BRITISH POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1922, Page 5

BRITISH POLITICS.

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY debate. WORK. FOR UNEMPLOYED. BIG SCHEMES PROPOSED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received Dec. 1, 7.30 p.m. London, Nov. 30 The Address-in-Reply debate was resumed in the House of Commons. The deputy-leader of the Labor Party <Mr. J. R. Clynes), in moving the Labor amendment, adversely criticised the Premier’s refusal to meet the unemployed marchers. He urged the necessity for developing foreign trade, together with adequate schemes of public works. Sir C. A. Montagu Barlow (Mini ster of Labor) said that notwithstanding the approach of winter he believed the unemployment curve was slowly and steadily improving. A sum of £109,000,000 had been paid out under the Unemployment Insurance Act, of which £79,000,000 was contributed by the employers and £38,000.000 by the workers. This exploded frhq fiction that the benefit payments were doles coming entirely from the taxpayers’ pockets. He hoped the great new arterial road from Manchester to Liverpool would be put in hand shortly. It is estimated to cost £3,000,000, providing work for 20,000 men. Much labor would be absorbed in other roads throughout the country. Afforestation schemes would employ 2000 and arrears of maintenance and repair work 3500. The Government proposed to renew the Trade Facilities Act for twelve months, increasing the maximum capital in respect of which guarantees would be made to £50,000,000. It was proposed to continue the present arrangements protecting boards of guardians’ finances. Schemes for the development of electric power were estimated to cost £10,000.000.

'Mr. Hastings, in his maiden speech, declared the real remedy for unemployment could be found in a capital levy, on which Sir Alfred Mond later poured ridicule. He made the startling suggestion that employers should be induced to engage workless men as a surplus in normal establishments by permitting a deduction of the amount of the unemployment dole from the trade Union rate of wages, the Government making up the deduction by continuing the dole to all workers so employed. Labarites derided the proposal, but f?ir Alfred Mond raised general cheers later by an appeal for £100,000,000 for Empire development, declaring that we must not look to Europe for a trade recovery but to the Dominions, where two-thirds of the British trade was done before the war.

The debate was adjourned.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Association.