RURAL RELIEF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21377, 29 December 1932, Page 6

RURAL RELIEF

Announcing a greater concentration of effort in the realm of primary production, Mr. J. S. Jessep, deputychairman of the Unemployment Board, expresses faith in the recovery of the markets upon which the Dominion's economic stability depends. By reason of Mr. Jessep's close association with the pastoral industry, his Gisborne utterance is very cheering. The diversion of more relief labour to land maintenance and development will, be a step in the right direction. Whatever the prices of primary produce may be, the commonsense plan of relief should be in the direction of increasing production. The country must rely on the land for its economic salvation. At the same time the fact must again be stated that the distribution of relief workers'over the land without discrimination is calculated to intensify the problem. All farmers are not in the same economic position. Rarely are neighbours on the. same level. Yet. there has been very widespread use of relief labour on the land. There is not the slightest doubt that there has been some exploitation of the Unemployment Fund. In spite of the checks imposed by the board and its officials, relief workers have been employed on normal tasks for which seasonal labour would have had to be secured. The fault may lie mainly with local committees which are not carrying out their duty, but that is not the point. Several thousand men would to-day be off the register if the regulations were rigidly enforced. In a word, relief is being largely used in place of normal labour. It is necessary therefore for the Unemployment Board in its new plans to take precautions which will eliminate as far as possible an evil that simply magnifies the whole problem. The futility of most of the operations under the No. 5 Scheme is notorious, but it is a question whether some of the farm schemes are not being equally abused. Mr. Jessep's "agricultural bias" is _to be commended, but he must realise that the country is not prepared to find free labour for landholders who ought and are able to pay for it.