THE COMING ELECTIONS AND THE UNEMPLOYED.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9562, 31 October 1896, Page 10

THE COMING ELECTIONS AND THE UNEMPLOYED.

TO Tlir. EDITOR OF THE PRKSS.

Sm, —I think the time hns come when the members of the Surplus Labour League ami others in and around Cliri*fccl»urch should put tlivir wLidom caps ou and :19k the question, what lias tho present Lilieral G'ovorninonw done ftir t'.iem during their' term of pn'f:*. * In answer to that question, ltt lis j;o b-iok som3 five or six ye-ira and try and leinemoop what our ChrHtchut\)li sham LiU»ral» said they would do for us if . Weeted. They w»ie gohtg to jj'--t every man

plenty of work at a good wage; they would try and do their best to get fave or six acres of land for eich family, a cottage ou jt-, a fence round it, and stock it with all sorts of good things, and, if I remember right, one member went so far as to say that if elected he would do his best to "get our homes, which were now mere bowels, or pigstyes, he would convert them intb'liomes of Paradise. Bah! What' rubbish", and yet the working men trusted them, and what is the result? Why, our homes, or so-called homes, are far worse now than they were years ago. We have got no land, or cottage, or work, and our homes are not turned into homes of Paradise. Now, sir, I am bound to praise the bridge that carries mc over. I. mean by tliat, that during the Conservative administration work was found for all deserving cases, both married and single men. The work in most instances was reproductive, the wages were 5s per day for single men, and 4s 6d per day for married men. Passes were issued to each man to take him to his work, and all tools found by the Government. If men were steady they could pay their way— the landlord, the butchers, grocers and bakers got their money—and all honest men were contented. The Conservatives did their duty to the working man while in office, but this starvation Government has done nothing. Now, sir, what did Mr Seddon tell a deputation that waited on him at Warner's Hotel just before the last session of Parliament ? He told the men that as soon as he returned to Wellington he would see that all able-bodied men got work at once. Did he fulfil that promise? Of course not; he never fulfils any promise except it is against the working man, and the sham Liberals of Christchurch and suburbs have followed in his footsteps beautifully. The scales have just fallen from our eyes ; we are only just beginning to see the difference between sham Liberals and true Conservatives. We want men of Mr Lewis's stamp, financially independent men that are true to their convictions; men that will refuse to be led by the nose by Mr Seddon and his party. We have had quite enough of labour members. They have proved a dismal failure. The £20 a month is their god, and the people are their catch-penny. Sir, I contend that we all have a right to live, but that right has been denied ua for the past five or six years. In conclusion, I would, like to say that I have been in this colony twenty-one years, and I never ' knew the want of a day's work until these so-called Liberals took office.—Yours, &c, Surplus Labour.