UNEMPLOYMENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1922, Page 2

UNEMPLOYMENT

RELIEF PROVISIONS. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, April 5. Now that the winter is approaching there is a revival of talk of the necessity of organising to counter unemployment. The Minister of Public Works, Mr Coates, states this matter has not been lost sight of and men are being drafted to public works. The Government has set aside £250,000 for the purpose of providing employment and this money will be spent on reproductive work. Those unable to do hard manual work will be employed on afforestation relief work, on a contract system. The payment is to be arranged so that an average man should earn 10/- a day, but some gangs have made as much as 15/6 a day per man. When the last return was made 5010 men were employed on public works. About 1000 of these are relief workers. The local bodies are also providing work. BRITISH EXPENDITURE. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, April 5. In tho House of Commons, Sir J. Rees moved for a Royal Commission to inquire into tho public expenditure on public and unemployment assistance. The cost of this, he said, had risen from £25,000,000 between 18S0-1 to £332,000,000 in .1920-1. He pointed out that, excluding the unemployed 30,000,000 more, out of the British population of 48,000,000, were receiving public assistance in some form or other.

Mr Hilton Young, said lie desired to emphasise that there was a vast difference in the conditions existing |jn the periods which the mover cited. He pointed out that the most expensive social services, such as war pensions, old age pensions, public health and unemployment were of recent origin, and no member would suggest a discontinuance of them.