The Unemployed.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1655, 11 March 1886, Page 4

The Unemployed.

(Per Mail Steamer.)', The Marquis of Salisbury received on February 5 a deputation of unemployed workmen,, who called to urgo unon him ; the .necessity existing 'for Government help. The Marquis told" the men lie • considered the question they presented : more serioiin than that conceniina: Ire- i land. He? however, denounced the ! policy -in vtigue among . foreign Governments of fostering industries by granting bountieß from the Public Treasury, calling it false - political ' economy. H« expressed a hope that the elections of Great- Britain would givo Parliament poweryto influence foreign Governments to abandon such a policy. Concerningthe land question, Lord Salisbury said the proposition to help the poor by furnishing them land to reclaim was impracticable, for the reason that no one would invest capital m the work of reclaiming bad lauds, so long as j.'ood li.ndH of tho country did not pay. In conclusion, the ex-Premier stated that statesmen and Parliament must confront the question of how bust to solvo the problem of relieving the present general distress which was growing while the population was increasing. He would aid to his utmost m the solution of this problem. Tho London Observer of Februarys supports Ihe suggestion of Lord Salisbury that the terrible distress existing among English workmen contains a more urgent appeal to the hearts of English lawmakers than the Irish question. Personal, inquiry m districts lying at the East Entl of 'London shows that an average of 40 per cent of highly skilled workmen are /unemployed . In one street it was found that as high as 90 per cent were idle. The workhouses of the metropolis arc full to overflowing with respectable artisans, who, through the extreme dulness of trade, have been forced, for the first time to sock parish relief. ""■" ■■-■■■■>■■:■■■;