WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 55, 5 April 1930, Page 2

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.

Per Press Association.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER.

WELLINTON, Last night. Ootnmenting on the statement hy Mr J. W. Munro. M.P., that Dunedin had not received a fair share of the unem■ployment expenditure by the Railway Department, and all extra men at Hillside workshops had been dismissed behefore Christmas, the Hon, ' W. B. Taverner, Minister of Railways, stated to-day that from October 30 to March 1 last £32,737, or over 20 per cent of the total amount, was spent in the Dunedin district. The position in regard to extra hands was that on December 23 there were 112 additional tradesmen and 40 unskilled at the workshops. Of these only 35 tradesmen were released and seven had since "been engaged again. On March 29 there were 26 additional tradesmen and 34 unskilled at Hillside, and in addition at that date there were 25 additional tradesmen and 106 unskilled at other railway works in the vicinity of Dunedin. As a result of the investigatioTis hv a Puhlic Works officer, the puhlic Works Deoartment would nlace additional -men there. Mr Taver-poT adrlod +hht yesterdav hr> received from the Mmister of the Puhlic. WorkR (the Hon. E. A. "Ransom) a telegram stajing he had that day reeeived au interim report from an officer of the department who is in-vpstip-nting the em-nloymeut •nosition in Dunedin, and as a result he had inf+ruct"d the office1" befor® he leaves Dunedin to nlace fifty additimial men nn the present relief workR there. Mr "Ransom added that the matter would he further gone into on receipt of the officer' s full renort.