THE WORKLESS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 335, 23 October 1908, Page 7

THE WORKLESS.

REPORTED DIVISION IN THE CABINET WORKS IN LONDON. AN EXPENDITURE OF £281,000. (DT TILEOBArH—ritKSS ASSOCIATION—COVTRIOItt.I London, October 21. "The Times" declares that tho Cabinet is divided on tho question of whether tho remedy 'for unemployment shall be legislative or administrative. The London County Council has authorised tho carrying out .of work which will absorb the unemployed. The work will involve the expenditure of a sum of £281,000 for electrification of the trams. The council negatived a scheme put forward by Captain Hemphill, Deputy Chairman, to expend a million pounds on electrical traction and street-widening. Mr. John Bums, President of the Local Government Board, asked tho council to facilitate useful schemes for winter work. STATEMENT BY MR. ASQUITH. TEMPORARY RELIEF. BIG SCHEME OF WORKS: ANODYNES ONLY. \ (Rec. October 22, 10 p.m.) London, October 22. In the House of Commons, before a packod House, Mr. Asquith, Primo Minister, delivorod his promised statement. He stated that tho Government intended to make a boginning next session to deal in a permanent way with the causes and conditions of unemployment. Ho admitted that a grave situation. had arisen, necessitating direct and immediate treatment. This temporary dislocation of tho machinery of production had occurred throughout tho world, not merely in tho United Kingdom. He admitted that unemployment was substantially in excess of anything that had been experienced for somo time. I'. Mr. Asquith declared that Mr. John Burns (President of tho Local Government Board) had worked night and day to provide relief. Between Juno and October tho Local Government Board had sanctioned loans for local works of utility to the extent of £4,388,000, this amount being much in excess of the average. Other heavy loans wero likely to bo sanctioned, and works were being accelorated in the Metropolis and in tho largo provincial centres. The Metropolitan Water Board intended to construct a reservoir at a cost of £520,000. Tho Government did not. intend to authoriso tho local authorities to levy a penny relief vote. The municipalities had not sought that power, but had advised the Government to deal with the emergency on national lines. In any case, the expenditure in loans would be tenfold what was possible under rates. The Post Office intended to employ 8000 extra employees at Christmas; tho War Oliice would take 2-1,000 recruits for the Special Reserve, at a cost of £200,000; during the winter 2100 men would bo engaged in the Government dockyards on repair work; tenders had already been accopted for new destroyors, costing nine millions; and tenders would shortly bo accepted for five unarmoured cruisers at a cost of ono and a half millions. All this navy work would.be oommencod six weeks in advance of tho usual timo. • The expenditure out of tho Central Unemployed Fund would bo at least £300,000, and would bo mado under more elastic and liberal provisions than had been observed in tho past. These proposals of tho Government mado no pretenco at finality. They were merely anodynes, affording temporary reliof. Tho statement was received with loud cheers. Tho proposals will bo debated on Monday. The Metropolitan Water Board, founded! in 1002, took over tho undertakings 6f the eight metropolitan water companies. Its capital debt on March 31 was The Central Unemployed Committee for London was constituted to superintend Mid co-ordin-ate the action of the local Distress Committees in the City of London ami the Metropolitan Boroughs, to collect information, and to establish, take over, or .assist labcur bureaux or employment exchanges. It. controls a . central fund, consisting of (1) voluntary contributions, (2) a rate of not more than Id. (or with consent of the Local Government Board, Id.) levied on tho Metropolitan Boroughs. When all the London County Cbuncil tramways are eleotrified, the council'will llavo 123 D cars for its 117 miles of tramways.