TO FIND WORK.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 550, 3 July 1909, Page 6

TO FIND WORK.

CROWDED MEETING IN THE COUNCIL . ' CHAMBER. A SCHEME ADOPTED. •; COMMIOTEE BEGINS OPEBATIONS. : The Mayor opened .lnet night's meeting on the unempJoym«int question with an apology for the. insufficient, accommodation in tie Council Chamber. The other, halls had been taken for. entertainments.,' The Council. Chamber was densely crowded, and amongst those present were: Messrs/ T. M. ; Wilford,. M.P. (Chairman , of the' Harbour Board). R.' C. Kirk (chairman of the Charitable Aid Board), E. Tregear (Secretary for Labour). W. Poyor (secretary N.Z, Employers' Federation), Hqnl J. Jenkinson, M.L.C., Messrs. Fisher, Luko,; and AVright, M:P.'s, city' councillors, trades union officials, and' a few ladies, and, apparently, a' largo contingent of th© unemployed.'/ .•'■' ■ , ; ' ' '(: ' ' ■'■■' ; Thfl Mayor's Proposals. ' Tho Mayor (Dr. Newman) 'said tie position waa that when he took office,he found that many people were out of-work. He felt sure that the City Council had done' its best to find work v for tho unemployed. But, nevertheless, it was found that the number out of work was ever growing. Bβ had been very loth to call the .meeting, but.be had fonnd that he couW not stave it. off. any longer. Some years/ago the citizens subscribed money which, went to relieyo the distress that was then existent. Many people 'Who woro genuinely,, put of work had' expended their savings, 'and now found themselves faco to face with,destitution. The money .whioh /would be subscribed would have to be handed over to the. Wellington ' and \Wairarapa C.A.'Board, in order that a subsidy of 24e. to the £ could be obtained. Nono of. the monoy should bo, distributed, nnless it was worked . for.' would bo glad to sob the money spent on which was, by the way, his special hobby. That, class of work could be undertaken by" unskilled workers. , How much could be done would' depend on the amount subscribed.! He had received apologies from, among others, the .Eight Eev.' Dr. Wallis, Bishop of Wellington, who pointed out that the clergy of the city had already taken-steps to aUoviato the distress. The Salvation Army authorities had, ho continued,' written offering' to do all that was in their, power to help tho project.' 1 ...

.'..; A Resolution Moved. . • ' Mr. iR.s 0.- Kirk, chairman of the, Charitahle Aid Board, said that the times were bad could not, be denied. The -City Council and Harbour Board; were, in his opinion, doing their'best. , -Hecouldnot.believethat'thesye'tem of subscribing money and!' getting.'; a subsidy had'undermined, the generosity of the people. ..He. was. the. inauguration of'relief'.works on the plan,which.was estabr ■lished some years ago. The, prune duty of a charitable' aid board was not so. much to dispense relief, as to ikeep down the' necessity for it. Ho had always, insisted on a work, testr—sometimes it had been sa'tisfa©-' tory; soineliimesit had not; It was~luß opiflion that works upon, which. the unemployed might be put were those relating to.ibe ponv plotioii of Kclb'nnve and'tie improvomont of the: Victoria .poMege ■. grounds. . A.;.sufEcien.t number, of men who were capable of earning ,Bs. per" day : should bo put on tbxjee? works. •He did not believe, in. pntiiag, say, an work tailor alongside e'narvy on relief woit, It had-conw,to: his knowledge thai consnmptivea, who' v(oro improving in healbh had done very~gobd work at in.'tiie Rcito-'.. ruadistrict. ,;Of-.course, any proposal , in: re-' gard,t9 the expenditure of (the money 'aviilable would hglve to; be submitted to the Gov-©m-ment for approval. V, ; Dr. ..Valintino 'had told ■Mm'.-that any sclieme ofv troe-plaating of a-permanent nature would receive every 'consideration; , , tt, would, in: his opinion, .be better to. pay the. inen by,.the results of; their labours. Helwould,not like to-be in the.same pdsiMori>as 'fhp Mayors—receiving , deputation ■ after deputation .of, people" who: were out-of employment..!He;had much pleasure in moving the first resolutioh,.-;whioK was as follows:-^, : .■■..: : v '; .'y-:"-'/.. ■ '. ■•■ ■•■■v- •''•,■•;. ' _ (a) That -there;is urgent neod to'pro- V: vide work for ■the unemployed. ■ i :; > !' ;(b): All money, subscribed should ■': be"'•:' .. paid OTor to tie Wellington and , - Charitable Aid Board, and expended with * the Government subsidy by. the board in providing employment on some useful public works. , - ■■ ;' ; : ." ; V , ,'■' _ . . Control'of tlip; funds. ; ' Mr.; J,; P. Luke,; ILP.J seconded the sohitipn.!, ] Hβ .would, however, like •to ; see the,. : cqntrol of sthe; funds .by repre' sentatives, of /the generali public, appointed for the pnrposeiVA: committeei of ladies; and gentlemen should be.v set up for the purpose; Speaking .as an .'employer, and : a City Councillor, Mr. Luke said he had;never, seen -bo much distress since 188&-9. Underlying-all' was ..the 4 fact tbat thore were in. tKs-Do-' minion '7881; areas of land; 'lying idle; / He was, not, there to blame , the' Government' ,, bat whilo -large amounts of money wpro spent on other.: things, .and: the land was left unsettled,, unemployment /ensue., , Hβ hoped the tree-planting idea would not be overdone. The making of recreation grounds would be a ■ partionlarly' Valuable worijii' ■; •.'■

