FIVE THOUSAND MEN OUT OF WORK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 127, 30 May 1891, Page 4

FIVE THOUSAND MEN OUT OF WORK.

BEVBN THOUSAND HOUfISS TO LET. Borne yesra ago, when tbe colony of 1 Victoria adopted the proteotion polioy, some ol ibe Irielrade newspapers brio, the conditions of that colony and of New South "W»le§ being somewhat similar, and the one' being protectionist and the other freetrade, a Comparison of the two after 20 or 25 years would afford very fair grounds for an oatimate of tbe value of (he two policies. The time mentioned baa BCBroely elapsed, but the Story told' by the recent census is eloquent of ibe failure of tbo proteo'ure. polioy to advanoe tbe country dietriote. Making allowance lor tbe'natural increase by binba over deaths, we fi^nd that tbe figures ehow that there has been an aotunl deorease in the adult population of Yiotoria outside tbe boundary ol Melbourne and its suburbs, The increase in Melbourne during the deoade 1881.1891 baa been 206,288, or .nearly three fonrthß of tbe total inorease of the colony. With this evidenoo before us of the Seople abandoning tbe oountry towns and istriots and orowding into Melbourne, we are not surprised to read in the Leader that in the Victorian oapital some 5000 men are out of work already, and that it is anticipated that the coming winter will be the worst for the working olasses that haß yet been experienced. The Leader ia a proteo tioriist paper, and is, therefore, not likely to exaggerate a state of affairs whioh tells so strongly against its pet " fad." The build ing trades, it is said, are almost at a standstill* and this ie not to be marvelled at when theifajo^ is .mentioned chat there are "in Melbourne and suburbs 7UOO houses to leif Toe stagnation in the building trades naturally aflfeota all other branches of buaineee. The main lines of railway have all been built, and there is a difference of opinion between the Railway Commissioners and the pdblid' afl; to the oonstruotion of branch lines. While this dispute lasts it iB not likely that any new lines will be authorieed, especially as only two out of the three millions asked for recently were obtained in the Londop market, " while the whole amount applied for would hardly have auffloed to liquidate liabilities already incurred." This unsatisfactory state of affairß is ascribed partly to the "boom spirit' whioh followed the holding of the International Exhibition in Melbourne in 1888. No doubt, the land ' boom'' did a great deal of misohief, but "a more powerful oojotribotor to the prospective misfortune was the late Government, whioh squandered the State funds with unprecedented profasten/' - "Railways and other works were pushed on with reokiesa haste, some £4,000,990, a year of borrowed money being thus expended, and when the new Ministry oame into office it found an empty Treasury, » failipg revenue, and an inevitable defioit, with its natural result of a praotioal snspen* ■ion of publio works." THe labour troubles and the strikes are also oredited with having had a share in the production of the depression j but, as might have bsen expected, the Leader apparently fails to eee that the taxing of tbe people for the "benefit of a few manufacturers has likewise had some influence for evil. How else can the withdrawal of population from the oountry districts and the concentration of snoh huge numbers of people in the oapital, be accounted for? it is true that the tendency everywhere is towards the cities, but if there had been no interference with trade it is not very likely that there would 1 have been such a wholesale flocking of'.adults to the oity as the census shows there must have been during the past ten yean. In connection with (his subjeot, the Melbourne Aratu recently said :— Ever sin^e the colony of Viotoiia entered a quarter' of a century ago upon that fatal path of "proteotion to native industry" wbioh leads towards monopoly and poverty, if bft» been the first article of faith among Viotoriati protectionists' that their favourite polioy tends to provide employment and facreaeo wages. Unfortunately for them, however, the faofa have been entirely againßt this argument, for the statistics showing the steady drain of our working population towards the freetrade colony, New South Wales, ever 'since we adopted proteotion, indicate pretty clearly that the ohief cause whioh has kept wages up ia Victoria has been the freetrade colony of New South Wales. The course of events in America shows that even the largest and most populous country Cannot stand entirely alone, and therefore the selfish and unscientifio tariff of.the United Stateß injuriously affects its neighbours; and this has been the case in Australia also, though to a smaller extent, But for the suicidal policy of Victoria, there would: not have been such serious depresBionijn Kew South Wales as those we have mtoi&jied,', We, have had, to find employm^j not only for our own share of the ropojation, but also for tho.Be who have been BuAtJd out of Victoria by the retrograde ; polioy adopted there.— Sydney Echo,