UNEMPLOYED PROBLEM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19452, 7 October 1926, Page 12

UNEMPLOYED PROBLEM.

RELIEF BY GOVERNMENT.

MANY MEN N ON PUBLIC WORKS

EXPENDITURE FROM REVENUE

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT. - ]

WELLINGTON. Wednesday

The Acting-Prime Minister, Hon. W. Downie Stewart, to-day made a statement to the effect that for the first- six months of the current year the country's revenue has held up very well indeed and arrangements have been made with the Treasury to refund to other Government departments the money expended on unemployment relief. This means that the expenditure will como out of revenue and not be a- burden on tho loan moneys which bear interest.

The Minister agreed that the unemployment situation this year was abnormal and had continued acute much longer than usual. The. Government recognised its responsibility and was doing its share toward the. solution, but the more the Government promised work the longer would tho problem remain. At present the pumbcr of men on tho Public Works Department's roll was beyond precedent. There wero 1000 more than was tlje case last year. About 1500 unemployed had been taken on and a further 100 were to be absorbed within the next 10 days. Tho numbers must be reduced. He could not a.sk the Public Works Department to go on spending loan moneys on unemployment relief if the money was not, producing anything like the full value it ought to do. The department repudiated the statement that tho men wero engaged for a few days and then discharged. -There wore 1711 unemployed in New Zealand, said the Minister of Labour, Hon. G. J. Anderson; 596 in Auckland, 307 in Wellington, 278 in Christchurch and 190 in Dunedin. Of that number 952 were labourers, 95 drivers and 83 farm hands. The total number provided with private employment in the Dominion was 1932, and 4299 had been absorbed in public works and other works. Practically all the immigrants, totalling 7689, within the last 12 months, were absorbed.