbe Unemployed coinmitteo- said nearly all; the ;bases were included'in:that class. \'A. really comprehensive ißchemo ; was' needed to meet the position, and to deal with the whole problom of the unemployed, especially during the-, months.'of .Juno and July,, during which.'■there was hot-likely', to be a revival of trade v tofany.iCxtent. .- Another point that should .boconsidered . .was , that ■■ spccial provision should be made for tlioso who were' not able to do navvying or general labourers' /work. J ;It-was, quite useless to'send tradesmen to .Broken ltiver and places. of. that character, whore..thoy- wonld' be. set to do work which 1 .thoy.could 'not undertake. . .'