THE UNEMPLOYED.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 32, 8 February 1928, Page 6

THE UNEMPLOYED.

General satisfaction will be felt throughout the Dominion at the statement issued yesterday by the Prime Minister regarding the unemployed. We believe with Mr. Coates that New Zealand is now suffering largely from the effects of world-wide financial and economic movements which are not directly within our oAvn control. But this does not exonerate the Government from the responsibility that it has assumed by pouring thousands of immigiants into an already crowded labour market; and in any case the State in a democratic countiy must accept responsibility for legislation and administration best calculated to promote the public welfare. The first step should be to form an approximately correct estimate of the number of unemployed, and the Government is now making arrangements for the registration of all unemployed at the Government bureau. Nothing of practical value can be done till the dimensions of the problem are more accurately fixed. Differences •if opinion as to the number of unemployed are clearly a serious obstacle to any effective scheme for relief. When this difficulty is got over, the Government will be prepared to act, and Mr. Coates tells us that his programme will be indicated "as soon as we are in a position to state the extent of the co-ordinated effort for assistance." We trust that this will not mean any great delay, for this effort has been far too long postponed,, and is now a matter of quite desperate urgency.