MR R. THOMPSON, M.H.R. ON THE AUCKLAND UNEMPLOYED.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 404, 21 September 1889, Page 5

MR R. THOMPSON, M.H.R. ON THE AUCKLAND UNEMPLOYED.

The following is the Hansard report of the speech delivered in the House of Representatives by Mr R. Thompson, member for Marsdon, during the debate on Mr Moss's motion relative to the depression in the colony and the exodus of population, and which the Knights of Labour have invited Mr Thompson to defend atfa public meeting convened under their auspices : — Mr R. Thompson asked if this discussion was likely to find work for the unemployed or to reduce taxation. He would like to know in what way they were going to benefit by it. He regretted that certain Auckland city members were continually crying out in the House about depression. As far as he knew, there was not the slightest necessity ior it. He had lived in the Auckland province for over twenty years, and only seventy miles .from Auckland, and he could tell the House and the city members chat there was no such thing as depression in his district, and that in the province of Auckland there was employment for any man who was not too lazy to work. He was ashamed of those honourable gentlemen. There were a large number of men in Auckland who would not work for an honest living, and who lived by agitation. He knew by experience for the last two or three years that there were some who would do anything but work ; but to hear some honourable gentlemen talk one would think that the country ivas going to the dogs headlong And no one in the House had attempted to show how these people were to get employment. Did they want the GoI vernment to borrow money to employ them ? — because he couldassurehonourable gentlemen that these men would sooner stop in Auckland and starve than go into the country and work. Settlement in the colony had never before been progressing so rapidly or do successfully as at the present time ; there were more bona fide settlers settling on the lands during the last twelve or eighteen months than had been the case during the previous seven years. There was no such thing as depression. Settlers were grumbling that they were not getting sufficient prices for their stock, but all this wus passing away. He never saw such a thing as anyone unemployed in his district. There was no necessity for any man to loaf about and go without food and clothing and good living, if he would only work. He regretted this cry by the city members for the sake of gaining a libtlepopularity among their constituents. It was very fashionable for some men to be always bidding for popularity with anything that would go clown. A year ago they had the cry in the House of " the working man." Now, they had heard nothing of that this year ; it had given place toanother cry. This was merely a political cry to attempt to gain popularity — there was no foundation for it in fact. Ifa was quite evident that there were a large number of people in the colony who would not go on the lands or become settlers j they had been accustomed to a town life, and, no matter what inducement was offered, they would not go on the lands, but preferred to hang about in the streets and halfstarve. The sooner that class of people left the colony the better, for they were* of no earthly use to the celony. We were not prepared to find money to keep them loafing about ; if they would not go into the country and woik, by all means let them go. But he was satisfied from what he knew that there was not a working-man in the Province of Auckland prepared to take oIT his coat and earn an honest living who could nob do so. He trusted that the city members would find some other means of keeping themselves before the eyes of their constituents, instead of continually harping on this cry, simply for the purpose of gaining a little spurious popularity.