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these young people grow up and begin to expect the wages of grown men and women, they must seek them in some other occupation. At the age of about nineteen they find themselves without knowledge of any trade and without any hope for the future, except in the already overcrowded market for unskilled labour. As has been pointed out by Sir William Beveridge, they have not merely wasted in uneducative labour the years which might have been employed in acquiring a trade ; they have actually in many cases been unlearning the habits of regularity and discipline formed at school. The fact that unemployment rates in New Zealand increase sharply at about the age of twenty-one seems to suggest that New Zealand is not entirely free from this problem. Further investigation on the point is needed, and the possibilities of developing methods of vocational selection and guidance should be investigated. The raising of the school age should be considered in this connection.* (6) The time has, in our opinion, arrived for the consideration of a scheme of unemployment insurance as a means of preventing and alleviating unemployment. The principles of unemployment insurance as practised in England, though much misunderstood in New Zealand, are unquestionably sound and would do much to alleviate distress, and, by stabilizing purchasing-power in the hands of the workers, would help to stabilize the demand for labour. Such a scheme has obvious dangers, and adequate safeguards would have to be adopted to prevent abuse. But the safeguards adopted in England appear to have been effective, and the State should investigate whether such administrative difficulties as exist in this country could not be overcome. (7) The critical position of many farmers warrants a careful investigation by competent authorities with a view to alleviating the present position. While the committee does not offer any complete solution, it would appear that the position might be improved by an appreciable extension of rural facilities with a view to reducing the burden of existing mortgage charges on farms, and providing means for the purchase of requisites. (8) The committee stresses the importance of more adequate statistics on the extent and nature of unemployment in New Zealand.. The establishment of a system of unemployment insurance would automatically provide much of the necessary information in the industries concerned. (9) There is need for a close co-ordination between the volume of assisted immigration and the absorption capacity of the country for the time being. It is suggested that permanent consultation between the Public Works, Labour, Immigration, and Statistician's Departments, and frequent communication of these with the High Commissioner in London, should be capable of bringing about such an adjustment between the demand for and the supply of labour in the Dominion from time to time as would appreciably affect the unemployment position here. VIII. Conclusion. In conclusion, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that any adequate preventive or remedy for unemployment must be sought not in times of acute unemployment, but in times when trade is good. One reason why so little progress has been made in the past has been that, when trade i* booming, the need for understanding and investigating the problem is not felt; consequently, when a depression comes and public attention is directed to the evil, little can be done, for the causes operate some time before the phenomenon of unemployment appears. The economic machine is then out of gear and the time is not favourable for experiment or change. The lessons which are learnt, or should be learnt, are forgotten when trade improves, and the same difficulties have to be faced when the next depression comes. The germ of the depression is usually to be found in the preceding boom ; and considered and far-sighted policies, embracing both good times and bad, are necessary before any substantial improvement can be expected. It follows that society has not done its duty by the problem of unemployment if it is merely content with devising methods of alleviation when unemployment is acute. The -provision of emergency relief work and other such measures, however necessary and desirable on both philanthropic and economic grounds, is merely a palliative, and might be described as the ambulance work of industry. What is required is an understanding of the economic disorders of which unemployment is the symptom or result, and deliberate and far-sighted measures aimed at removing those disorders. The primary object of this committee is to suggest the urgent need for further inquiry in order that these disorders may be understood and intelligent efforts made towards their removal. (Applause.) The Chairman : There are no other papers available to be read just at the moment. A further paper has been received from Professor Williams, but this paper has not yet been before the Business Committee. It is suggested that the Conference agree that this paper be referred to the Business Committee for consideration. Is it your wish that this paper be referred to the Business Committee for consideration 1 Delegates : Aye, aye. The Conference adjourned at 12.15 p.m. Industrial Legislation. Paper by H. Belshaw, M.A. (N.Z.), Ph.D. (Cambridge), Professor of Economics, Auckland University College. I. Introductory. From the agenda paper which accompanied the invitation to attend the National Industrial Conference it is apparent that consideration of the system of industrial legislation is intended to receive the major

* Aa a means of alleviating the position, the committee fully endorses reoommendationa prepared by the executive committee of a recent Educational Conference held in Auckland. To outline the terms of these recommendations would carry ua too far afield. Those intereated are referred to Dr. E. P. Neale, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Auckland, or to Dr. H. Belshaw, Univeraity College, Auckland, from whom particulars may be obtained.

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