BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 July 1928, Page 3

BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

(British Official Wireless)

RUGBY, July 24. The Prime Minister, in Parliament, dealt with unemployment, especially the* points raised by the report of the Industrial Transference Board. His statement was made in reply to Air Ramsay MacDonald, who moved a resolution deploring the inadequacy of the measures taken by the Government to deal with the tragic national problem of unemployment and generally criticising the policy of the Government.

On that question the Prime Minister said the latest figures of the Board of Trade, showed unemployment mainly in the great staple industries, particularly coal and cotton, hut the general trade of the country had been maintained. They demonstrated that unemployment was serious though it was local and confined. Development in this country was going on and it ought to lie perfectly possible for the growing prosperity of other areas in the South as in the Midlands to afford some relief to the depressed areas. If the changed equilibrium of the more prosperous industries was a fact, then it - should be possible that whenever development was still proceeding from that source, help might he found for places where development had been arrested.

The aim of the unemployment police’ should be first, as far as possible to break up concentrated unemployment, by the absorption of ns many unemployed ns was possible, in areas that were prosperous. That is the view of the Transfer Board and he agreed with it.

With regard to migration, Air Baldwin said it wa.s no case of shifting our unemployment burden to the Dominions, or wishing to transfer men overseas, simply because they were unemployed. What really mattered was the likelihood of the man making good in a new home. The question of migration had to be further thraslied out between this country and the Dominions. The Government wanted to have the fullest and. frankest communications and they saw their way in certain directions for the adoption of a more active policy in migration, both under the Empire Settlement Act and otherwise. In the matter of preliminary training, the experience of the last few years, and reports on overseas training had decided the Government to embark upon a substantial expansion of their policy. Lord Lovat (under-secretary for the Dominions) was going out to Canada, Australia and New Zealand to follow up the discussions already initiated by the Dominions’ secretary. He would discuss fairly and freely with the Dominions all matters which bad been mentioned with regard to the export credits guarantee scheme. Air Baldwin said that would come to the end of next year. In the absence of a further order this certainly was not the time when they could allow any approved assistance of that kind to be dropped. The Government proposed to introduce legislation extending the. scheme for a further two years from September next year. He announced tlie Government would accelerate the execution of portion of their scheme for giving railways relief from local taxation in return for a reduction of freight charges on certain specified traffic witli a view to helping the basic industries. Air AlaoDonald said the Government was doing its* best to lull the country into a state of complacency, but the tremendous unexpected leap of official unemployment figures showed that the problem was threatening to master us The report of the Industrial Transference Board stressed emigration as a remedy, but we should first he most careful that our own country was being developed. (Labour cheers). There were roads to lie constructed, tilums to bo cleared away and other essentials whereby the wealth of the nation might he added to. So far as emigration was concernedVthe report cf tne Transference Board was one of despair. It was the most damning contribution ever made against a Government, and its handling of the unern-

ployment problem. LONDON, July 25. Mr Baldwin, in reference to unemployment, pointed out that the policy of relief work had outlined its use-

fulness, because tlie areas they were considering were not recovering. If unemployment in these districts were spread evenly over the country, the position would be far less serious in London. With an insured population of over two millions, unemployment was only 5 per cent, but it was 23 per cent, in Durham, and 60 per cent, in Leicestershire. He aslced: “Are the more fortunate areas going to put up a barbed wire fence around themselves.’ 1 \

Referring to emigration, and the view of the Transference Board, that there was room in the Dominions for a largo number of men who. were willing to work hard, the Premier said the Government felt that State interven-

tion was gradually turning the idea of courageous adventure into a slow restricted policy of emigration of lal>our. That was not the way the Dominions were built up. Preliminary training centres for colonies proved so satisfactory that the Government had decided on a substantial extension. The women’s training centres are also being extended to the residential centre in East Anglia, where the teaching of the rudiments of agriculture to young men ready to go overseas. A similar school was being opened in Scotland. Overseas farmers who visited East Anglian schools were delighted at the quality of the men. Robert Horne hoped, despite the odious difficulties, that arrangements might he made before long whereby large numbers of those who found it difficult to obtain employment, would be given freer opportunities in a new country. The objection of the Dominions to having our unemployed forced upon them, however, was perfectly

justifiable. Mr AVhentley said every unemployed should he paid his full workshop wages for every day he was out of work. “ I would use the navy to sink every ship which brought sweated goods from abroad. I would apply something stronger than tariffs which only resulted in increasing the prices of goods and profits of the profiteer. I would tax earned incomes over £2,000 to the extent of 20s in the pound, until T set the industry going. I would tax unearned incomes over £I.OOO at 20s I ask the people to make sacrifices foi a double housing subsidy and halve the rents of working class houses.”