;■■' ', the Harbour Board. ; ;. : .Mr:;.X.; % .Wilford, MIP., ■ said V."l doa't think thia scheme/ of: troe-plantingWill ; be worth/anything, at all" '(Hear, 1 hear.) Hβ would" urge ;that oyery local;, body, should' spend every penny.' available on'.publio'. works that were necessary, and that'had been sanctioned by, the ratepayers.: .(Hear,- .hear.) water and drainage ■ works should be: put in hand, by; the' City Council at the moment;i, The .unempkiyikl of today was' the fault of economic conditions, over which the majority of men -had no control. ■ .■■: •■■•.•■ . '':' ;,■.;"■■■• ■;.■■•'.'■ •■;. :■' > - ; ".■, A. voice:. We've got the ballot-box, .'v .-Mr. Wijford added that /for'-.tho last fonr weeks the Harbour' Board -had been trying to get. ready, for.the unemployed, and contracts and other works,' amounting to about £90,000 worth:of, worki , would be.put m> hand ; .as soon as'possible': (Hear; hear.) .Those/ 1 out of, work did not want sympatny or chanty, (Hear, hear.) They wanted work. ! ■He could understand the: line taken by eoine unions,:. VNo work, is better, tHan- half a loaf. If there was not work'enough to employ men full time and pay full wages, let.ttiem pay full wages fir. five days a week in-' steadof ax. (Applause.) T" ■ ■'

: Questions for/Unionists. ■ ■ -•; Ever since he had been a member of Par-' Jaampnt he had yoted for preference to unionists,- but he thought preference in unskilled trades would bring trouble. There were formerly 700 : wharf workers in Now Aea&nd, .but owing -to. times of' depression men from other-trades and from the;country ;po«red into the Waterside Workers' Union to get the benefit .of,the preference. -The.rei" suit wasthat thatunion nowhad 2000 memj' X^ 1 " ,1 '"! derks < actors-iGaughter)— and others. The Mayor, in his new- schome. must guard against:attracting men from beyond.the'city; A/piece-work scale wonldnot oe^ advisable. He would ask the unions, to ■givo.greater facilities for clearances during 1 the present hard times, so as not to stand in the way'of members taking temporary work at other occupations. : (Hear, hear.) Personally; and as chairman of tho Harbour .Board, he was prepared to do all he could for the unemployed. He hoped that withia tho next , seven should hear from 13,000' miles away/that every local body which wanted a loan could get it direct from tho' ohainnan of' the London Stock Exchange, without the usual expenses. That would enable the , , local: bodies to put all sancfaoned works ui/hand.' Hβ, hoped that the Advances to Settlers and Advances to Workers Olficee would.also benefit.in the same. way. (Applause.). : ■'■■■ ■ ■■... " x . .* . / Mr. Fisher's Views, 1 ) Mjy'Fisher/ M.P., "said that he wouH gladly subscribe, to any scheme which would allev;ate.the present distress. What was wanted was that work should be provided at onotS...■; (Applause.) Ho objected to the propo«il that the fund should by/t!he Charitable Aid Board. : ' ■ .■■ ' ' ! /The Mayor': If that is not done, we won't gettho benefit of a'subsidy. , ' , ' ''.. /Mr. Kirk: The board would only nominally control the: fund. It would get assistance /aoin & oomjjuttoo.- , '. ■ \ .'■'■ ••■■.

