MR. MACDONALD'S SWAGGERS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1875, 8 October 1913, Page 4

MR. MACDONALD'S SWAGGERS.

STATEMENT TAKEN EXCEPTION TO. (By Telegraph—Special Oorroßpondcnt.) Cisborne, October f. Great exception is taken in this district to tho statement by Mr. W. D. S. Mac Donald, M.P. for the Bay of Plonty, that as one result of tho public works policy of tho prosent Government ho had swaggers calling at his houso overy day and every night, whero before there were none, and that some of them had walked right through from tho Waikato—2so miles. . ' Mr. W. H. Wcstbrook, local labour inspector, questioned as .to whether thoro' were. many men out of work at tlio present timo in tlio Poverty Bayi district, statod that tho position was better at tho present timo than it had been this timo last.yqar. ."Thoro. were a few pick and shovel men out of work, but this had been tho case every year. "Lean honestly say that tho\ chango has made no difference in this district," said Mr. A. H. Anderson, secretary of tho,doneral Labourers' Union. On tho only two occasions on which I applied to tho Primo Minister (Hon. Mr., Massey) for work for tho unemployed hero, ho promptly supplied whn,t was asked. Both the Pruno Minister and the Minister of Public Works (Hon. W. Eraser) promptly acted on each occasion that 1 roproscnted to them that men wero out of work as tlio result of tlio borough retrenchment policy. Batches of 25 and 20 men wero promptly supplied with work on the Motu-Opotiki Road, and each tiino a gang of fivo men or more applied for work they wero at once accommodated." From further inquiries, it has been ascertained that work has never been so plentiful for many years past as has been tho case this year. Between 200 and 300 men are employed on tho Gis-borne-Motu railway, and between 100 and 150 on tho Gisborne-southwards railway, whilo 100 men are at work on tho Motu-Opotiki Road. In addition to this, about 150 men arc engaged by the Public Works Department on road works in various .parts of tho district. The building trade has never been brisker in this district than -at tho present time. In addition to the new Government buildings and other, buildings, many large private residences are in course of erection, whilo large hotels aro being built at both Te Karaka and Motu.

inquiries from station-owners and sheepfarmers elicitefl tlio fact that,the mild winter had resulted in pastoral operations being more active than usual this winter, and consequently there had been plenty of employment obtainable in station work.

One of tlio early Canterbury settlers passed away yesterday morning in the person of Mr. Francis D. S. Neavo. Mr. Weave was born in India in 1812, educated, at Eton, and took a degreo at Oxford in 1863. Coming to Lyttelton in the following year ill tlio ship Devonshire Mr. Neave purchased a run in tho Rakaia district, whisli ho carried on for twenty years, becoming a resident of Riccar'ton in 1886. Ho also acquired a freehold station property in Marlborough and another at Waipahi, in Otago. The late' Mr. Neavo took considerable interest in educational matters. Ho was. a Fellow of Christ's Collego, and was, for maiiy years, a moinbor of the Canterbury Collego Board of Governors and of the govorning body of Lincoln Agricultural College.—Press Association. • \