PROBLEM IN ENGLAND AND NEW ZEALAND

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21320, 13 November 1934, Page 3

PROBLEM IN ENGLAND AND NEW ZEALAND

CR. J. W. OBSERVATIONS At yesterday's the^ Christchurch Unemployment Committer Cj J. W. Beanland. who returned from a visit to England, *™ !""»»* his impressions of the «nengj»g problem in England as contrasted with New Zealand. c Unemployment in England, £ Beanland said, differed from unem ployment in New Zealand »_ ha* ™ England a man received 18s up to fs 6d a week-a little cases-without domg „any work £* it. The great difficulty was to get something for these men to douo so save them from wandermg about the streets day after day. That was a bigger problem than that of finding the sustenance money. Some men ng.u done nothing for years; others were cultivating allotments and raising vegetables and flowers. In thejwaj period these allotments were taken up and now, with the assistance _;<» societies run on similar lines to the Unemployment Committee, they were being taken up again. In the nortn. of England, particularly in the county of Durham, the colliery owners were assisting by giving land, and the huts, used in war time had been reconditioned. The allotments ranged in area from one-quarter to half an acre. Those who cultivated allotments grew plenty of vegetables for themselves and sold any surplus, and also flowers* Mr W. E. Leadley: Does that affect their dole? Cr. Beanland said that it did not; they got the dole independent of what they made outside. Some of the allotments he saw were really be>utifuL The cultivation of these allotments prevented men from feeling that they were "down and out."

Less Unemployment, Amongst Women. Cr. Beanlahd referred to the unemployment -of women, particularly in hotels, on jobs that at one time were filled by men, as one reason for unemployment. In some of the best hotels in London the staff were composed to the extent of one-half of women. The position as;he saw it was that there was less unemployment amongst women than there was perhaps in any other country. Unemployed men in England lived much more cheaply than in New Zealand, as houses could be rented from 6s 6d to 8s 6d a week. Coal cost 20s a ton, or a little less if a man lived •>

close to a mine and took it away toimself. It was only in the winter that distress was felt to any great extent. School Children Cared For .. In the county of Durham he visited three schools—two primary and one intermediate. At one of the primary schools, in a class of children six or seven years of age, he remarked how well the.children looked, and he had been somewhat astonished to learn that the fathers of two-thirds of the children were out of work. At another school, attended by 500 children, he had been informed that only 13 had been ordered hot milk, or some other nourishing food, by the medical officer. It was surprising to find how well people got on under the dole system in England, but such were the facts as he had seen them. Assistance for Youths" '■'.. Cr. Beanland gave some details of the scheme for assisting youths. He said that- the- children from 14 to 16 years of age paid 2d a week, and their employers paid a similar amount; when the boys and girls reached 18 years of age the boys received 6s a week and the girls 5s a week. In the meantime all unemployed boys and girls who were registered attended classes in which the boys' were taught trades and the girls'domestic duties or other suitable wdrk. Judging by what was happening in the County of Durham, the scheme promised to be a great success. The boys and girls left school, some at, 13 years of age and some at 14, and: if they got no work the classes referred to were, formed to improve them. The classes were not full time classes, but up to a point the boys and girls were under control. Elderly Employees of Local Bodies At the health conference at Bristol he' got in 'touch with" many men on local bodies, and learned from them the working of the insurance scheme whereunder the men contributed ;9d a week and men employers ;a isifcular 1 amount. When a man reached 65 years he received a pension of 10s a week, whether or not he was working. Local bodies were loath to put off men when they reached 65, and these men drew full pay in addition to their pension. Tne position was causing some i concern, and the local bodies were ! con-' sidering whether some arrangement could not be made whereby these" men could work .one day less, so that younger men could be employed. One man had told him that if they could put these elderly men on work for four days a week it would help to absorb some of the unemployed.

The Cost of Living Replying to a question, Cr. Beanland said that round about London the costof living was on a par with the cost in New Zealand; clothing might be a little cheaper, but food was about the same. Outside the big towns in England living was cheaper. Men in a position like that of-relief workers in New Zealand would pay a maximum of 8s 6d a week for rent. As to his general impressions of the dole, Cr. Beanland said that he would not advocate its adoption in New Zealand, because men on the dole were doing no good for themselves or for the country. It was reckoned that a man on an allotment in England could sell produce off his section to the amount of £7 a year. -*■'• Mr F. W. J. Belton, referring to thefigures relating to men out of work in England, said that though from time to time the figures were about the same, they did not refer'.always to the same individuals. Possibly only a small percentage had been out of work for a year. • Mr Leadley, in moving a hearty vote of thanks to Cr. Beanland, said that it appeared that in England they relied chiefly on the dole for the relief of distress. Apparently they were training children to go on the dole. Cr. Beanland said that they were trying all the time to get them out to work. ■ ■ Cr. J. S. Barnett seconded the motion and said that a medical man in Wellington, who paid periodical visits to England, had told him that the provision for medical treatment in schools in England was so far advanced that it was infinitely easier for a poor person in England to get medical attenr tion than for a poor person in New Zealand to get it through the hospital institutions. The Rev. F. T. Read said that it had given him much pleasure to hear Cr. Beanland's references to the school children in England. He could not help thinking how different things had been 50 years ago, when he was a pupil teacher in & school in Lincolnshire. The chairman (Cr. E. H. Andrews) said that the majority in New Zealand still adhered to the belief that it was better that men should be employed rather than have money doled out to them, as in England, provided that the work was useful work arid provided that the system was not made too hard and fast, and provision was made for those unable to do hard manual labour. In the past, work had been provided that in many cases was not of much value. He thought that the authorities now were taking up* a different attitude and believed that ablebodied men should be found useful work at standard rates.

The vote of thanks was accorded by acclamation.