The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1883. THE UNEMPLOYED AND IMMIGRATION.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1127, 19 December 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1883. THE UNEMPLOYED AND IMMIGRATION.

The “unemployed” cry has gone up from the South., Island. Instead of being raised at the usual time, the middle of winter, it has been raised at midsummer. Prom which circumstance it may be inferred !hat the great centres of the South Island,.whei;e the .unemployed do congregate, are in a very .bad Way indeed. Dunedin led off, as it generally, does when the Government lemon can be squeezed with advantage to Otago. And somehow they manage the business pretty welh When they git a Minister down there, they give him n« rest. Deputations by the dozen wait upon him, each with two or three different requests, which they impress upon him in forcible style, and mostly with successful results. When, however, they have the “ unemployed ” question on hand, Dunedin people show to best advantage. Then they are briipful of the wrongs of the people, the robberies perpetrated upon Otago, and the wicked, lavish expenditure in the North Island, Taranaki in particular. Well, they have had the new Public Works Minister among them lately, and like canny folk that they are, they made much of him. They seized upon the opportunity of introducing the Central railway to his notice, and urged him to pash the work on. Mr Mitcbelson

said he did not approve of making railways hy day labour, and his policy •would'be,to finish the line as quickly as possible. This no doubt pleased bis, hearers withoutcommitting the Minister/ He probably felt sure that the money for. making the Otago Central would not be forthcoming during his term of office at any. rate, and therefore there would not, be mucluffiarm in promising to do what' he .could to complete the work. It is our firm belief that the completion of the Otago Central would bo a very bad thing for Dunedin. And moreover we believe tha.Dunedin people see it, only they don’t like to say so. Just think what a capital standby to the city it is in d ulltimes. When the “ unemployed” assume dimensions that require something to be done for them, the Otago Central is always put for-| ward- hs a ; suitable and i profitable means of employment. —lt does not make any difference that two royal commissions have reported upon this line and recommended that it should be discontinued; Otago influence rises superior to royal commissions, and Government weakly gives way. Even Parliament consented last session to vote some £70,000 or £BO,OOO-towards the line,, which,; by the way, is being constructed in such dis-! /jointed sections," that a lot of money will have to be expended before there is any practical result from the sum already; sunk. But perhaps there may be a reason for this. It might not answer the purpose of Dunedin to have a few miles constructed straight out and opened for traffic. The patronage it would receive would probably bo ft quencher towards extending the line any further. So, instead,.o patch is formed' here and there, and the excuse is always ready that more money must be spent, so that what has already been done may not be altogether wasted. Truly the Otago Central is a godsend to Dunedin in bad times. Of course Otago unemployed, having been provided for, Canterbury unemployed must also be looked after. They have had a meeting at Christchurch and counted heads there. It is staled in the papers that some hundreds of able-bodied men cannot earn a crust solely through their inability to find work. It was hinted at the meeting that as the men must live, Government must find them something to do, and failing that, they—to put it mildly—did not intend to starve. Some of the Canterbury M.H. R’s attended the meeting and talked the. usual amount of sympathetic nonsense which was duly applauded. The Public Works Minister was, however, at hand, and an interview with him ended in a promise to put the Canterbury men on as good footing as the Otago unfortunates. And, as Mr Mitchclsou is so accommodating, would it not be worth while to invite him up here. We have an “unemployed” grievance in connection with the Manawapou contract just now, and if we conld only lay hands on the P. W.M. he might be able to settle the difficulty off hand and put the works in a fair way of being started again. But after all, is it not distressing to hear this “ unemployed ” cry in the colony at this season of the year, and at a time, moreover, when active immigration is adding rapidly to the population. With regard to female immigration we have no objection to offer. Servants of the right sort are difficult enough to get in : the colony, and the ease with which each fresh batch of arrivals is, absorbed is sufficient evidence of the demand. But the case of male immigrants is different. The labour market is already overstocked, and it seems the height of folly to introduce men here at considerable cost, only to find that there is nothing for them to do; and as a consequence to see them leave for another colony, as many .have done during the last few months; The result of further overcrowding the labour market will be that we shall lose some of the best of outworking men colonists; those who have saved a little money and are thus in a position to take their departure. Those who remain behind will do so more from necessity than choice, simply because they have not the means of leaving, and the “unemployed” evil will thus be intensified. It really is time that people throughout the colony spoke their mind about the immigration business, and endeavoured to stop it. As far as we can the only good purpose that is being served is to freight the direct steamers, and that little amusement is too costly in the present dull times.