RELIEF FINANCES MUCH OVERDRAWN.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 185, 6 August 1931, Page 9

RELIEF FINANCES MUCH OVERDRAWN.

HALF A MILLION POUNDS HAVE TO BE MADE UP. (Special to the “ Star.”) WELLINGTON, August 6. The fact that the Unemployment Board is actually between £400,000 and £500,000 behind ih its finances was disclosed by the Prime Minister (Mr F'orbes) when replying this morning to a deputation from the Wellington Hospital Board Mr Forbes said he appreciated the great financial strain on hospital boards at the present time, but he pointed out that he Unemploymen Board was still without funds and was operating on moneys that had been advanced in anticipation of the revenue that would come in under the recently enacted legislation. The leeway to be made up was between £400,000 and £500,000.

NO COUNTRY WORK, UNEMPLOYED SAY. MEN STATED TO BE DRIFTING CITYWARDS. That it is of little use registering as unemployed in certain country districts is the complaint of several men out of work. They state that there is little employment to be had in the rural areas and that they have been forced to come to the city in their quest for work. These statements, however, are not borne out by the weight of evidence obtained through inquiries from various quarters. .It is stated that men living in the country have preference in the matter of relief works which county councils may have put in hand, and that men from the city are sent out to those jobs only when the supply of workers from the country is not sufficient. In the same way the city unemployed are given preference on town jobs. Endeavour to Place Men.

It would appear that only a small proportion of unemployed men from the country drift to the city and that probably three-quarters of the men registered with country post-offices can be found employment in their own districts. Practically all permanent postmasters are registration officers and in the district from Kaikoura to Ashburton there are nineteen unemployment committees which endeavour to place men in their own districts. If men from the country come to the city in the hope of obtaining work under the City Council’s £39,500 loan scheme for roading they are doomed to disappointment. The council will pay 7 15s 4d a day to men employed, but there is a stipulation that any worker engaged must have been a resident of the city for the past eight months. The council scheme of roading work will be started next Monday. " There is no work to be had on the farms,” declared an unemployed man from the Cheviot district to-day. “It is of little use registering on that account. Many of the men who were out. of work in the district were engaged by the Public Works Department some time ago.” MEN’S BOOTS NEEDED AT CENTRAL DEPOT.

With most of the supplies from the week-end collections checked up, the storemen at the Central Pound Scheme Depot were busy this morning in the work of getting out the goods to the various depots that were in need of them. There were good supplies this week and thus the men were able to fulfil most of the orders. The main shortage was in men’s boots, on which there is a steady demand, with few pairs coming in. At the depots, business was brisk. At most of the main depots, upwards of 200 families a day are being catered for, and the helpers are finding it hard to meet with all requests. Traders had proved very helpful, it was stated, and few requests, when the depots were in short supply of certain commodities, had been refused. PROTEST AGAINST NEW DUTIES ON FOODSTUFFS. (Special to the “Star.”) TIMARU, August 5. A large meeting of Timaru unemployed to-night unanimously passed the following resolution: “That this meeting of Timaru unemployed protests against the action of the Government in raising the cost of foodstuffs by imposing additional duties, thereby adding to the staggering burden of the unemployed.” The meeting also decided to vote £2 towards the cost of providing afternoon tea for a mass meeting of unemployed women to be held next week and addressed by Mrs Herbert, of Dunedin, on the subject of forming a housewives’ union at Timaru, and also matters relative to strengthening the organisation of unemployed.