TO RELIEVE UNEMPLOYMENT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4503, 11 September 1930, Page 3

TO RELIEVE UNEMPLOYMENT.

lE-OPENING TilK FI;AXMILLS,

REP R ESENTATTVE MEETING

JRGES IMMEDIATE ACTION

With its voluntarily subscribed unemployment relief funds now depleted Foxton now has 112 men out of work. This serious, stale, of affairs was responsible for a specially icon veil4ed mee t ing held on Tuesday attended by representatives of the Foxton Chamber of Commerce, Borough Council, Unemployment .Relief Committee, and Flaxmill Employees Union. -Mr. J. K. Ilornblow ('President of the Foxton Chamber of (Commerce) said the meeting had been convened at 'the request of certain members of the Chamber who were anxious to do something to relieve the serious position that had arisen locally.

Mr. G. F. Smith said the liaxmillers were doing their best to obtain a subsidy from the Government which would ’bring them in £25 per ton for hemp which amount was just enough to cover expenses. He understood that the Government was more or less sympathetic towards the request and a bonus would in all probability be grained in due course but the position was so disastrously bad in Foxton and district to-day that something would have to be done immediately to speed up the opening of the mills. In the event of the bonds being granted to the llaxmillers it would lie at least twelve weeks before it could be put into operation and he suggested that a, deputation should wait on the Minister and advise him of the exact position in this district as a result »f the closing of the mills. The number of men ..at of work and I lie amount of chari-able aid dispensed in Fox lon was convincing evidence of the existing state of affairs/.

The Mayor (Mr. M. E. Perrcau) said Ihal provision was to . be made by the Unemployment Board to be set up by the Government for assisting industries smih n|s the hemp industry and Mr. Linklater had informed the speaker that as soon as funds are available through that. Board the hemp industry will receive assistance. The main trouble was that the Board was not to be set up until after Parliament rose, in six weeks time and it would then be a week or so before the Board could operate and it was not pleasant to think what would happen to Foxton and district in that time. It had been suggested that pending the operation of the Unemployment Board the 'Department of Industries and Commerce handle the £1.00,000 to he allocated for unemployment relief and to give relief to necessitous cases. He was waiting word to proceed to Wellington any day this week as a member of a deputation to put forward this suggestion and he thought that the meeting should take the matter up also. He understood that Mr. P. T. Robinson who had been working with Mr. Greig (N.Z. Flaxinillers’ Association representative) on the subsidy matter, had received encouraging news with regard to the bonus and it appeared that all that remained to be done was to expedite the matter. Something would have to be done .to reliejve the unemployment position that had arisen in Foxton at the earliest possible moment. In his opinion no industry or work was more deserving of assistance than the hemp industry as it employed such a large number of men while indirectly it assisted the railways and export trade generally. He very much regretted the shocking waste of money that had gone on with regard to‘relieving unemployment. It was just sp much digging of holes in order to 611 them iu again and the public generally was getting sick of subscribing to sneb form of relief. Had this money been put into the liemjS industry it would have been far better for. everyone.

The Town Clerk ('Mr. W. Trueman), secretary and treasurer of the local Unemployment Relief Committee, said that there were 53 married men with dependants out of work in Foxton in addition to 49 others comprised of single men and married nuui who had-'been iu constant work until the recent depression who should he able to last a little while longer by strict economy. The committee had given 421 half days work to these men since July and expended the sum of £225. Of the £225, £9O had 'been voluntarily subscribed locally. The funds were now depleted, however, and be did not iknow what the position was going to be when these men asik'ed for bread and they had none to give. Mr. J. K. Ilornblow: How many of those men are ilaxniill employees ? Mr. Trueman: Practically all. •Mr. Christie: The £225 spent by tiiti J.vtjliui' Conirn.ittec is willilt t'll6 local mills would pay out in a fortnight if working. Mr. Trueman: That is so.

Air. Horn blow said that as far as the Hospital (Board was concerned i:t had assisted all it could. 'The Board’s overdraft had only recently been increased to meet the extraordinary position but so great was the deinanjl being made on the Board and the inroads into its funds for unemployment relief (hat it could'not give much more assistance. ‘Shannon was in as bad ! a position as Foxton. Many men were ashamed to ask for assistance. All they wanted was work. Mr. P. IT. liobinson (Secretary to the Manawatu Flaxmill Employees Union) said that six weeks ago, with -Mr. Greig, he had gone to Wellington as a deputation to the Minister on the iiaxmill question. They had received a good hearing and had kept at the matter imtil

Dually the Minister had agreed to a Horn le £100,009 to assist- industries. The trouble now lay in the delay in opera ling the fund. Last week lie had met M.r Linklater, in Palmerston North with Mr. Greig and urged that the Department of Industries and Commerce control the fund until the Board was set up and Mr. Linklater agreed to take the matter up with the Minister that day, and a few hours before the meeting ho bad received the following wire from Mr. Greig who was in Wiellington: “Some hope in getting the Industries Department temporarily act.” Mr. Robinson considered that Shannon and Poxton had received very little relief from the Government whereas out side districts had received large sums and had had men placed on Public Works. It would be much •cheaper for the Government to subsidise, the hemp industry than pay £1 for £l. and sometimes £2 for £l. subsidies, on works which sometimes were not very beneficial. Mr. Christie said that the Act-ing-Prime Minister in conversation wit'll n local resident the other day on Ihc hem]) inditstry question, said Unit lie could no I sec where any great benefit would accrue from subsidising an industry where there was no sale for Ih'o product. The cause of flu* unemployment trouble in N.Z. to-<lny, said Mr. Christie, was due to the people spending too much on luxuries, and generally commodities from a. country which did not reciprocate trade with New Zealand. The Government should take steps to prevent this one-sided trading. Mr. 'Christie said he did not think tilings would right themselves until the country got hack to pre-war prices. Mr. Ilornblow said that fifteen years ago the hemp industry was the sixth most important industry in the country. There had been a marked falling off since then and this must be attributable to sonic specific cause. Mr. Christie suggested that America was not using New Zealand hemp to-day in the same proportion that it was years ago.

Mr. Elwood, who spoke of 21 years’ experience in hemp both in England as a weaver and in New Zealand, said that when engaged in the industry at Home he had not known anything about New Zealand hemp. There was an excellent opening for it in the English hand spinning industry as the, article could be spun equally as well as Russian hemp and was as good if not belter than Bombay hemp.

Mr. M. E. Pervenu said that the main trouble appeared lo he the (Concluded on page 4).