UNEMPLOYMENT

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 25 July 1928, Page 11

UNEMPLOYMENT

PROBLEM IN BRITAIN.

GOVERNMENT’S MEASURES,

IMPORTANCE OF MIGRATION. (British Official Wireless.) Received 1.30 p.m. to-day. RuGBY, July 24. Tiie Prime Minister, the toe. Hon. Stanley -baldwin, speaking in the House of Commons, dealt with unemployment, especially the points raised by the report ’of the Industrial Transference Board. His .statement was made in reply to Mr. Ramsay. MacDonald, who had moved a resolution deploring the inadequacy of tne measures taken by tne Government to deai witn tiie tragic national problem or unemployment, ana wiio bad generally criticised tiie policy of the Government on the question.

The torime Minister said tnat the latest figures of the Board oi Trade showed that unemployment >vas mainly in the great staple industries, particularly coal and cotton, hut the general trade of the country had been maintained. They demonstrated .that unemployment, serious though it was, was local and confined. Development in this country was going on, and it ought to oe perfectly possible for the growing prosperity of other areas in the south, as in the midlands, to afford some relief to the depressed areas. If tiie changed equilibrium of the more prosperous industries was a iact, then it should be possible that whenever development Was still proceeding from time source, help migiit be found for places where development had been arrested. The aim of the unemployment policy should foe as far as possible uo breaic up concentrated unemployment by the absorption of as many unemployed as possible in areas that were prosperous. That was the view of the transfer Board, and he agreed with it. \\ ith regard to migration, Mr Baldwin said it was not a case oi shifting our unemployment burden to the Dominions, or wishing to transfer men o verseas simply because they were unemployed. what really mattered was ibe liuelihqod of a man making good in a new home. The question of migration hatl to be further thrashed out between i this country and the Dominions. The Government wanted to ha.e the 1 idlest and frankest communication, and they saw their way in certain directions for the adoption of a more active policy of. migration, both under the Empire Settlement Act and otherwise.- In the matter of preliminary training, the experience or the last few years and the reports on overseas training had decided the Government to embark upon a substantial expansion of their policy. Lord- Lorat, Under-Secretary for the Dominions, was going out to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to follow up the discussions already initiated by the Dominions Secretary. He would discuss fairly and freely with the Dominions all matters which had been mentioned with regard to the export credits guarantee scheme. Mr. Baldwin said that this would come to an end next year in the absence of further orders. This certainly was not the time when they could allow any approved assistance of the kind to lie dropped, so the Government proposed to introduce legislation extending the scheme .or a further two years from Septemoer next year. He announced that the Government would accelerate the execution of a portion of their scheme tor giving railways relief from local taxation in return for a reduction of freight charges on certain specified traffic, with a view to helping the basic industries

RELIEF WORKS NOT EFFECTIVE.

TRAINING OF MIGRANTS.

WORK TO BE EXTENDED,

Received 1.45 p.m. to-day. LONDON, July 24. •Mr. Baldwin, in .reference to unem-. ployment, pointed out that the policy of relief work had outlived its usefulness, because the areas they were considering were not recovering. If unemployment in these districts were spread evenly over the country the position would be far less serious. In London, with an insured population of over 2,000,000, unemployment was only five per cent, but it was 23 per cent in Durham and 60 per cent in Leicestershire. He asked, are tho« more fortunate' areas going to put up a barbed wire fence around themselves ? Referring to emigration and the view of the Transference. Board that there was room in the Dominions for large numbers. of men who were, willing to work hard, the Prime Minister said that State intervention was gradually turning the idea of courageous adventure into a. slow, restricted policy of emigrate of labour. That was not the way the Dominions were built up. Preliminary training centres fox- the colonies proved so satisfactory that the Government had decided on a. substantial extension. Women’s training centres were also being extended. The rudiments' of agriculture were being taught to young men who were ready to _ go, overseas. A similar school was being ■ opened in Scotland. Overseas fanners who bad visited the East Anglian schools were delighted at the quality of the men.

Sir Robert Horne hoped, despite the obvious difficulties, that arrangements might be made before, long whereby large numbers of those who found it difficult to obtain employment would be given freer opportunities in a new country. The objection of the Dominions to having our unemployed foisted upon them, however, was perfectly justified.

WHAT MR WHEATLEY WOULD DO

WORK TO BE DONE AT HOME.

LONDON, July 24. 'Mr Wheatley said tha»t every unem-V-oyed man .should be paid 1 his full workshop wages for every day ho was out of work. “J would use the navy to sank every ship which brought sweated goods from abroad. J would apply something stronger than tariffs, _ which only resulted in increasing prices of goods, and the profits of the profiteers. I would tax earned incomes over £2OOO ito the extent of 20s in the £ until I set industry going. I would tax unearned incomes over £IOOO at 20s. I ask the people to make sacrifices, double the housing subsidy and halve the rents for working cila.ss -houses.” Mr. R.amsay MaoDlbnaild said that the Government was doing its best to lull the country into a, state of complacency, but the tremendous unexpected leap of official unemployment figures showed that rvofblem was threatening to master us. The report of the Industrial Transference Board stressed emigration as a remedy, but we should first be most careful tlrat our own country wa® being developed (Labour cheers). There were roads to be constructed, si urns to be cleared away, and other essentials

Whereby the. wealth of the nation might be added to. So- far as emigration was concerned, the .report of the Transference Board wa® one oif despair. It was the most damning contribution ever made against the Government and its handling of the unemployment problem.