'A Tragic Problem’

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6671, 26 July 1928, Page 9

'A Tragic Problem ’

UNEMPLOYMENT DEBATED IN HOUSE OF COMMONS Premier Baldwin Answers Mr MacDonald’s Criticism British. Official Wireless. ' , . ' ... RUGBY, July 24. The Prime Minister, in Parliament to-day, dealt with unemployment, especially with the points raised by the report of tho Industrial Conference Board. ■ ■' l ‘ ! ■ His statement was made in reply to Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, who moved a resolution deploring the Inadequacy of the measures taken by the Government to deal with “the tragic national problem of unemployment,” and who generally criticised the policy of the 1 Government on the question.

Relief -to Depressed;; Areas, The Prime Minister' said that tho latest. figures of the Board of Trade showed ,that.unemployment was mainly in the great staple industries, particularly coal and cotton,/ but the genera] trade of the country had been maintained.' '„ ' ’ ’ V * Thev demonstrated that unemployment, serious though ’it was, was local and confined. Development in this country was going pn. : , He. did not think that there was any doubt about that, taking the country as a whole, and it ought to be 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 the changed, equilibrium of the More prosperous industries was, a fact, then it should be possible that, whenever development was still procoedin|f, from that source help might be found for places where development had been arrested. Thai really was the key to a large' proportion of the report of, the Industrial Transference Board. Reorganising Industry.

- Reorganisation of industry, unfortunately, had meant a certain amount of displacement of, labour. . . . Undoubtedly, reorganisatipn'Vas going on in this country to an extent which it had never done before and he found cpmiort in the thought that industry would emerge, when - we were through these times, better manned, better organised and pulling together better than over before.

For the time being there was a : surplus of labour . The aim of Unemployment pplicy should be first, so far as was possible, to break up the concentrated unemployment by the absorption of as many unemployed as possible in areas that were prosperous. That' was the view tf of the TransferBoard, and hf agreed with it. Export, Credits p'sefui. With regard to the export credits guarantee scheme, Mr. Baldwin said that it would come to an* end next year in the absence of a further order. The Estimates Committee of the House of Commons /had -conducted xecehtly a. searching investigation into the work* ing of the scheme, and had expressed themselves as satisfied that it was of practical advantage to tho export trade. This certainly was not tho time when they could allow any approvedassistance of that kind to bo dropped. , Tjha Government proposed in due course to introduce legislation, .extending the scheme for a further two years from September nest year.' 1 , _ , , r In conclusion,' tho Prime Minister announced that the Government would accelerate the execution of a portion of their scheme for giving the 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.

MOST DAMNING CONTRIBUTION AGAINST GOVT., SAYS. MR. MacDONALD.

Aust. Press Assn.—United Service. Received Wednesday, 5.5 p.m. LONDON, July 24. in the course of the House.of;Commons debate bn unemployment, Mr. MacDonald said that the Government was doing its best to lull the country into a state of complacency, but the tremendous and unexpected leap in the official unemployment figures showed that tho problem was threatening to master us. - ' ■ The report of the Industrial Transference Board stressed emigration as a femedy, but we should, first, bo, most careful that bur 6wh country was being developed. (Labour cheers.) There wore roads to be constructed, slums to be cleared away, > and other essentials whereby the wealth of the nation might be increased. So far as emigration was' concerned, the report of the Transference Board was one of despair, the most damning contribution ever made against tho Government and its handling of the Unemployment problem. Unemployment-Local. Mr. Baldwin, in reference t» unemployment, pointed out that the policy of relief works had outlived its usefulness, because tho areas they were considering were not fecovunng, but if the unemployment in these districts were spread, evenly over the country tho seriousness of tho position would be far less. In London, with an insured population of over two millions, u»-1 employment was only 25 per cent., but it was 23 per cent, in Durham, and CO per cent, in Leicestershire. Ho asked if the more fortunate areas were going to put up a barbed wire fence around themselves. Change In Emigration. Referring to emigration and the view of tho Transference -Board that there was room in the dominions for large numbers of men who were willing to work bard, the Premier said that the Government fejt that State intervention was gradually turning the idea off a courageous adventure into a slow re- (

stricted policy of the emigration of labour. That was not tho way the Doming ions were built up. Preliminary training centres for the colonies had proved so satisfactory that tho Government had decided on a substantial extension. Women’s training centres were also being extended. Residential centres in East Anglia were teaching the rudiments of agriculture to young men ready to go overseas. A similar school was being opened In Scotland. Tho overseas farmers who visited the East Anglian schools were delighted with the quality of the.men, Justifiable Objections. i Sir Robert Horne (C.) said that he hoped that despite the obvious difficulties, arrangements might be made before long whereby largo numbers of those who found it difficult to obtain employment would be given freer op* portunities in a new country. The objection of tho Dominions to having our unemployed foisted uudn them however was perfectly justifiable. Extravagant Utterance.' Mr. John Wheatley- (Lab.) said that every man unemployed should be paid his full workshop wages for every day he was out. of work. . L “I would use the Navy,” ho. cried, “to gink every ship which brought sweated goods from abroad. I would apply something* stronger-than tariffs, which have only resulted in increasing the pripes of goods, and the profits oj profiteers . I would tax earned incomes of over £2OOO to the extent of 20/- 'in the pound until I set industry going. I would tax unearned incomes ’ oyer £IOOO 20/- in the pound. I would ask tho people to make sacrifices, double the housing subsidy, and halve the rents of working class houses.” “A Miserable Exhibition.”

Mf. P. Snowden (Labour) expressed tho opinion that the Prime Minister’s speech was a miserable exhibition. If tho Government wanted to restore the iron; and steel trade it should develop the great possibilities of the Indian Empire. Mr. W, Churchill, Chancellor of the Exchequer said that' tho unemployment problem was'to liquidate the surplus quarter million minors in the groat aftermath of the labour disputes of 1926. ■ 77 .;7 777 The Government rating scheme must constitute the main effort in dealing with the present difficult situated. The Government had decided as an extra effort to bring portion of the scheme into operation before the rest could bo achieved. ' - The motion of censure was defeated by 331 votes to 151.