WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 September 1921, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

UNEMPLOYMENT. Government and labor ALLIANCE. ' (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Sept. I*2. Others than the Acting Prime Minister are disappointed by the attitude of I the deputation from the Alliance of Labor which waited upon him and his colleagues on Saturday to urge that more adequate measures -should be taken by the Government for the relief of the unemployed. Most of the people who have given any serious thought to the matter feel indeed that the members of the deputation instead of winning a larger measure of sympathy for the “out-of-works” have created an impression in many quarters that 'the trouble is neither so widespread nor so I acute as those acquainted with the facts 1 know it to be. They simply laid the trouble to the charge of the Government J —to its legislation and administration—- ! and demanded that every idle hand I should be given useful employment or |an unemployed wage. There were many ways of raising the money, the presiI dent of the Alliance said, the Qovern- | ment might levy a betterment tax upon j those benefited by the construction of new railways, for instance, or it might open a State bank and secure some of the great profits now going to private individuals. THE MINISTER IN REPLY. Sir Francis Bell, to do him justice, was very patient in his reply to the demands of the deputation. He is of the old school of politics, not sharing, it is ' safe to say, some o-f his absent chief’s progressive views, but he readily admitted the right of the Alliance to offer advice to the Government and to critic- ' ise its methods. But the business in 1 hand at the moment was to provide j additional relief for the unemployed and | towards this end the deputation had 1 given Ministers not the slightest assist- | ance. The betterment principle and the State bank were questions for Parliament, which might be very properly discussed by members, but personally he did not "think the time opportune for levying additional taxation on the peo- ( pie or for making any nearer approach to a State bank than the country had at present. The Government was doing everything it; could with the means at disposal to prevent unemployment and to alleviate the condition of the unemployed. He hoped that when Mr. Massey returned he would be able, as a • member of the deputation suggested he would be, to do more. RACING AND GAMBLING. Though the general opinion here still is that the report of the Racing Commission will fare badly at the hands of Parliament, its opponent are not so confident of its summary dismissal as they were a few weeks ago. It appears to ho less probable now than it did then that the anti-racing people will join with the disgruntled racing clubs and their friends in compassing its rejection. It is understood that Mr. Leonard Isitt, the member for Christchurch North, influenced by the admirable principles laid 1 down by the commissioners in framing . their recommnedations, is definitely on the side of the report and that other votes in the House will follow his lead. Then the representations made by the Auckland country racing clubs, accompanied by a very logical appeal from the president of their Association, are carrying considerable weight and bringing many doubters within the fold. Finally there is a growing feeling among people who are r,ot si(^eß in matter that the Commission had much better opportunities to look impartially into the merits of the situation than , Parliament will have.