MAYOR’S REPLY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20276, 10 April 1934, Page 4

MAYOR’S REPLY.

Statements by Lyttelton Unemployed. At last night’s meeting of the Lytf®lton Borough Council, the Mayor (Mr W. T. Lester) commented on a circular distributed amongst residents of the port by members of the Lyttelton Unemployed Workers’ Association. The Mayor said that he was sorry that the circular had been issued, as he considered the council had done its utmost for the Lyttelton unemployed. The statements in the circular, he added, were unreasonable and in some cases not accurate. The Borough Council did not shelve any responsibilities. The certifying officer was the only official who could allocate the days and his ruling was against another day being allocated to men who had obtained work on one of their allocated days and received payment for it. The Lyttelton unemployed had received better treatment than any other unemployed men in New Zealand. In other centres all the single men had had to go into camp, but not so in Lyttelton. No member of the council wished to starve into submission any member of the unemployed, as stated in the circular. In any case the council had no jurisdiction over the unemployed. Committee Put Out of Office. Councillor W. D. Gower asked what had become of the local unemployment committee. The Mayor: They were put out of office by the Unemployment Board, which transferred all the power to the certifying officer. The Mayor said that there was no tfuth in the statement that for the week ending March 23 more than £2O of the money allocated to relief workers at Lyttelton had been returned to the Unemployment Board. The council could not return the money when it had not received it. Whether a man could make up time lost through looking for work was entirely in the hands of the certifying officer, who carried out his instructions from the Unemployment Board. The Mayor also complained of the abuse the Town Clerk had to stand. The unemployed should not forget the hours spent bv the council officials in working in their interests. Councillor A. H. Fowles said that the statement .should not go unchallenged. He moved-that a committee consisting of the Mayor. Town Clerk and himself be appointed to drawn up a statement in answer to the circular. Councillor Fowles’ resolution was adopted.