Thames Star. THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1931. NEW UNEMPLOYMENT ACT.

Thames Star, Volume LXV, Issue 18242, 16 July 1931, Page 2

Thames Star.

THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1931. NEW UNEMPLOYMENT ACT.

"With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right."—Lincoln.

After several days of hard debating, and at times heated argument, the amended Unemployment Act passed through the Lower House in much the same form as A, was introduced, the ouly material difference being that relief ivorkers under the No. 5 Scheme will not have to pay the wages tax. The position now is that everyone who earns wages is liable for his or her quota, except domestic servants employed in private homes, a distinction, despite the Minister of Labour's explanation that the Government was desirous of encouraging more youn women to go into domestic service, we still fail to see the fairness of. The tax is more exacting than any at present in operation in this country, and as a result the payment, as one's income mounts becomes more exacting. Desperate conditions, however, require desperate measures, and it is to be hoped that the Government's intention to inflict the tax for one year only may come to pass. The present crisis is one which requires the closest cooperation by all classes of the community. On the whole, the legislation appears to have been carefully thought out and it is to be hoped that it will be administered in< r a manner that will do the greatest good for the greatest number. The Government's estimate of what may be obtamed from the wages tax is probably a conservative one, and the receipts may be considerably more. On a basis of last year's assessment about £450,000 should be available from incomes between £3OO and £2OOO, though company taxation may account for a proportion of this. At any rate, in this emergency, money must be obtained to prevent widespread distress, and it is being contributed out of pockets where it will be least missed. It is not a question whether anyone can afford to contribute more in taxation, but of those best fitted to make the financial sacrifice which is inevitable. The result is that double the sum available for the purpose last year will be available this; it is little enough, but a great deal more assistance may be afforded from outside as recovery becomes more evident. A large part of our trouble is due to imagination being given too free rein. Bad as conditions are, they are not nearly so bad as some people have represented them. This fact is being realised, and the reaction of the healthy feeling on actual business is having very far-reaching effects. It is not in unemployment relief that our best hope lies, but in a return to that spirit of optimism which evinces a determination to grapple with problems and overcome them, instead of permitting them to extinguish in every community the national sense of resolution.