THE UNEMPLOYED.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 547, 30 June 1909, Page 8

THE UNEMPLOYED.

, THE BUSHFELLINC SCHEME. ONLY EXPERTS REQUIRED. Twenty-more : mon left yesterday .'to■ tak .'■: up Kushfelling.work on the Rangitatau Blook near Wartofcara. They comprised four fros ti. Weffifogton, ton from-Auckland, and six fros it: ten .wiil "go' hoa Its: Waiigaum, fivo, from Taihape,,and.five fron >d Marton, on■' Friday/twenty • more will 6dm at monce ■ work'from .all 1 partsof the.. North. Is ji land, and twenty men from Wellington ar.< s j.. Auckland, • in. 'iqual nmtlbers, *aro booked," t( , tako tip tho'axo on Saturday. ■ -v ■.. It is^'stated;that, the , !rawest\:'city.new % chunv coiikl walk to .the , Block from Wait-o fara iin threo'-Tiours, carrying l his .swag. , ,-' papa jroad ,is good for'most of,'the distance '' though- thcre are a fow' stepp places. Thi ip GoVerninent provides.tents; tools, billies, ant id camp-ovens, so that the intending bushmai li lias only to burden, himself with his blanket! n and eating and drinking, utensils.. The tenti e oro pitched, on; ideal,terraces,, , where. there d, is no .chance of their being flooded or meetri;. ing With' .other, misfortune. . Tents,'; six . by 0 eight feet in/size; are ; arrariged"with, : a' : fly heir twoou. - every ta'o tents. Each tent will aee' cOmmodato'six men, that being the nuinbei nof a bushfellmg party.lie tents . are pitched n' ,by the nicii themselves. 1 , : • il J.t is important tonot-efchafc the work is ... only suifcable for experienced- bushmen ; - this .; is impressed on Applicants -by the Labour De- ' partment' before they are sent to. the.-block, if" The - trees grow -on • a number of. srteep ridges, which- would render tho: work too' laborious ii'. for In ?» used to tho bush.\-The. ii. nient .'niakeß.-a deduction from .wages to cnb that tools shall bo restored-in - good con.dition; .on their- safo returii the difference is [- piiulo g00d.,, Mostof the,hush, is .let for fefl- ; '"'S sQ:acre blocks;, and applications have J already been 'received.,for.' larger- oontraots. a' The rate ; of pay averages about 275.-, 6d. per, ... acre,,which;i.s.considered good for- snoli work, j! the;,wea_ther has ; boon very unsettled, )■' being" 1 mostly- papa, the 1 Waitotara and numerous tracks very .quickly.; It- is j, .oxpcctqd .that most of tho bush will be cleared by . October. * . / > MARRIED V. SINCLE. < 1 In The Dominion of yesterday, there • ®PP ca _™ .statem.cnt. made by' the Labour '■ on oof our representatives, to ejfcct that.itnb.Departhient wanted tweiity l ■ married .'ilieri/for" bush work at "Waitotara ~ and could: only ;get^Eeyen.it.Strong. exception' !*; taken, to UiezDopartmoht's statement, by: ... a,,caller. at ; .this"office-yesterday; •'"lt is : a ; ,vqry uiifair. :anil >isleading -statement,'/:- he ;i said. .'I have had. iny name on the books of il .Ihe'Labour, Department, for, over a week, and •a j? be'®. Ei.ven : o--chance..: -I ■am "a-mar-ried ma n 'with a good many years'- experience at trash work.'-.r also laiow of eight other iD»n who .are; qnito : willing ,to go . to. bush ■ work if they can get tho'chance. They have ;. told mo that. ttev ha*o all nut their names .JJV.wJO books ,in .tho Labour JJopartmcnt, and' have not had a chanoo- up to now. In any -.case; j Lean: safely .say that I have called at the office of ; tho- Department nearly every day since Irfirst.put iny name, on their bookß, and have been -told that they have as many t '™® n .'■■oarthey-.«^uld-co^'iwitt,'; i 'which l 'is con- . traiy-; .'■' statement' 'they." niade : fo Jtib Dominion " [We have authority from tho Labour Department,! to," statd-. that'.if:, our "corres- - Pondent's : is as, he states,. work ■wjll be found for. hiin .next .week,]- . i ! .. . LAND FOR CIVIL SERVANTS. : ~ : $omo. of the i retiring Civil, Servants are actively interesting .themselves in'the Governmeiit's. proposal to .settle them on the land, but as to, the practical value of-the Mhemo continue to diCFer.. A,number of, those rcoontry. would "not • suit; so well as partially-improved holdings, wore such : obtainable, but the >ovornmont has apparently no power to Place any,but,.Crown-lands at their:disposal. ihe.