THE CHURCH AND UNEMPLOYMENT.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 25, Issue 11, 1 November 1935, Page 5

THE CHURCH AND UNEMPLOYMENT.

The Church is rapidly departing from a neutral attitude with respect to public affairs, and recent utterances by those m authority m the Church give evidence that the Christian conscience is not to be satisfied by the mere enunciation of high' principles, but demands appropriate action to have those principles made effective. The Church Gazette of Auckland has been sternly taken to task by the clergy concerned m the appeal which appeared m our last issue for its strictures upon their action. Our Bishop m his Synodal address looks forward to some kind of corporate action when he says, inter alia, "the time may come, and may not be far distant, when the Christian conscience will no longer tolerate the crime of war, and will repudiate the unequal distribution of the fruits of the earth, and of the results of labour." The Bishop of Waikato is fearlessly outspoken on the grave national question, and his words to his people are worthy of the utmost consideration. He writes: — "I write this month about a matter that seems to me of the highest importance. One had the idea that the "right of free speech" was one of the liberties of the subject provided that the ordinary rules of courtesy, reverence and. respect were adhered to? Are the Clergy debarred from expressing their minds? That would

seem to be the opinion of some. No doubt when the expression of those minds disturbs an otherwise easy conscience. It was the same with the Prophets of old; it was the same with our Lord; and those who follow His example now have the courage to speak out and the KNOWLEDGE FROM FIRST HAND which enables them to do it with conviction can expect no better treatment. I suppose that there is nobody who knows anything about it, who is satisfied with the way chat our unemployed m this country have been looked after. We pay large enough taxes: and would willingly pay more if it were wanted, but the huge surplus m hand and the further lowering of this particular tax surely show that there is something wanting somewhere. People ask for something "constructive." Here are TWO which I give for what they are worth. (1) Do away entirely with the. Unemployment Board. Let the Mayor and Council of Boroughs with the Chairman and Councils of Counties be asked to be responsible for the proper looking after of «men and women out of work m itheir own Borough or Counties. I know them m their own town and county (Waikato). They are both from the point of view of knowledge and sympathy fitted for this work and they would get plenty of volunteers to help them, free of all cost. Let the taxes collected ALL go to the people for whom they are collected: no expense for administration is necessary. There is something wrong if m these times m this country a man is expected to maintain his wife and family on 275. 6d. a week; if a man is expected to whittle away ALL his thrifty savings before he can be counted an "unemployed" ; if he has to surrender a house for which he has been paying for fourteen years and only has three to go before it his own. We clergy know of these things, and dozens more of a like nature. To say that the unemployed problem is dealt with as well m New Zealand as m any other country is absurd. The problem is entirely different m the United Kingdom for instance, as any one who knows the North of England (where the unemployed are) is fully aware. There should be no problem m this rich country, with a mere handful of people the unemployed among

whom can easily be looked after quite adequately and properly if the matter were tackled m the only right way: e.g., ensure the safety of the home; see that sufficient food and reasonable clothing are provided and then start to worry over relief works and kindred schemes. (2) Forbid the law the glaring injustice of the "week's notice" supposed to be attach to the weekly wage. Is working m a shop or with one's hand any less valuable than working with one's head and using a pen? Why cannot all workers have reasonable notice, and of the same length of time? Can the mother of a family, with a tidy house and children to be cared for, know REAL comfort if there is the risk of the breadwinner being, even temporarily, out of work, m a week's time. There are plenty of rules and restrictions m New Zealand, peculiar to this country, some of them wise, some of them foolish, but possibly designed by way of experiment: no harm would be done by making a few more, such as the one suggested. Let us all think, and, if we get the opportunity, support those who are calling on us to think and act."