THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE LAND.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 1768, 31 May 1895, Page 4

THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE LAND.

The following is a passage from ihet New South Wale's Premiers Budget speech :— " I wish to say a word or two with reference to a subject which has caused megreat trouble and anxiety. I have no hesitation m saying that the present state of the industrial classes has been a matter of the gi - eatest anxiety to me and the Government. There is no doubt that there is a large amount of Unemployed labour m the country and m the town. There is also no doubt that it is a problem which no Government can afford to neglect. (" Hear, hear.") We have been doing gdmethhig— as much as we could — to deal with that matter m the way of ...various works, legitimate work, and we have, I hope, an additional proposal m the same direction to make. But I cannot conceal from this .cpmmittee that all tlvese Government works for the relief of the unemployed are -entirely unsatisfactory. (" illear, heaiv'*) "--'-They leave the- working- men m just about , the. same position of affairs. We must not .have an unemployed cankerasapermanent institution of this city. It is bad for the men, bad for the country. There is only one cure m my mind ivhich has a prospect of doing any real good m ,eprmect^o,n with this problem. , The Government having the large public estate that it has, so much property which is easy to directly improve and prepare for settlement, it 'should endeavour, by means of carrying out improvements of that.oharaqter, if possible, to attract the unemployed labour of the country away from the towns into the honest work of settlement. It is impossible for a man .about .the town to live, if -he eau get no work, except as a pauper. In thecountry there' are a thousand things that a man can do if lie 'has a bit of land ro live upon. What I say is this—that it is the duty of the Go.vetnirient'to-.tiy to find out som6 method of uelping the distress withfiiut demoralising .ft; and I say that having distressed people about the town would not prevent them from being demoralised. Helping them on the lands of the country Blight. It is on the lands of the cofuhtry that the future employment of the men of this country must substantially be found, and I propose to submit, m connection with the proposals of the Government, a scheme of that sort on safe and moderate imes."