IMMEDIATE NEED

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 102, 4 May 1929, Page 10

IMMEDIATE NEED

SUBSIDY FOR WELLINGTON

NOT APPLIED FOE

As an outcome of the meeting held in the Trades Hall yesterday morning, » deputation waited on the Prime Minister (the Eight Hon. Sir Joseph Ward) and the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. E. A. Hansom) in the afternoon to urge tho necessity of taking immediate- steps to relieve the unemployment situation iii the city. All tho local Labour members of Parliament accompanied the deputation, also a number of unemployed men, some of whom gave instances of the hardships they were suffering through inability to obtain work. The principal speakers were Messrs. It. Scruple, M.P (who introduced the deputation), P. Cornwell, and W. Bromley, and attention was drawn to the fact that there were several hundreds of men in Wellington who badly needed work at once if they and their dependants were not to bo caused more distress than they were suffering at present.

One member of the deputation remarked that it was being said that the present Government was doing no more for the unemployed than Mr. Coates had done, although when in Opposition Sir Joseph Ward had called on Mr. Coates to summon Parliament to deal with the problem. Believing that the United Party would do more for the unemployed than Mr. Coates, many workers had voted for it at the election, and now they were very bitter because they were no better off.. "It is being said that what you told Mr. Coates to do you are not doing yourself," remarked the speaker. Sir Joseph: "We are doing a great deal more than ho ever did." MOKE THAN REFORM j GOVERNMENT. In his reply to the deputation, the Prime Minister . gavo his personal assurance that he felt as deeply for the men who were out of work as the men did themselves, and he was as anxious as they to see work made available. It was necessary to remove all imaginary assumptions on that point. Regarding the comparisons made between what the United and Reform Governments had done in the matter, he pointed out that the present Government was finding work for several thousands more men than had ever been employed by any Government at this time of the year. Only the other day he had authorised the putting on of 500 mdn in Christehurch, and wherever representations had been made to the Government it had tried in every instance to absorb the unemployed. The Government knew what irritation was caused because of large numbers of men being out of work. It was quite uiiiu'cessiiry to call Parliament together to discuss the matter, added the Prime Minister. If Parliament were assembled it could not do any more than "ie Government was doing, and ho doubted very much whether very much moru could be added by resolution of the House to the maximum amount of expenditure the Government was now incurring for .the ! Xmrposo of finding work. It was utterly impossible for him to say where the unemployment difficulty was going to end. He wanted to say that, although the Government was anxious in every way to help. As far as Wellington was concerned, Sir Joseph said that the Government had authorised the', prtvijlon of £25,000 so long as the Wellington City Council spent a similar amount. Councillor C. H. Chapman, M.P.: "There has been no application for any of that money from tho- Wellington City Council." The Prime Minister: "I can assure you that they have it in writing from me. The Mayor knows the position perfectly well because 1 mentioned it to him as well as having written." If the City Council would take the £25,000 available for it the whole of the 500 men could be put on. "COUNCIL TOO DILATORY." Councillor E. M'Kcen, M.P.: "Tho council are quite well aware of it, but they arc too dilatory to get out of their own way." Mr. W. Nash (general secretary of the Labour Party): "Has any portion of that £25,000 been paid over?" Sir Joseph Ward: "TN'o; so far they have not applied for any of it." The Prime Minister said that if within the next six months tho council spent £50,000 on works other than maintenance tho Government would find half of the amount. Tho Government could not be responsible for maintenance, as it was not allowed by law to carry on works within tho boundaries of the cities. As far as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin wero concerned, the Government was not holding back. "I will speak to the Mayor on the telephone to-night, and ask him to try to get some of these works under way so as to absorb the local men," added Sir Joseph. "As far as we are concerned our money is there ready for him."

Mr. P. Frascr, M.P., said that the Mayor stated when waited on a week ago that the amount would not absorb more than 150 men. "We arc at outwits' end," said Mr. Fraser. "These men are without food and we don't linow what to do." MONEY MUST NOT BE ANCHORED. Sir Joseph said that if the Wellington City Council did not want the £25,000 it should'say so. (Hear, hear.) The money could then be allocated somewhere else. Tho Government itself wanted to prosecute certain railway lines, and make provision for all the unemployed so long as if. was done legitimately, but if the £25,000 was to bo anchored in Wellington it was not going to do much good to anybody. He would try to get an assurance from the Mayor that tho City Council was going to expend it. When men were out of employment the matter should bo taken in hand with some -vigour. Mr. Bromley: "Can you put a time limit on?" Sir Joseph Ward: "I hesitate to put on a time limit when trying to help." Mr. Bromley: "These men maystarve in the meantime." Sir Joseph replied that the money would have to be diverted elsewhere if Wellington was not going to use it. ' . In reply to Councillor B. Semple, I M.P., the Prime Minister said that 100 men could be put on to railway works in the South Island. Without wishing to discuss the merits of the decision, Mr. Semplo said it was a fact that the stopping of the Rotorua-Taupo lino and the Palmerston North deviation had aggravated the position generally. Sir Joseph Ward: "We have to abide by that decision." About 400 of tho men affected had been' absorbed on other .lines. A note was handed to the Prime Minister by Mr. Hansom, which stated that the Wellington City Council said it had taken on 88 men, but would require another 150 shortly. It was agreed that the Prime Minister should arrange for the Mayor and some of the Corporation engineers to confer with him and representatives of the deputation that night to sec what works could bo started in the city without delay. Mr. Semplo thanked the Prime Minister for the very sympathetic and cour-

teous way in which he bad met the deputation. The problem was of national magnitude, but they would help tho Government in trying to solve it.