-.nTCesMry.reEalations have'.not'yet-been Jg?eot;.MiJn is not likely ■ -that much will bo done by tho Civil Servants among-them ,whorAro;desirous'of settling'oh' tno land.:. , Mr.: W. "C. ; Kensington '. (Under-' .bwretary for Crown ;Lands) explained the sohemo,' to . a . pnvato -meieting of those in- : torested: on : Monday night, and a. committee --was' ; appointed: to obtsiiii', information. '.',rV :v, THE POSITION AT THE HUTT. f Notwithstanding-the: fact ithat iLower. Hutt a quiet, resideriiial suburb, the uuomDlovcd difficulty,is being felt there. , . ' ■ Speaking .to'a Dominion ' reporter, - a local said that *.'d6 question -about .the;want-of "employment.at the 'Hutt, and; tho -position,was'very, aoutbl- -.The.chief., sulleroi-s wcre thoso'in the carpentoring' and allied trades. ,'Ho said- ho could count up'3s or.''4o;carpontors?:Whp. were; out;'of .'work', :atid ;this,\.ofcourse,- affected .-brickiayors,-hangers;;|drain-layers, V:plumbors, . ; -ek A; good -number -of casual labourers; also, wero looking for'work.' >' '[ ■ B. F. IlotilH ell, Methodist minister, gave tlie inquircr a few points, of illtorest' on.the.question.' .Ho. said that 'women | carnt'to' him for work. , Their husbands ; wereI out. .of .emplpyment, and* they prepared Ito work if they ■ could r get it. . They,- were | womenv.whoi-Kad .not ..done, anything : 0 f tho land before, ibut-' seemed to bo anxious for ■work now.' This; ,>he considered, showed• that, the. distress, was very real..Mr. .Rothwell: had recommended a number of these'.women Possible employers, - but ho ./encountered difficulties,.;as-the work, they were ambitious: ~of done' .by:,the regular' washerwomen..' "Wo do help," he added; 5 : it'is', not:, done, in' any,-: organised 'way.' I.havo dono-a .little in the way 'of distribu'i relief 'in form ,of - clothing,-- etc. Some of thoso out of work are from Country, ~ and,. of'. courso, they' complain bitterly of being misled." . v 1 , • Mr. E. P. Bunny, Mayor of Lower Hutt, 1 •said .that;he 'had .not met the-.difficulty in a pronounced : form. . . As- for charitable'-'aid,- at prcsput only one person wasm rcceipt of"' iliat, and.'.at ja, rateiof : £l per weeb. ' gaiding thV'pos'siblb, cessation; of -the Huti drainage Vworks,' , the" Mayor admitted that',' no tl^o. ; position would -bo serious .if suddenly, stopped • 'under., the-present*"system and tho system put-in vogue. "I prefer not. to ox- : press an. opinion at prosont,'! ho added, "but I. do not -. suppose, at - any rate,, that any change .will be made'immediately." , IN THE COUNTRY. '•Tlioro aro . largo' nufnlxsrs of men on tho ' I'oads - in ' tho coiuitry districts -looking. for. work. . Tli6 other day there wore fourteen of these Itravollors' at a Hawke's Bay 'station;. ; Ono man stated' that ho had waikod':right through tho district from Palinorston North via Tatliape,' but could get nothing to do. It : is 'stated,'timb after time, on the^very best authority,' that' casual .work, could be given on many occasions to' really deserving cases, ; ■but,-Tor,:the?fact) that settlers. and residents - aro'afraid'of transgressing some of the. mul- ; titudinous labour: and:, insurance laws. Residerrts doclare that they' would often-give : men on the roads a ohanco of earning something by .digging'ttgarden,.painting a fence, I ohopping:wood t . and. other such; work, but" by • doing so they, w;ould. render themselves liable - for oomiponsation -for slight' accidents, or to " the Arbitration Court for under-paid wages. Tliey ask why should they bo forced to pay ' from 85..-to 14s. per day, when the work,' morely .to relievo,, necessitous, cases, is hot worth-tho . amounts demanded. .

