HOPE FOR UNEMPLOYED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18533, 18 October 1923, Page 9

HOPE FOR UNEMPLOYED.

BRITISH RELIEF MEASURES.

£14,000,000 FOR PUBLIC WORKS.

NEW ROADS AND BRIDGES.

By : Telegraph— : Association-Copyright.

* (Received 4.30 p.m.) - , ' A. and N.Z.-Reuter. LONDON, Oct. 16. Sir M. Barlow, Minister for Labour, speaking at a luncheon in London, repudiated the charge that the Government had broken faith as regards unemployment relief. On the contrary, new: expenditure initiated by the: Government comprised £14,000,000 for the construction of roads and bridges, £10,000,000 to assist the relief works of local authorities, another £12,000,000 for trade development and £10,000,000 toward reconstruction programmes of railway companies. Sir M. Barlow added that the Government expected much help from the Imperial and Economic Conferences in the redistribution of man power and strengthening the organisation of markets, He welcomed the unhesitating support given by Mr. Stanley M. Bruce, Prime Minister of Australia, to associated settlement. He declared that every British centre should form a committee to take up land in the Dominions for village settlements.

Sir W. Joynson Hicks, Minister " for Health, speaking at Hounslow on the question of unemployment, said ' that in addition to the relief work already, in progress the Cabinet had authorised a further expenditure of £14,000,000, making . approximately £40,000,000.

Large stocks of iron and steel in the Ruhr were waiting to be dumped at much below the British manufacturing price and constituted a menace which it would be a stupendous folly for the Government to allow. Ho foreshadowed. placing orders for the construction of 150 bridges in a few weeks, including a two-milo bridge across the -Tay at Dundee, to cost nearly £1,000,000. The Government also saw an immediate possibility of placing orders totalling £2,500,000 value with the steel trade. ■ h;,-. ; . : '.•■:"•''■.'•; -.■ ■:■■■'■:■'. -X-y--'-

EVIL INFLUENCE OF DOLES.

CHARACTER UNDERMINED.

A. and N.Z.

LONDON, Oct. 16.

Mr. J. H. Thomas, Labour M.P., speaking at St. Pancras,' denounced as miserable, the :assumption that' unemployment was curable by doles. He said that 100,000 men had not done a day's work since they finished their apprenticeship. They had not only lost their trade, •' but their characters, ,

Mr. Thomas protested against the attempt to exploit the presence of dominion Prime Ministers, in favour of tariff reform.' and declared it farcical to propound systems of colonial preference that would raise the price of children's buns and enable the sweet shops to make more profit.