The Press Friday, July 18, 1930. The Unemployment Bill.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19983, 18 July 1930, Page 10

The Press Friday, July 18, 1930. The Unemployment Bill.

The Unemployment Bill with which the Government begins its major legislation takes after its foolish parent, the second part of the Unemployment Ctmmittee's Report. Though sharply and widely criticised when it was first issued, this document did not receive sufficiently long and close attention and its dangers were not seriously enough opposed, because, as a Report and nothing more, it appeared like an instrument which nobody would be reckless enough to put into use. This was a regrettable miscalculation. The Report was dangerous in itself, and seven times dangerous because there is a weak and inept Government in office, whieh has aggravated the problem of unemployment by its own bad measures, dare not leave the ill to cure itself, which would at least be better than to apply further aggravating remedies, and dare not say and do what must be said and done to stimulate employment. It ought not to have been assumed that such a Government, in such a position, was likely to reject a Report which did not require it to correct a single one of its own errors or to take a single step more difficult than that of raising an enormous sum of money to spend, which shifted the main responsibility of action to a Board, and which, by its worst defects, commanded the support of the labour Party. The Bill is, thus a mischievous consequence of a mischievous situation, and it will probably have to be endured until the situation itself can be changed; for, although the Minister in charge ingratiatingly told the House that he wants everybody to, help in making it "perfect," the measure is evil in principle and there is no way of reconciling it with sanity. The evil is that it dissociates cause and effect. It engages to remove unemployment, and yet does not aim even the gentlest tap at any of the causes of unemployment. It does not so much as glance at them, but sets out with elaborate futility to overcome their effects. What it proposes does the minimum, immediate harm of increasing taxation by £600,000 a year, and more, according to the extent of the State's subsidy. The further harm it will do will depend partly on the nature of the channels through which the Unemployment Board pours the money put again; but it would be rash optimism to expect that the Board will spend its income so charily and prudently, in relation to the circumstances, as to keep the harm at or near the minimum. If the Board carries out the instructions of the Bill, if it spends its money in various attempts to create employment, while it cannot do anything arid thi? Government will not do anything to make labour more profitable to employ, then unemployment will be the only expanding industry in the country; and it will expand as lppg as thjs. or any other Government is extravagant enough to provide, for it- The only kind of Unemployment Bill that the Dominion needs is one, not to provide for unemployment, hut to knock down costs, as it, could do, very largely and quite simply, by knocking Qitf of the way the mass of stupid legislation that hold's them up, In the present Bill they are given another prop.

The Defence Act. It would bp foolish, until the news has been officially confirmed, to assume that the changes which the Government proposes to p»ake in the Defence Act are now fullv known. There can be little doubt, however, that the essentials are lenwn, ajd that Parliament will approve of mosj of the proposed economies. It will approve also of the suspension of training «for the '* present," and will probably accept the suspension for twelve months of the compulsory clause as a convenient compromise in a difficult situation. It js to be hoped, however, that when the Minister brings down his proposal he will say precisely what policy lies ber bind them. If the international situation is the same m twelve months as it is now, the compulsory elapse will have to be looted at again, and it is the duty of the Government to say now how far ahead it is looking. Laws which are not enforced are better repealed, and if the Government be T lieves, not merely that universal m:li« tary training costs too much, but that }t is unnecessary, and out of harmony with the spirit of our times, the Minis* ter should make a definite statement to that effect, if only to simplify the issue and compel people to think. The important consideration is that Parliament should know what the Govern* )nent intends and the public what Parliament thinfes. For although the necessity of the moment is economy, the question which everybody ought to be asking, since it will remain when our financial difficulties have passed, is how far we may de-militarise our defence policy without running into, danger, It j is incongruous that bo big an issue has been provoked by so small a ruling Party and so feeble a Government, but the facts have to be accepted as they are. If they are also, on the Government's side, presented as they are, there can be no objection to some delay in the preparation of the amending legislation.

Trade With Cnti»4«

A correspondent whose letter appears in Tub Press to-day over the signature "JtuJe Britannia'' expresses an opinion wjtb which, in substance, most people will probably agree, m thinks that the Dominion should extend special preference to Canadian and British motor vehicles by imposing a heavy surtax on foreign ones. The diversion of our trade to Canada, in particular, he says, " should be a "valuable bargaining point . . , "in the n«w, taril agreement, and

"possibly secure us an abatement of " the proposed increased duties upon "our dairy produce." From this point of view the argument is well worth considering, and the Government •will be unwise not to consider it. New Zealand stands to lose heavily if the Canadian tariff is fixed at the proposed increase; and, although New Zealand already treats Canada much more generously in preferences than Canada treats New Zealand, the possibility of averting or reducing that loss by giving further advantage to motor manufacturers cannot be ignored. The question whether New Zealand can afford to do without motor vehicles from other sources, or to pay more for them, is of course for expert judgment to decide, and it will be a great mistake and probably a costly one to let the politicians decide it, unassisted. The last thing to be desired is that the Dominion should rush into a preference agreement, without being sure that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, merely to "retaliate" against the United States. It is not "retaliation" to shoot peas at a rhinoceros.