TOO MANY MINERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20107, 28 March 1928, Page 8

TOO MANY MINERS

POSITION IN SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT’S DIFFICULT PROBLEM. (By Radio) RUGBY, Afarch 26. Tn the House of Commons Mr Ramst\y MacDonald again raised the question of distress in the mining areas of South Wales.

Air Neville Chamberlain, Afinister of Health, replying, said that he found in South Wales confidence both among the miners and owners, that in time the situation would recover and the industry would regain a large measure of its former prosperity.

But while that might be true of the industry as a whole, in certain particular districts there could be no such hope. One had to recognise that there might be a number of men, estimated at some 200,000, who were unlikely to find permanent employment in the mining industry again. That was the situation, which, as far as he knew, was unprecedented, and it was one which might call for exceptional measures.

The Government would not be deterred from taking such exceptional measures if there were large numbers of miners who could no longer find employment. Obviously it would be a great mistake to take measures the effect of which would be still to tic them down to places where they could not earn their own livings, The problem resolved itself into one of transference from a place where there was no work for them to a place where there was. work. One difficulty about the transference of these people was that they were miners. The Govcrnmen were, however, taking steps to give them training in order to make it more easy for them to embark upon other means of support.