THE DEPUTATION

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 12

THE DEPUTATION

"THOUSANDS STARVING"

A deputation of six of the unemployed was later received by the Minister of Labour (the Hon. S. G. Smith) in his room.

In introducing the deputation, Mr. P. Frascr, M.P., said"it was very unfortunate that one of those who had been appointed to take part had been arrested at the gates of Parliament, House earlier in the morning. "When I went down," said Mr. Fraser, "I found this man in handcuffs. I suggested to-the police officers present that they should allow the man^o come up hero, but the request was definitely refused. I think that is a pity." The first speaker was Mr. Sandi'ord, Tvho said he could not help deploring the reception which the ' unemployed had received at the gates. Every Kcw Zealandcr took it that he had a right to enter the grounds of Parliament Buildings. ' Referring to tho No. 5 scheme, Mr. Sandford said that the unemployed could not exist under it, and they were slowly and surely starving. There were numerous cases of men and women'who could not get enough to eat and were being put out of their homes.- They were also being turned down .by the Charitable Aid 33oard.

Mr. Smith: ■'* There is no more money •with which to provide work." Mn Sandford: "You are supposed to serve the interests, of the people of the country." / Mr. Smith: •'•■ l .am doing •my best to do .-that." ...-.-■

Mr.' Sandford: "We are not being served at all. We are in the position where; we.'have to fight or starve, and the only way we can fight is to demonstrate.' "Under the No. 5 scheme you are asking single men to live on 183 a week." -. .- .: : ■ Mr. Smith: "That is not so." '' ABOLISH THE ACT. " Mr.Sandford: "I am stating that definitely. I am here" to demand that something better should .be done. If something can't be : done it would be ■better to abolish the No. 5 scheme, and abolish the whole Unemployment Act. The method of engaging labour under the No. 5. scheme is one of the rottonestvl know." Mrs. Potter said the No. 5 scheme was- nol good-to the worker, as it did not-supply sufficient money with which to''keep body and soul together. Mrs. Potter referred in detail to the food supplied by: the Charitable Aid Board, and said it was not1 sufficient. Women who were expecting to be confined in a few weeks were asked to stand for hours, sometimes in the Tain, waiting for, relief.- That was not right. Mr. Smith: "I agree with that." 'Mrs. Potter urged that unemployed workers and relief workers should be given the benefit of free hospital treat- . ment. .. 'Mr. Smith: "Is treatment ever refused at the hospital?" •Mrs. Potter said she did not know of any arrangement under which unemployed could be treated at the hospital. It was also intpos^iblo for a woman to obtain admission to a St. Helens Home without down £1 deposit, and very few ..were able to find that- amount. Mr. Smith: "Very many people do not pay anything for the treatment they receive." Mr. Fraser: "But they must have the £1 deposit." ■Mr. Neil said that under the new No. 5 scheme a man could only earn 138 6d a week, and they could not live on -that. ■ '•'■ -■■■■' , ' ; Mr..Smith: "They are not expected to live on it." Mr, Neil said the Government should immediately take steps to provide more work. : ! . Mr. Smith: ''I would like to give every unemployed worker a full week's work, but I can't get the money." "FIGHTING BACK." ,Mr. Neil: "You can got money for purposes which are of no assistance to the working man." The Prime Minister had said the other day that there was no need for anyman in New Zealand to starve, but he could take Mr. Forbes into homes whore people actually were starving. "You can't drive a rat into the-corner without him fighting back," said Mr. Neil. .- ■ Mil,. Santk pointed, on* *fc»4 *k«l'§-