HON. J. A. MILLAR ON THE POSITION.

GOVERNMENT CAN '.'PLACE" 800 v-iV MEN. . - ' V

: (By TiifOßraph.-Pross Association.) ; ' . Clirlstchuroh,. Juno 29. . .Intortfowcd regarding tho unemployed problem, tho Hon. J. A. Millar stated that the,' Kailway Department would bo able to fuid work for somo men," but not for very many? Tlioy bad £250,000 for additions to opon lmos, and this would bo: oxpended on tTio manufacture, of rollinj; / stock> In'all probability, tenders, would be invited for ten locomotives, and'other rolling stock (cirriages'and triicks) . would bo built in tho Govornmont workshops. 1I(V was of opinion that the 1 large ataS ei permanent Hndi, al-

ready employed,, would hp oM<*-to pretty wel overtake the work, bat a -few «'oithe mei Wuo had been retrenched might, be taken. 01 from time to- time a& they were-found places .-0° the subject of unemployment gener ally, Mr. Millar stated that the ■ Government had made provision to place about 800 men but? their experience in Wellington on Mon 3 JW wittt many of the married meni wh< had formerly expressed a desire to go away j declined to .go, as they th< 9°®! bodies going to-start some- work's i to enable them to remain in the city. ' H< \ thought ,that ? «if advantage was taken of th< i. being' offered by the Government . the unomployeiT difficulty would be 'minimised . to a,Very great , , .Referring-.to tho proposal that tho\Government should put'on men {to^clear'the' site in, Worcoster Street 'for the, new Customs . House v and - Departmental Buildings,* the Minister was vory emphatic, in'stating that not Kingof the'sort would'be done. The jot [ would provide employment ' for only"a .foil ■ men,, and'for- a very .short .-tame,', and/- the > Government was not going to ao any uni necessary • work. -- v •. BUSHFELLINC AND BECCING. AND SLEEPING IN THE PARKS. _ , (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) ■ .' , . Auckland, June 29. ■ ,Thcro. are still a number of men out' of work in.Auckland, and tho i localljranch of Labour Department is inundated daily w<ith r applicants for work. Two days have been spent.-in .obtaininc. the- names of une'mpioyed in'order, to' select .a party of about 100 .men, 'who are 'to He -sent, to Gisborne to do bashfelhns in, connectio^;' with' the railway .works. Married, men, , amongst those suited to tlio work, aro being. given : the > ference.' -The selectionwas partially ..com-whien^-the first-batch of men wa.s seiit down to Gisborne. /. The 1 seriousness of, tho position for the, unemployed.'is fully recognised by the Labour Department,' and the officials are losing .'no opportunity . of placing men..Owing to-tlio 'present bad weather, .howover, outdoor' } work is scarce, and the avenues of employment are, , in. any and. likely to be so'=through the' r mntor..'. ;. •• Some of .the unemployed appear to be in particularly,:sore straits,; as. householders, aro. receiving from them with; requests for food and. odd jobs. -In one.or. two instances, the man dnvon to this modo} of living, state > sleeping ; 'out at* night parks,-, and elsewhere. It is felt' '.that. if those, able,, to do so,were tp.jmikd .for "the" wuntry districts obtain employment' but/ amoogst some of: the there seems to' be 'a' arorsion "to leaving tho city.'.' ' /.* ' ..." v'-v. \ j' ■ RATE OF PAY ON RELIEF WORKS. .(By Tolesranh.-Pross Association ) • »_«. i , , ' Maste|,, °ni Juno 29..' Authenticated instances. are reported hero of men. in "permanent "employment resigning ia order to p'rocced to the Stratford ,&ovCTnmcnt relief works, where, it is understood, tho rate of pay ia not less than ten shillings a; day. . \ MEETING: THE POSITION IN CHRIST- I , CHURCH. j i- MUNICIPAL'FUNDS STRAINED. Chrlstchurch, Juno 29. ;■ fho chairman of tho Tramway Board propose- to ..start of. the. extciisionfl, recently authorised,, in,order-.tolfind.work "for .thei. unemployed.. ?The extensions to be put in hand will "be those to "Windmill Boad and Aorth St:, Albans. : Despite, tho facti that ;fflehj'a re being found work 'by .the Department qf: Labour, there still ■ remain many who. are looking for work in or about the, city. Between twenty or thirty of,. : theso formed ..themselves into a deputa* tion, and waited on tho Mayor to»day In reply, the Mayor cited tho decision of the oouncil, arrived at last evening,- to employ one-half of the men for one weok, and tho other half next week;"He added that tiework provided by the oouncil' for the unemployed was involving an expenditure of' £500 ,per .montn above the usual expenditure lhis was apart from tho subsidy-trom tho iiyiQan Marks Trust, and was allowing-for broken time.' During tho past two or threo yoars it had been a struggle for the'council to keep with in its authorised overdraft, and at prceont tho district fund account was .overdrawn, to the- extent -.-of'-£23,887; Last year s rates had amounted to '£45,000," and there, was still three-fourths of tho municipal year to .oome. In addition several other accounts wtjre ovetdrawn,.'and; if debentures in connection with. loans authorised in ..respect to. these accounts ..were not-sold, the-district I fund would have, to be responsible for tho I esponditurb; incurred. when,times improved, liie-'debentures"..would : the'rates authorised,..but, in. the-meantime,-" the..works had to bo finanocd as indicated.