Mr. Fisher went on to say.that ho .would sow waive his. objection. After the period of distress was over steps should bo taken with a view to preventing a recurrence. Mr. Wilford had suggested that instead of reducing the rate of pay the workers should be omployed say five days a week at full pay. Well, ; he (Air. Fisher), thought that; pooplo out of work should gladly take what they could get. (Cries of "No.")' Now was the time for tbo Labour party to show somo forbearance—to be moderate. ■ A yoke: And the landlords, too. Mr. Fishor: Yesj'l am with you on that point. I hope 1, that representatives'of both tho Labour and the 'moneyed classes will be nominated-to tho committee. •.'.." , ■

Dr. Clbb and Intorruptors. The Rev. Dr. Gibb thought that harm would be done.if political, matters were allowed to be introdncod into the discussion. The object of tho meeting was to discover means of meeting the present distress. Mr. Wilford: xou are a regular old.Boldior. (Laughter.) -..'■. ..-■. .■.;.';■ .•'■■..-■'. ■;.-., ..,•!. ' . Dr. Gibb went on to say that the.meeting would be wisely advised if without further delay-——:'.. ''■ : ' '" - : ■■ ' '. ■■■■■'•. '■■ ;' . Mr. Wilford: '■" It : took np a colkction. (Further laugh'tcr.) : ■,-':...■ ' Dr. Gibb declared that ho would not continue if, the meeting was going to bo turned i into a bears' garden. . Pooplo of all. shades of'political opinion could subscribo to tho I ftmd which it was proposed to establish. (Ap-. plause.) If he might ] venture an opinion— (cries of "Oh I")—he would say that the oommittee should . appeal to tho Christian churches of the city. (A voice: "Rot.") Those who were making • the objections wero probably not.awaro that not long ago a large ram was sent out of the Dominion for the bread fund at Home. A large percentage oft the fund was subscribed by peopk belonging to the Presbyterian Church. .: A voiqo: Let Bomo-practical man speak. The Chairman:;lf -tho interrupter makes any further romarks I.shall have him turned out.,. (Applause.) • -•■■ ■':■':' . ~ Dr.: Gibb concluded by stating! that he felt spre that tioso present were not going the right way to solve the present problem and to provide the requisite,money. . :.. ' Mr. _A. H.; Hindmarsh rooommonded ] ihe Harbour Board to go- in for day labour rather than contract. •: (''Question.") Those' in'idistroSß were entitled to'.be relieved out of tbo ratee, andthereforo the local bodies ehouM not hesitate-to. uso the, rates for works that would provide employment. j.-,. . . ':. The'.Mayor declined' to answer a" question asked by' Mr". E. J., Carey, on the. ground that it had nbthing to the object' of tho meeting. 'fVJe. have had from nearly everybody .but Mr. Kirk and Dr. Gibb a lot of wild. ifroUry talk," continued ' Dr.> Newman,, "I want.cash." (Applause ;and- diesent.) I will give you this warning. ,If this meeting, goes on with this silly talk, it wiUbo a fiasco, and the people outeide will not subecribe.?..:.. ,-.' .:■.•. ~- ',

President of the Trades Council. Mr W Noot, president of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council, Baid that body folly discussed tbo question on tho previous night, and he had boon instructed to support a schomo for the raising of funds, and to Urge on the City Council to pot in hand all worke for which loans had boon sanchonod.\ The Mayor • They are all in hand. Mr Noot: The Northland wator supply ' The Mayor: Men will bo put on next Tuesday. Mr Noot went on to complain that the City Council had selected x the present tamo for a retrenchment scheme.

