BRITISH UNEMPLOYED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 150, 7 April 1930, Page 5

BRITISH UNEMPLOYED

SUGGESTION FOR REMEDY. INSTALMENT SALE OF GOODS. (United Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, April 4. In the course of a debate on unemployment in the House of Commons, Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, who was Minister for Labour in the late Conservative Government, suggested as a remedial measure that the selling of British goods on the instalment system might be developed l in some European countries. He pointed out that where the instalment system was developed, there was an enormous extension of sales, and in some European markets the system was only in its infancy. He also pointed out that while the price of British goods was sometimes higher than those of their cpmpetitors, British credit was cheaper in this country than abroad. He asked whether this cheapness of credit -could not be used to set off the dearness in price. Mr J. H. Thomas (Minister in charge of Unemployment), said that undoubtedly there were distinct advantages in cheap money, and' he assured Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland that that side of the question was not being ignored.

ASSISTANCE TO INDUSTRY.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE. LONDON, April 4. Referring to a statement made in the Press that a company with a capital of £6,000,000 was being formed under the auspices of the Bank of England to help industry, Mr J. H. Thomas, in the House of Commons, said this was premature. He could, however, inform the House that he was taking steps to implement a speech which lie recently made at Manchester, in which he announced that the financial authorities were co-operating to find the necessary money to assist industries. He Would take the earliest opportunity of taking the country and Parliament into his confidence in what lie believed would be a real development in the relationship of business and finance. Mr Thomas added that he had been urged to cease the publication of figures of those who were out of work, which gave a distorted reflection of affairs, and 1 did this country incalculable harm. He mentioned that under the recent extension of unemployment insurance many people had claimed the benefit who were not entitled to it. They include hundreds of thousands of married women who had not been employed for eight or ten years, and these temporarily swelled the unemployment figures.—British Official Wireless.