CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18444, 4 January 1922, Page 6

CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND

BAD, BUT MIGHT BE WORSE,

DR MAONAMARA’S COMFORT.

Dr Macnamara, British Minister of Labour, addressing a public meeting at Kettering recently, said three years had passed since the greatest struggle in human history, and the task of getting back to the normal moved forward slowly and painfully. Taxation was gravely heavy, the cost of living high, house accommodation difficult to get, and rents prohibitive. Some impatient people got up and declared that it was due to the wastefulness, careless, incompetent methods of the Government. That was silly, but was not surprising. Let those who were disposed to grumble thank their lucky , stars that' things were incomparably better here than in a good many neighbouring territories. Dr Macnamara dwelt on what had been accomplished in the direction of relieving the burdens on the community, and said the Government’s achievements gave the lie direct to those who recklessly scattered wild charges of extravagance. “I profoundly agree we must continue, as we snail, to watch the expenditure of every penny. We must cut down ruthlessly all non-vital services. If wo cannot make expenditure come within our income we are going on the rocks, and therefore we are bound to do it.—(Cheers.) There are permanent and other charges as the result of the war which must be met, and that is why your income tax is six shillings in the .pound. In no European country involved in the struggle has the task of getting back to solid, sound peace-time finance teen more successful than in this country.” Alluding to Ireland, Dr Macnamara remarked that the Irish Conference was' still at work, and all of - them might offer a devout prayer that its efforts might _ be crowned with success that Ireland rriight ere long march forward happy and contented in the, great brotherhood of British peoples whose watchword was freedom and whose purpose was the - advancement of human progress and well-being.—(Cheers.) Turning to what he described as the grave and distressing problem of unemployment. Dr Macnamara stated that at the end of June last 2,l7o,ooopersons wore registered as unemployed and more than half a million on short time. That was a gloomy story. The task of getting things on the rails again would te difficult and slow. From the end of June, he was glad to say, things began; to recover, though very slowly, and an improvement had been effected week by week, until to-day we had one million and three-quarters unemployed as compared with the two millions odd at the end of June. ‘‘From the most careful forecast that I can make,” he proceeded, “as things stand- we shall find ourselves with round about a million and a quarter of unemployed persona throughout the whole of this winter. That is the situation which confronts us. Manifestly the oidy permanent and root remedy for the disease which afflicts us in common with other great countries 'is to get British trade and industry on an economic basis. Work is infinitely preferable to what are styled doles.” Ho sketched the proposals whidh the Government has made to meet the necessities of the position, and spoke of the manner in which local authorities .had come forward to co-operate. So far 80 local author!-, ties had put forward 141 schemes involving an expenditure of nearly one and a half miltyona, and providing work for oven, 800 men for an average period of five months. The number of schemes was going up rapidly. To those who could not find work the, Government would give such succour as their financial position would allow. The scheme for giving this aid would be entered upon in the middle of next week, and ho had arranged that what the recipients were then entitled to should te given at the end of the week. The Government had proposed to make certain contributions to wives and children. That had been received in some quarters with scorn and contumely.' ' It was all the Govemment could do. but it would play a part in the cold and cheerless weeks before us. They hpd .endeavoured to appreciate the real gravity of' the problem. All had got to pull together, '