THE LABOUR PARTY.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19972, 5 July 1930, Page 9

THE LABOUR PARTY.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN ENGLAND. PRIME MINISTER'S APOLOGIA. (rROM OUX OWN COBKSSFONDEKT.) LONDON, May 30. Mr. Ramsay Map Donald addressed a crowded meeting of his cpnstituents at Jttorden, Durham, this neck. Among the subjects he touched on was that of uncmnloymont. "The position of the Labour Party to the question of unemployment," he said, "has always been perfectly plain, and that position is this: unemployment can bo dealt with under the present system of society, but it cannot bo cured. Unemployment can only be cured when society is organised in such a way that the producer of wealth will have the first claim on the consumption of wealth.' _ "Since wo came into offico, unemployment hag, taken a totally new character upon it.' Wo have seen the New York collapso—the collapse of the Wall f-.treet market, and such things as the Hatry case. We have had industry - after industry which was over-capitalised breaking, down under, its superlative weight of capital. We .have had political conditions arising in various parts of the world that directly striko at. our markets and^influence our production. We liavft had a tremendous drop in prices all the world over. Unemployment in United States. "When wo came in there was no unemployment in. the United States, laday the figures are' between 5.000,000 and 6,000.000. Is that .because a Labour Government came into oihee, and are our figures, which- have gone up something approaching 500,000. due to the Labour Government. is because of totally new industrial conditions which-havo arisen owing to tho complete collapse almost in world prices, bringing a world crisis _in world production In Japan, America, Australia, Germany, anywhere where there■ are factories and tilled fields, there you will see in that country new economic distress, and I do not care whether it is a free-trade country, a safeguarded country, or: a country protected. or a country, that gives its farmers bounty,-or a country prohibiting' the imports of certain materials' —those countries to-day are show ins tho same signs of economic disturbance as this country, and that is the peculiar feature of unemployment we have to face. . "At the present moment, the great increase in unemployment comes from the industries that depend on foreign markets—cotton, very largely iron and steel and coal aro beginning to suffer afresh, and will probably continue to suffer afresh for some time. 1 hose industries, not on account ot any Government or any Government policy, but because of great world economic disturbance, are swelling the ranks of tho unemployed. , Invitation ■to Other Parties. "People are always-saying to us—and I am not sure whether they say it for political or for sound economic reasons: 'Why does not the Government ask the other 1 artie® to cooperate on unemployment ana other problems?' While the unemployment problem was the same problem as at tho last election, it would not have been fair. The Tory and the Labour Parties each have their own policies, and the only co-operation which Labour and the Tories could have made was the co-operation of honest men making proposals diametrically differ-

ent in order to 6olve the same problem. The conflict of opinion was the only assistance that, could have been given by each Party in, those circumstances. ■ j rr "The prpblem has now changed. under this new aspect—this national and international aspect: of the problem or unemployment—we should simply welcome any amount of that sort of cooperation."