WORK WANTED.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 7, 8 July 1909, Page 3

WORK WANTED.

MEETING OF LADIES. COMMITTEE FORMED TO RAISE FUNDS. A meeting of ladies, convened by tho Mayoress (Mrs. Newman), was held at the Municipal Concert Chamber yesterday afternoon to consid-ar the question of raising funds to assist the unemployed. There were about thirty ladies present. Mrs. Newman, in opening the proceedings, expressed ro^rst at the small attendance. Every one, shi c?id, Knew that there were many cases of genuine distress, and each society formed for charitable objects had experienced a great strain en its funds. The object of the meeting was to collect money to assist to pay for work to be done by the corporation. They were not there to give charity, but to enable the men out of work to earn a living. Those who were out of work, and .vanted work, would come forward if the work was provided. Miss Maltby had offered some time ago to give a performance for some chantable object, but it had since been arranged that it should be given on behalf of the unemployed fund. Mrs. Newpian also said that tickets would be provided to enable collectors to get in small subscriptions from people who did not care about seeing their names on published lists. Mrs. J. P. Luke moved — "That it ie desirable to raise funds to relievD the distress in Wellington, and that .•». rcr.imittee be formed for, that purport;." The motion was seconded by Mrs. A. R. Atkirson. She thought this would be a good time to consider how the distress came to be so great. There -should bo a scheme' of insurance :> gainst unomployment, and if lessons i-t thrift were given in public schools it vctild go a long way towards prevent"-"*; the occurrence of such crises. Such "'pi-nrs were given in jna.rty parts of the Uvi£*>J States, and -with good effect. But ; >.<^ present necessity was to relieve tho ;.<vmodiate wants of the sufferer*, 'iyj.v pathy and charity were essentials 2m dealing with such a crisis, and i-> fiifii gest that they were not wanted 1 y.p-; to t approach tho subject in a wrong spirit. I They should try to raise a wave of kindly feeling, so r^ to_ ensure the success of the scheme. *'Trs. Atkinson also ureerl that a g^od !de». would be to appoint lady collectors to make a house-to-house canvass, so as to bring in the- sifts of those who could only give a littlD. As *to the wages question, sli" said she thought the pay ought to have some bearing on the quantity of the wot Id! done.^ To pay more than the work was worth" was an immorality that they should not countenance. These works were being ilone out of money given purely out of sympathy and brotherly love, and it was not' right in such a case that they should pay a "fancy ' rale of wagos. Miss Foley suggested that a social evening should be arranged at Victoria Hall. She promised to sell enough 1 tickets to pay for the cost of the hall. Mis 3 Vare said she also would be pleased to assist in getting up an entertainment. The motion was then put to the meeting and carried. i The Mayor also addressed the meeting, remarking on the amount of distress in the city and the necessity for relieving it. He had about £200 in hand, which would be subsidised by the Government to the extent of £ for £>, and expended on works at Victoria College. They wanted at least £1000 or £1500, so that they might spend about £3000, because they wanted to employ a large number of men. There were, he added, a large number of | people willing to give, and they wanted a number of collectors to canvass the district. So far he thought the money had come in very well, and lie had some others promised. They must remember that every shilling they got in meant two shillings expenditure. Those present formed themselves into a committee. Mrs. F. M. B. Fisher consented to act as secretary, and the meeting^ then entered into the discassixi of details as to the best means of raising money. WORK SCARCE IN THE COUNTRY. "Why don't men go up country, where- work is plentiful?" is a query that is being put in some quarters just now, whenever the matter of the widespread unemployment that exists in Wellington ia raised. At one time Ihe question was pertinent enough, and the best reply that could be made to it by the unemployed who were unwilling to go away was that temporary wo,rk, away from the city, was profitless to the man who had to maintain himself in the country and a wife and family in Wellington. Advices from what are regarded as reliable authorities say that there is no work in the country districts just now, and that labourers will be well advised to stay away till the springtime. In previous years the complaints about the difficulty in finding sufficient labour in tho country got into print witlu unfailing persistence, but there has been little or nothing of the \ kind this year, and certainly nothing during the last throe months. The present state of the labour market is abnormally weak both in country and city. Confirmation of the general idea set out in the foregoing paragraph was made I by Dr. Newman, Mayor of the city, in conversation with a Post reporter this morning, and it is a fact that he has I private as well as official sources of information regarding the condition of affairs in the Wellington country 'districts and neighbouring areas. "The country roads are alive, teeming, with men ; work is absolutely scarce in the wintry as it is in the towns," he said. "Men are tramping from Wellington to Napier, Wellington to Auckland, Wellington to Taranaki, calling at all stations for work, ai»d at the country towns, and finding almost nothing." MEETING OF MEN IN NAPIER. ! BOROUGH COUNCIL ACTION. [BX TELEGRArH — PBESS ASSOCIATION.] NAPIER, 7th July. A meeting of unemployed in Napier was held this afternoon, and was attended by about a hundred men. Councillor W. J. M'Grath, who was voted to the chair, said the unemployed difficulty in Napier was considerably worse than some persons were prepared to ndihit. The Acting-Prime Minister had telegraphed that at present the Goveiiunent could do no more than it was doing. A representative of the Labour Department had received instructions to .^end live married men to f4i.sborne on the following day. It was resolved to request the Borough Council to render every assistance it could, and that those present wero pre- i pared under the circumstances to accept one shilling per hour conditionally on pern.its being granted by the Wellington branch of th« General Labourers' Union. It was also decided to ask tho Public Works Department to have the exteriors, of the Government Buildings painted, with the object of relieving the unemployed painters. About 70 names of men out of work ware enrolled, about tmlf oi whom Mo married. Included lfl-ibs. uncm^loved-