AN ENCLISH SCHEME.

LABOUR EXCHANGES AND INSURANCE ' problom of: unemployment hais boon engaging the.atfohtiW of.-the ■■JB'ritislv'Goyern-•-..which,-has dccided upon a-systom of labour exchanges and -against- un- '. TWGoveroihent's'. proposala' were oxplained by Mr. Winston Churchill on Hay 19 last. ■ Tho wholo country , will be divided into ton divisions, each with. a...divisional clearinghouse presided -over by, a divisional chicf and all co-oramatod with a' national clearinghouse in London.

. Distributed among .these ten . divisions will be; lwtween';-thirty, .and-forty 'first-claSs labour exchanges, in- towns of 100,000' and upwards, second-class ' exchanges inbetween 50,000. and' 100,000: and about 150,."'minor . sub-offices,;. orSthird-class'ex-changes _and ■ waiting-rooms.' The latter . will hexstablished in'smaller.centres.V Tho control of this'system .will ,be exercised by the Beard-of iTradc; but. in .order .to. secure, impartiality. as between capital and■■ labour:-'a;'general advisory committee u ill be established' in every, principal 'centre representatives of . the workers and .ropresontativos/of the employers will meet in equal numbers >under the chairmanship of ;m impartial public official, ■ ■ pr^misMv''^.;j»-' engaged at first, but a' .^building-'programme will be, do-' vised by,which every/year labour exchanges will be built, and in ten years-tho first-class labour, will,-be housed.. Ih6 e_xpen.se of tho system will be considerable, the .ordinary work: being. estimatedat not . less, than- £170,000 a l year, and (luring the .' building, period £200,000.: a year. .... ' In the labour exchange' the trade bojird will hold its meetings,, and the buildings will have rooms ,that;,'can be ..let, to:trade unions at reasonable rent for their .meetings., ■ Tho 'labour., exchanges will offer facilities for washing, :for clothes-mending, and for iion-alcohblic refreshment..". : ' Separate provision will bo made for men and women,' and skillod iand unskilled .labour.- .. Thp Government .desires to associate a system' of' unemployment .insurance with the system of labour,'exchanges. ■■■■•.' ' •'.■■ It ;.is. not * regarded as practicable, to estab-lish-in the/first instance p. universal system of unemployment. insurance,: but tit is intended next year to introduce a Bill oompulsorily applying a scheme of insurance to a group of five trados, including tho general labourers working in those, trades. The trades employ two and a quarter millions of workpeople, and aro,as follow:— (1) Hoiise-buildiug and works of construction.-. - ' j|. , " (2) Engineering, machine, and tool-making. (3) Ship and boat-building. (4) Vohiclos. 1 ■ (5) Sawyers. The scheme is to present four main features:—'-. ; (1) Thero aro to bo contributions from both workpeople^and employers.'--'. (2) Theso contributions are to bo supplemented by a substantial subvention from tho State. - ,y- s -' <3) The system is to bo ono,of insuranoo by trades. ' (4) It will bo compulsory within tho, specified trades upon all, unionists and nonunionists, skilled and unskilled, workmen and employers alike.