MONEY IN TREASURY.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1922, Page 4

MONEY IN TREASURY.

LESS THAN IS SUPPOSED. HELPING THE UNEMPLOYED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. A statement concerning the state of the Treasury and the Government’s attitude towards the unemployed was made in the House to-night by the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, in the course of the Budget debate. The Minister emphasised that the early months of the year are the worst from th* revenue point of view, and to-day, so faff from having £7,500,000 in hand, there wtff only £1,750,000 in the Treasury, which would have to be paid out to meet certain charges within the next month or six weeks. At the same time the Government was doing a great deal in the direction in which the Labor amendments went, because the Government was working on temporary investments with certain public departments, such as the Forestry Department, which money was being spent on tree-planting and other forms of public work, and so providing work for the unemployed. The expenditure on public works was far beyond what the country had ever known before, and thousands of men had been given employment. Ministers, especially the Premier, were taking the keenest personal interest in the whole position of the unemployed, and even individual cases were hot neglected, so that it was utterly incorrect to say that the Government was in any way callous regarding the unemployed. Moreover, he contended the whole responsibility did not rest on the Government, and they had passed a Bill authorising local bodies to raise loans for the purpose of providing work for idle men, but no sooner had they done so than they were charged with shovelling their responsibility on to others. He even went further, and thought rich trades unions might very well devote some of their funds to the relief of unemployed. Labor members: They are doing it every day. Mr. Stewart, continuing, said glad to hear that, but he would like to see the returns of such funds, as he had not heard of them before.

Mr. E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) said it was all very well for Ministers to say the Treasury was empty, but the Budget showed there were certain sums in hand, and which were available for expenditure for the benefit of the unemployed. He did not believe in putting men on to unprofitable work, but there was plenty of profitable work to be done, including much necessary improvement to the railways. On the subject of Labor unions contributing to the unemployed funds, he pointed out that while in Britain trades unions had the right to build up funds for charitable purposes, in New Zealand unions were specially prohibited from doing anything of the kind.