are a large proportion of comparatively recent arrivals. Thb Borough Council to-night discussed the unemployed question, and instructed the overseer to take on a few men in the meantime, preference to be given to those who are married. STATE OF AFFAIRS IN CHRISTCHURCH. MEN STILL OFFERING FOR BUSHFELLING. CHRISTCHURCH, 7th July. Several- men ar-j still offering ior the North Island bush-felling eontractfc, but the officer in chaise of the local office of the Labour Department h*s not received any instructions as to sending irore men to wor :. ' Mr. Ell, M.P., who has had appln>iJo'«s for this class of i work from lour rnpn, has telegraphel I to the Minister for Labour, asking him j if possible to issue instructions that an- I other gang of bushfellers should be sent fiom this city. Another party for the Midland Railway construction works is to be despatched to-morrow morning. At the Trades hall to-day Mr. Darcy, of the Labour Council stated that he had had an almo&t continuous stream of callers i in search of work. A number of them told him that their names were put down on (he original list and that they were still looking for work. Among the applicants were some men who had done a week's work for the City Council, but who are pgain \7orkless*, having been put off work in ii ...: ovdance with the council's -dei-ivy •> t^ jj-ive only one week' a wor> •■> .."l- ;--t of men. The CiV -l-^tjo'i authorities are still wonueriu ; »«'./ I-H.j men for whom work is writing; !*• nn r , pub in an appearance and take it. \*. present 30 men are employed on municipal relief works, and there are vacanc*:*. for 20 more. DUNEDIN KJ:LDING TRADE. A PROBLEM. 7lh July. The problem of i 1 eiit 'j'^aKwhat pronounce! in evraeefcion >"ifc]> the building trade here, and a mr^is meeiii-j; j of those concerned v. ill bo held on FriI r ):,y afternoon, all unemployed carpeni Ws, labourers, plasterers, plumbers, ! painters, and bricklayers being asked to , jitend. Motions will be proposed asking : tl>e .Minister of Labour, the City Council, the Harbour Board, and other local bodies to put in hand as much work as they can. The secretary of the local branch of the Carpenters and Joiners' Union estimates that there are about 500 men dependent on the building trade out of work. Though tho membership of the union is larger tnan ever it was, more money has been pai-1 out of the benefit ! funds during the past week than in the r previous two years.