The Unemployed Difficulty.

Otago Witness, Issue 1796, 24 April 1886, Page 13

The Unemployed Difficulty.

Editor Witness, — Reading so much in the papers about the unemployed leads one to give the matter some thought, and I now offer you the result of my cogitations on the Mibject Formerly wo Bi.ver hoard anything about tho unemployed except for a few months in winfcoi, but now want of employment appears to have, become chronic. When we hear of a laigc number of people out of work dcirin;; t'ue summer and harvest months we are naturally impelled to ask, Why is this thus ? Before proceeding to answer this question, permit me to state that I consider that the present depression may in a great measure be aecuuuted for by tho great drain on the financial resources of the country in the consumption of alcoholic liquors.. That which is produced from the laud goes naturally to hicreaio the wealth of the whole community, but when tho-.e who receive the largest portion of th.it wealth in the shape of wages take it straight to the public house and exchange it for whisky, it is entirely 10-f. to the country ; an.l no wonder undec sii.'u circunishancoH that the maiivuldtiuu of {.Le wiil tends to poverty instead of wealth. fitvi'i Icargill, fortunately, hao never mini In red aiming her local institutions a standing .->i>o of unemployed; that distinction has hitherto be'-n monopolised by tho older and more entrr/ivisi v/ cities of Dunedin and Christchurch ; therelore, living a-> I do in Southland, I am, perhaps, not in the best position to answer the abuvi i..-|.i '. Still, as we have a few going about here who find it difficult to obtain employment, I can form some idea how it is elsewhere. In a m.'.r couu'.ry like this the agricultural indu-strv U naturally expected to absorb the si'rpl..labour, and the question is why doe i . i. not do so? I think there are two answer t • this question : fkbt, the class of persons seeking employment are for the most part totally incompetent to do tho work required of them on a farm in such a nianucr as to make it profitable to employ them ; aud, secondly, the price of labour, both skilled and otherwise, is far too high in proportion to the price of produce to leave a margin of profit to the employer. The price, of skilled labour ou a farm is quite as high now as it was before the public works were initiated, when the piice of produce was nearly double what it has been during the past two years, and land about half the price it is now. Tho fact is, tke class of skillod farm labour which was plentiful 10 or IS yeais ago is very scaroo now ; those men have by their skill and energy long ago acquired the means to -:o on to deferred payment land, aud, unfortunately, but few are capable of taking their places. A great deal is said about putting the people on to the land. There ia no fear but what the people, wiil go on to the land as soon as the.y are fit, foe it without any putting. The danger is that many will become possessed of laud when they ought to be earning wages. What would the present "unemployed" do if they were put in possession Of land when they for the most part do hoc possess a shilling to buy their n^xfc meal? Ib will, in my opinion, be a bad thing for tho progress of this country when capital and skill become disassociated from the land. But to return to the question why agricuitmo does not absorb the surplus labour. lam quite confidents that it i.s quite capable of absorbing < wico tho labour it dou.s at picsont under frf\ durable oireuitibiaatvo. H m nol ait-o-ge'W n qu< f ii^i of mrpply and demand, but rattics o£ profit an*

loss. A man can-not be expected to invest a shilling when ho knows that the rettu-n will only realise ninepence. The labour bill is the only one the farmer has the control of. The rates and taxes must be paid. Th< 'n'erest on his mortgage must be paid, but in tlio :> .'.tier of labour the farmer has at least the option of cutting his coat according to his cloth. The imperative payments having been provided for, the question arises what is to be done with the balance? Fanners, as a rule, spend freely on their farms when they have it, but the low prices of produce, have greatly curtailed their means of spending, and they are, therefore, obliged to content themselves with doing only that which is absolutely necessary to carry on their business. Most of them aro obliged to employ a. certain amount of skilled labour, for which they have to pay a high rate, and so while John gets woid at a good wage, Tom has to carry his swag and gets nothing. If they would agree to divide the wage between them they might be both comparatively well off. The fact of the matter is the amount available for payment of labour is altogether insufficient for the amount of available labour at current rates, so that one of two results is inevitable — either the rate of wages must fall, or some must go idle. As I said before, the incompetence of many prevents their being profitably employed at current rates, bo these are unemployed, as the.y are not able to compete with skilled labour. What theu is to become of them iv the meantime ? I hold that the State is bound to provide for every man (all other means failing him) the opportunity to earn the necessaries of life. At the same time, I do not consider the plan of putting men to work on road and railway works at a low wage a judicious ono. Pick and shovel work is monotonous, it teaches them nothing, and fits them for no permanent employment, and in many cases, it is beyond their physical powers — as centinuons labour.

I have a plan to suggest which I think is very preferable, calculated to meet the unemployed difficulty, and to be a very great benefit to the whole community. Let the Government set apart or acquire for the purpose, in central i)ositions in each I'rovincial di&trict, pieces of laud of considerable ave-i, to be occupied as surplus labour farms. Everyman who fails to oHain employment elsewhere, should have tlio opportunity of working on one of these farms. ' • secure the necessaries of life, till something beU r turns up. I could not in this letter go into ail the details of regulating and working such an establishment, and will content myself with pointing out a few leading features. Alcoholic liquors should be strictly excluded. No money should be jrivon ns wages, only necessary food and clothing, but >i cash bonus might be given on leaving ih» ostate, on a fixed 6cale, as a reward for industry and good behaviour. Each estate should constitute a labour agency for the district. Cottages should be provided for families, each member of working age to be expected to earn his maintenance. A portion of the estate might be occupied as a model farm, and for experiments on crops, manures, &c, &c. Probably a small permanent btaff of skilled labour would bo required, and failing surplus labour, it would of com-M" have to be engaged at current rates. Tli" operations on each estate should comprise gardening, fruit, culture, cereal and root; cropping, dairying, and stock raising. By this means, besides employing surplus labour, the establishment would be educational and become a contro of interest to the whole district. — Yours, &c, Agkicultok. Waianhva, Southland, April 19.