THE UNEMPLOYED.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 533, 19 June 1909, Page 14

THE UNEMPLOYED.

DEPUTATION TO. FARMERS' UNION

. EFFECT OF THE LABOUR LAWS. '■ (BI TSLKQBiPUr-QPEoiAL. COItttBSPONDBNT.)■ . Chrlstchurch, June 17. A deputation representing the unemployed :Waited on the Farmers'" Union. Executive today. One, of them said the statement had been made by farmers that; there was plenty £w work to. do ui-the country. . Some 300 men/(many of whom were farm labourers) were out of employment,/and the deputation wished to-know:*.where the' work' was to be .bad;;• { Mr. Kennedy, socretaty of the .Farm' Labourers union, said he had written asking tor the j names of farms in need' of hands, and had received a reply - asking for the names of the. men awaiting employment, particulars of their last service,' references, etc.' Keierences were not customary in the coun* v** l ® farm labourers did not objcct to it. I but ft should be made to cut: both ways, it a. tannerwus a good employer, no' servant would hesitate to, give him a good ' reference. If recommendations were required,. ?? n 6 demanded.onibotli sides. iil - Lead W sa id, the position was that there was plenty of work in the countrv at ordinary contract rates, but the men' Would'not -take it. >Ho knew too much'to alJow men to "camp" on him atk a weekly witi . tucker. ' ,He was prepared to take on six _men to-morrow at contract rates Wir r? give them good fair wages. , ~ r * "° war Q said all that was-asked was tnatMe fanners should give out their work, and if .the men could- not do. it at a fair price, that was a oomplote answer to the proposition. • ' • „?! (Mr- B. Evans) said ho was satisnedf that there were a number of uriomployed in .the city. Tie farmers would try their irsry best to relieve the situation ff the men would take a living wage and not growl at the, farmers. The price of money bw ipne ■ up, , and ■ the price of lambs had fallen 3s. per head. He had been an employer of labour for 28 years, and he'had not experienced tighter times. The country was going too. fast. It required' 300,000 more fat lambs to be produced to pay the interest on tho increased indebtedness since last year. There was plenty of work in the country'if the men were prepared to do the work at its value. There wero, drains to clear, and ' gorse to grub, but farmers .could not 'be expected to_ pay eight or nine shillings r 'a dayto men who could only, earn'three. .Mr- D. Jones said they were up against toe labour laws that they ..had tnemsclve-s croatod. The wages of carpenters and other budding hands had risen so' high l £hAt'build- ' ings oould not bo erected in the country;'The- l ' cost was fftill further enhanced. They found the farmers building their own sheds and painting their l own homes simply (because they oould not pay the wages demanded out of the price their produce was bringing. ( They could.not give the men work at less than Um award rates, and the men had to starve if the fanners were not prepared to i pay the amounts fixed. The unemployed' i were largely recruited from the building trades. The country labourers could find ! work. ,Tho farmers were asked to carry tho burden.-of the labour laws of'tho -Dominion. 1 Ho always said that these laws would hit 1 the workers hardest, and bis contention had £ proved onjy too true. An nnnatnral condi- c tion of things :had been created, and, ho ob- • jected to the fanners being asked to bear tho bnint of it.. • , I

' MrWW. T. Lill said there were hundreds of fanners who had work to'do,, but could not afford to get it done. Farmers did not , cam seven shillings a day .all the year, round. . It was resolved,to recommend farmers who have, work to bo.dono to wait on the Mayor of . Christchurch with the object of absorbing some of the labour available. It is' -understood ■ that : the trustees of the Hyman'Marks Estate have made a very liberal offer to the City Council in view of the fact that the Government does not see its way to give £ for £ on the money expended on relief works for the unemployed. The trustees offer to do so. They propose' to give £ for £ on money expended in' wages for 25 men 1 for, say, a couple of months. There are a number of workß in the city which are required, but which cannot bo parried out for-want of > funds. These include the grading of a, number"of new, streets, etc.; works wluch would have to be paid for in frill out of the rates. The offer of tho Marks' Trustees, if accepted, will -not only enable employment to be given to tide over the worst months of'the winter, but will also'save the 'ratepayers half the.cost. .

ACTION- BY fHE MAYOR OF DUNEDIN. ■ CBy Telegraph.—Press Association.) ' Dunedln, June 18. Tho Mayor (Mr. Walker) is much concerned over the unemployed difficulty in fie city. ; Since assuming office he . has been invadea'with personal applications for work, tie applicants in most cases being men of fine ppysique and>capable of .doing any class ,of work. 'Worsnip intends immediately :to confer with tho chairman of tho ■ respective oommittees with ai view, to expediting the'expenditure of votes affecting tho administration .' of different committees. Ho hopes •by putting ■ .in hand at ■ once - Beveral works to be earned out during the year, for' which money lias been voted, to assist a ; number of, families. Married men with families, all other things being equal,, are to receive preference.