were a number of men who had refused to pay the levy aud boasted about it. Mr. Neil: "Those are isolated cases." Mr. Smith: "I hope they are." The speaker said that no nian who was not in a position to pay the levy should be asked to pay. Mr. Forbes had appealed to the business people to do their best to reduce tho cost of living, but how could he expect any cooperation when the Government itself put up the cost of living He referred particularly to the increased charges for admission to St. Helens homes. Mr. Stewart appealed to the Minister to move at once for the release of the men who had been arrested that morning. ■ There were many people in Wellington who were only getting one meal a day, and that was not nearly enough, considering that they had to walk about the streets all day in search of work. At this stage Mrs. Potter, who had spoken earlier, collapsed, but she at once received sympathetic treatment from the Minister and members of his staff.'• , Mr. O'Reilly said that the position was becoming so acute that unless something was done to rectify it there would be wholesale burglaries and general turmoil throughout the country. Mr. Smith: "I wouldn't say that." Mr. O'Reilly: "There is nothing else for it. : If a man only gets enough to pay his rent, he must get food from somewhere': r If he-cant get it there is only one alternative. There is money in the Country all right. The other day a man was fined: for not feeding his dogs properly, but we married men are being placed in ■ the position of .not being-able to feed our wives'and children properly.".Mr.-O'Reilly also made a plea .for the-release of the men who had been arrested. ■ Mr. Tasker said it was absolutely impossible for anybody to live on 28s a week. "You are heaping insult after insuit upon us," he said. "Each scheme that you propose becomes worse and worse." Mr. Smith: "Now. you have the chance of your lifetime. Tell me any scheme that will be .better than what has:'been, done." , ." . ' . ■ "IS THAT A THREAT?" Mr.' Tasker: "It is-not my business to do that., .Thousands of men are starving" in New, Zealand, andthis demonstration this morning, is only the forerunner of what is going to happen." Mr:; Smith: "Is that a threat that you are going to foment trouble?"\ Mr. Tasker :^Unless I can get proper food for myself and my wife, yes." He said that for the last month he had not had v a penny piece in his pocket, and had-absolutely reached the end of his resources. "We are surrounded by all the good things of: life," he said, "and if we can't, get them by other means we have no alternative left but to take them." Mr. Tasker criticised the moth-: ods adopted of handing out relief by the Charitable. Aid Board. . In replying, tho Minister thanked the deputation for tho moderate manner iri: which they "had stated, their case. Personally he was very sorry that, any trouble had occurred at the gates, and so far as thb men who had been arrested were concerned-he would place the matter before the Prime Minister and tho^ Minister of Justice immediately. .The" deputation.did not need to argue with him about the seriousness, of the unemployment position. He realised that to the full, but his difficulty was that he was unable to get sufficient co-bperation and sufficient money to provide work for everybody. No. 5 scheme, was going to cost £50,000 a week. That meant an expenditure of £2,450,000 a year, but all- they received by way .of levy was £000,000, "or, with the Government subsidy, £1,200,000. He did not expect people to live on ISs a week, but the idea of tho scheme was to provide everybody with at least some money to tido them over until they could get jobs. WHERE ARE THE JOBS? Members of the deputation: "Where i are/the jobs?" Mr. Smith: "There a,i'O some to be found." Voices: "Not in New Zealand." Mr. R. M'Keen, M.P., interjected that the City Council had dismissed forty men last Tuesday. Mr. Smith said he was not sure that the employers of New Zealand realised the seriousness of the position. Mr. M'Keen: "Everybody is talking economy. That is tho trouble." Mr. Smith said, the Unemployment Board had to look vafter' the' whole of New Zealand, and it was doing its best to distribute evenly the money it had at its disposal. He regretted that the scheme whereby he hoped to place singlo men on farms had not been very successful. In regard to tho various outlier matters raised by the deputation, ho would take the. earliest opportunity of placing them before tho responsible Ministers and the Cabinet generally. Mr. Frascr asked if anything could be done by the Government to assist those people who were being thrown out of. their homes, on account of inability' to pay rent. Parliament might be closing to-morrow night; and if something were not done the position would become intolerable. "Mr. Smith: "I will see that that is made one of the urgent matters to be referred to the Prime Minister." Replying to Mr. Sandford, the Minister said he would take steps to see that no ono who was present at the deputation was victimised as tho result of his action. :