RELIEF WORKS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 August 1932, Page 5

RELIEF WORKS

THE NEW SCHEME

FOR GROWING OF VEGETABLES.

(Per Press Association — Copyright.)

CHRISTCHURCH, August 17

Unemployed who are not cultivating their land are to be refused relief .work, according to an announcement made at a meeting of the Unemployment! Vegetable Growing Committee yes-, terday by Mr R. T. Bailey, officer in' charge of the Lbaour Department. When these statements were made Mr H. Kitson asked who was to be the judgo as to whether a man was at- : tempting to cultivate his land. ‘‘We are going to be the judges as: to whether a man is making reasonable use ..of his land,” replied Mr Bailey.

“Is the Labour/Department going to undertake the growing of vegetables, and are we going to be one of these useless committees P” asked Mr Kitson. “We’ve got too many of these useless committees in Christchurch as it is.” : , ■< . Mr Bailey explained that the Labour Department was looking to the committee to supply the men with seeds and advice.

“It boils down to this then,” said Mr Kitson, “we’ve q;ot to go round and get seeds and relieve the Government of itß responsibility. M Mr Bailey: You’re not relieving the Government, . >

Mr Kitson said that whichever way the subject was looked at, it came back to the fact that the Labour Department would control everything. What he wanted to know was where the committee stood in the,, matter: :

The chan-man pointed out that the committee did not wish to compel men to grow vegetables. That was the work of the Labour Department. Later in the meeting Mr P. R. Climie, a member of the Unemployment Board,’ said, that it was the clear duty of the Labour Department to deal with any difficulties that might crop up. It had been made a hard and fast rule that the unemployed should grow vegetables and make an effort to help themselves. The. hoard knew of men who had land available and would not cultivate it, hut who went to . the relief depots for vegetables. There was no doubt that there were, occasions when the rule could not he rigidly enforced and that was where the committee , could assist by finding suitable ground.

SCHEME “MOST RIDICULOUS.” UNION SECRETARY’S CRITICISM. CHRISTCHURCH, August 17. A suggestion that the Unemployment Board was exceeding its powers in insisting on the unemployed growing vegetables before they qualify for relief work, was advanced this morning by a trade union secretary. < ‘The scheme to compel men to grow vegetables before they can get relief is most ridiculous,” he said. ‘‘There is nothing in the Unemployment Act to say that a man must grow vegetables before he qualifies for relief, and it appears that the board is taking a little more authority to themselves than the Act actually allows them.” The secretary further commented on the futility of men growing vegetables on property from which they were liable to be evicted owing to inability to pay rent, and added that the officers of the Labour Department would be far better employed if Jbey saw that the unemployed were usefully employed instead of “snooping round back yards to see if they had a few onions and carrots growing.”