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available Crown lands be dealt with, but I venture to say they could be roaded, the rivers bridged, and fences erected, and those lands made available for settlement and production. I personally know of some land —productive land at that —behind the hills in those places more than what is front of them to-day ; and, that being so, there is not the slightest doubt that in the course of two or three decades the people concerned who would settle on the land to a greater degree than at present wpuld be thankful for any measure brought down by this Government, or anybody else, in their interest. It is stated that the unemployed to-day number ten thousand, and when we say ten thousand we know it is not overdrawn, because if you took a registration in the various offices you would very nearly reach that figure ; but how many are there that are not registered at all ? I was speaking to a gentleman out of a Government Department the other day, who told me that he had to go through the Wairarapa and around to Pahiatua and on to Palmerston North, and he counted the men carrying sways, and they numbered 121, with their swags, on the roads. How many of those are registered ? We cannot get the figures, and therefore if we can bring some measures into force that would prevent this stagnation from continuing in this country as it prevails in others we can then claim that we have done something for our Dominion. Those men do not want something for nothing, or want to have to look to Charitable Aid Boards for a means of existence ; but they do ask for a recognition of the rights of citizenship. We assert that they have the right to demand those rights, and if they were recognized it would be conducive to the welfare of the whole community, which, after all, is made up of the individuals in it. Mr. Churchhouse : I rise to support the motion now before the Conference. It may be said probably by the people who are looking at this meeting from outside that we have not solved the problem. It may be said that we have not got very far, or we have done very little. But I believe that we have done wonderfully well. I believe, if the recommendation is carried out by those responsible in the large cities under the heading of " Unemployment," if the Government see that it is carried out —and I have every faith that it will be carried out, and the wishes of this Conference in this connection given effect to —then we shall have reached somewhere. There is ample scope for the State to look into the matter, so that the private employer or the Government Departments can be supplied with the necessary man-power in order to absorb our unemployed. We have no desire to apologize over this matter. We desire, and lam sure that the members on the other side desire, that there shall be no unemployed in this country. I really do believe that. Ido not believe that all the sympathy is on our side towards the unemployed ; I believe the other side are sympathetic also. But the question is an economic one, and as much an economic one for our side as for those on the other side of the room —in fact, the present unemployment is a heavier burden on those employed than it is on the employers, because we have very often to support the unemployed in our own way and from our own resources. This is a primary producing country, and we know that in that connection the primary production is only a summer one or sc seasonal one, and that the employer is affected in that unemployment shelters the primary producer to some extent. That is to say, that he is able to get the avenues of employment filled just when and where he wants at the required time. Unfortunately for the working class, you cannot tie them up at the end of the season and then knock them up next spring to do your work. In the industry I work for —the railways—the primary producers require a wagon, numerous wagons, to carry on the work during the summer season, and when that work is done those wagons are placed in the sheds and shut up until next season. You cannot do that with the worker, because he wants food and clothing for himself and his dependants. There is the difference ; and I think we can solve the problem somewhat better than they have done in the older countries. It has been said that in the older countries there is a chronic state of unemployment, and has been down the years. Very well; there is no reason why we should not try to solve the problem. We understand that New Zealand has led the world in legislation on previous occasions, and there is no reason why we cannot lead it again and show there is one country where there is no unemployment. The primary producers of this Dominion say they cannot afford to employ labour because they have not the returns from the land. Let me observe that while this Conference has been sitting I saw by the Wellington papers that £750,000 of extra money had been received at the last woolsales in Wellington over last year, an increase of 4d. per pound of wool; and yet we are confronted with the fact that the primary producer cannot employ, or absorb, labour. However, if it is necessary that the unemployed shall be employed, then it is necessary for the Government to realize its duty to see that the employer is 100 per cent, efficient, so that he will be able to work his land and absorb the labour of this country. Mr. Mcßrine: In replying, I may say that I listened most interestedly to the discussion of the report, and I think the discussion has cancelled itself, and there has been no serious criticism of the report we have brought down, excepting what you might regard as in the nature of a lowering-down. I think the question of free-trade or protection was not before the committee ; it was not even before this Conference ; and Ido not propose to say a single word about it. It would need too long a time to discuss such an intricate question, and Ido not propose to do it. As to the question of the statistics of unemployment as between this country and others, and the ratio of unemployment, probably it will be necessary first to go into the matter as it affects this Dominion. Probably not more than 2\ per cent, of the employed is the proportion, and I know that Mr. Weston is quite in sympathy with and agrees with me when I say that a man or a woman who is merely one of the 2 J per cent., and who is without food and shelter as the result of unemployment, will be just as hungry and just as much in need of help as the man or woman who is only on the 1-per-cent. line. Suppose you place the ratio at 4 or 5 per cent., I think we can congratulate ourselves on the fact that our ratio is lower than some of the older countries, where there are less opportunities for expansion than here. With respect to the workers' addendum, I want to strike this note : this resolution deals with the considered opinion of the workers and is a unanimous report, and I hope the Conference will take it in that light.

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