Tho Mayor: No. Mr. Noot said bo understood that twentyfiw of tho tramway staff had received notice to eput. Ho strongly objected to tho proposal to suspend tho award rato of wages Ihe Arbitration Court awarded, not a living wage, but only enough for a hand-to-mouth existence He did not approve of the second part of tho resolution, and ho thought th« Government would grant the 245. subsidy if tbo funds were controlled by a citizons' committee He did not piece-work or the co-operativd system Tho work should be done by day labour at tho award rato of proposed sbhemo^was , ono of oharrty, and that was noi wanted by tho workers, and should not bo offered them (Applause) ,

Mr. Wright, M.P., said ho was in.favour of any scheme that would bo tho-means of providing work for the unemployed. If the public really knew how many people were genuinely out of work, it worild subscribe bountifully A scheme should first of nil bo devised whoreby thoso out of work should uend m particulars as to how long they had boon in the 1 position, what was then , ? aII E R ;,. and how man y years they had been in Wellington. Upon tho motion being pot, the first 'section was approved unanimously, and the second portion was carried with some dissentients. ' '

* . Subscriptions Beochred. Dr. Newman then statod that he had re-' cotvod a letter which was worth all th© 'speeches that had fieen made. It was from t *?" *»"«*« a cheque for £5, stated that he trusted the offorta which wore berag made wonld be successful. Applanse.) Th ? Mayor, also mentionoda httle later that he had already received ml eenptrons or promises amounting to £80,' independently of what Mr. Trow, had for-

Comtnfttce Appointed. A comTOittoo was appointed, consisting of the Mayor, and Messrs. T. M. Wilford? P md D. MTjaren, M.P.'s, the Hon T W Hialop, Rw. Dr ; Gibb, Messrs. E. 0 Kirk' W. H. Morton,' J. Marobbanke, W Kofc MrG. WO*, Brown's Buildings, Johnsta Stroe*, waa appomtod Boeretary: M Tba Commtttee's Decisions. At a sabsequont meeting of tio committee it iwM to. Mk Sγthree dSJ^S Vfngt, EjA, Noot,.and Fitegcrdld wore api an Erocufavo Committee. It was d£ cried to ask roprwientativo clergymen of the different join com! nuttee It was resolved to open a trust account in tho Union Bank in the Dr Newman and Mr. Kirk. A Ladies' Committee is also to be formed. With a view to getting into touch with the unemployed, tho" oommitteo decided to advertise requesting all those desinng work, and who have not sent in their names to the Trades and Labour Council, or who are not members of that body, to gtvo their names and particulars to tho secrotory. The Mayor consented to wait on tho Government, in order to ascertain whother-tho subsidy of 245: in tho £ would bo paid if the funds did" not go through tho hands of tho Charitable Aid Board Ail tie membert. of tho committee will be supplied with collecting lists, and an active canvass for donations is to bo instituted. Another suggestion that found favour with tho committee was that an entertainmont N sbould bo hold in the Town Hall for the purpose of adding to tho funds.

LAST NHSHrs UNEJMPLOYMENT '..',"; ; ■-/■■.■.•'' - { ;/'MEETING.. .' .; /' -::-, - .. ■ ■', ... . pPo the Kpneu.)'.-.' 'C '■ '. ;: Sir,—Permit me;a.few words of comment on.last night's meeting. 'I said, on tried'to say, ui the course of my brief remarks that the behaviour of a section of the audience would probably divert public sympathy from tho object aimed at by.our oscellent MAyor." It is to bo hopedj: however, that this will not happen. There' are. yerV: many out-of-works in tins city who would condemn!tho tactics of last night's as heartily as lor any decent person would. In ithe course of my duties I como across not a few casos of very genuine distress, but-usaally the sufferers are silent pooplo'. Thoy'do not as a rule seek you out to claim aid.' You have to find them out. The men who aro full of foolish noiso and everlastingly;giving raucous voice to their complaints niay bo workless—m a good many, instances . they are .worthless to boot. Probably much, tho' same thing.is to be said of the hoodlums who did their , best to turn last, night's >mectiug into a bear garden. I trust,' however, that the chantably, disposed among the community may ; not permit, their justifiablo impationco' of domagogues to crush out with the large number of deserving mon*who Are unablo to find employment at-JthexWrft, sent juncture.—l. am, etc.',* ' •■ >..■■..':■.■■-■■'.. ■ ■J.nJjf'.a,";" , . : ' }l:l;;-' ;,"JAMES : GIBB^,",