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f l i l S DOCUMENT IS THJS PROPERTY OP HIS BRITApIC MAJESIY'S GOVHIHMMT)

gjjj 0 R E T

CP. 83 (24). 13 O i B I l i x

UNEMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE.

*rw?t Interim Report on Unemployment.

COMMITTEE'S 1. At their Meeting 6h the 23rd January i92.4u,(Uabinet TERMS OP REFERENCE. 7(24) Conclusion 3a) the Cabinet after constituting the

Unemployment and Housing Committee as follows:-

Mr. Sidney Webb (President of the Board of Trade) (In the Chair)

Mr. Ciynes (Lerd Privy Seal) Mr. Philip Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer) Mr. Tom Shaw (Minister of labour) Miss Margaret Bondfiold (Parliamentary Under

Secretary, ^Ministry cf Labour) Mr. John Vifheatley (Minister of Health) Mr. Charles Trevelyan (Minister of Education) Mr. P.W. Jowett (JirBt Commissioner of Wcr&s) Mr. Walter R. Smith (Parliamentary Under Secretary,

Board of Agriculture) Mr, James Stewart (Under Secretary of Health for

Scotland) y

A Mr. H. Gosling (Minister of Transport)

other Ministors, such as the Heads of the Service Departments, being invited to attend for consultation when the business rendered i t desirable,

with Mr. R.B. Howorth, as Secretary,

agreed that the Committee should meet at onoo with power

tr appoint Sub-Committees in -order to investigate a l l

aspects of the question of Unemployment and the connected

question rf Housing and to make definite recommendations

to tho Cabinet as te what schemes for dealing with these

subjects are practicable and desirable.

The Unemployment and. Housing. Committee at their

meeting on the 25th January 1924 (C.U. 73rd Conclusions (i v

appointed the following Sub-Committe-e, to examine the

Unemployment portion of the Committee's Terms of

Appointed -t Cabinet S(?4) Conclusion 7o

Reference Labour

The M in i s t e r of jStesfotatac (Chairman)

The" P r e s iden t of the Board of Trade (ex o f f i c i o )

The M in i s t e r of Transpor t .

The F inanc i a l Secre tary to the Treasury

The Par l iamentary Sec r e t a r y to, the Ministry o f H e a l t h s

Tiie Par l iamentary Sec re ta ry to . the M in i s t r y o f Labour.

"The Unemployment Subcommittee have h e l d s e v e r a l

meetings and have considered a l a r g e number of Memoranda

and other documents c i r c u l a t e d t o them, by the

Departments concerned. A f t e r a ca r e fu l review

of tho s i t u a t i o n , the Unemployment Committee- submit

the f o l l o w i n g Report to the Cabinet ;

8. I t may be convenient to the Cabinet t o have be f o r e

them a. b r i e f Statement as t o the present unemployment

s i t u a t i o n , a summary cf the var ious schemes f o r the

r e l i e f of unemployment i n i t i a t e d by prev ious

Admin is t ra t ions and now in ope ra t i on , and l a s t l y the

suggest ions and recommendations o f t h i s Committee f o r

a l l e v i a t i n g the p o s i t i o n . At the outse t the Committee

wish t o /

emphasise the fact that in the brief time at their

disposal it haa not been possible, for them to examine in

detail numerous proposals and suggest ions which have been

submitted to them Tut a gorioral ourvey cf the problem

hftfl l o i the Committee to certain conclusions which are

set out in the following pages,

EAST I .

The Present Unemployment Situation.

3 . According to the latest available figures namely

thoBe for the week ending January £let 1924, of the

l ive register ef unemployed at ths Unemployment Exchangee

in Great Britain cojoparod with the figures on the

corresponding dafree 1 9 2 1 - 1 9 2 2 is as follows:­

24-th January 22 January 21st January 1 9 2 2 1 9 2 3 1924.

Men 1 , 3 8 9 , 3 2 1 . 1,125,440 8 9 7 , 7 1 6

Boys 6 4 , 9 7 4 52i771 40,389

Women 23^,446 3 c 6 , 5 * 7 2 1 * , 2 0 G

Girls 4 6 , 1 9 8 4 4 , 4 3 0 3 9 , 1 3 0

l , o?, : 66o 1,438,^41 1 , 2 1 5 . 6 8 1

The percentage of unemployment in the insured

industries at the end of:-

November 1 9 2 1 , . . . ' . ' * * * . V E T 1 6 - 5 ,

November 1 9 2 2 . . . * , 4 * A . 4 T . * 1 2 - 4

November 1 9 2 3 . . . ... ... ... 1 1 * 4

7'ID

The live register shows the number of persona

i' registered at the Exchanges as desirous of employment

whether as claimants or non-claimants under the

UneKployttect Insurance Aet. These figures give as

accurate a picture as is practicable of the

etat1stleal position of unemployment. It is true

that domestic servants, agricultural workers, a

certain number of juveniles, workers who having or having been refused

exhausted /benefit do not think It worth while to

maintain registration, and mmbera of "professional

trampers" may not be included, but save in the

ease of agricultural workers who may be thrown out

&f employment owing to the effect of the slaughtering

dairy herds through cattle disease which may eause

serious local unemployment, the experience of the

Ministry suggests that no large addition needs to

be mode to the Live Register to see the picture

properly.

IFIGUKES 05"fHEMPLOYKSBT

4. The only trades of outstanding importance

'I VARIOUS in which employment can now be said to be good

are the eoal trade where only 2'4$ of the

industry were unemployed at the end of'the

year and the tinplate and steel sheet industry

where about 3 * 6 $ were unemployed.

In the railway carriage /

* 4 ­

The live register shows the number of persons

registered at the Exchanges as desirous of employment

whether as elaimaats or non-claimants under the

UnaBployaecLt insurance Act. These figures give as

accurate a picture as is practicable of the

statistical position of unemployment. It is true

that domeetie servants, agricultural workers, a

certain number cf juveniles, workers who having or having been refused

exhausted /benefit do not think it worth while to

maintain registration,, and ambers of "professional

traajpers" nay not be included, but save in the

ease of agricultural workers who may be thrown out

frf employment owing to the effect of the slaughtering

! * dairy herds through cattle disease which may cause

serious local unemployment, the experience of the

Ministry suggests that no large addition needs to

he made to the Live Register to see the picture

properly.

4. Ihe only trades of outstanding importance

in which employment can now be said to he good

are the seal trade where only 2*4$ of the

industry were unemployed at the end of the

year and the tinplate and steel Bheet industry

where about 3*6$ were unemployed.

In the railway carriage /

- 4 ­

a n d w a g o n b u i l d i n g a n d i n t h e c a r p e t i n d u s t r y t h e r a t e

o i u n e m p l o y m e n t i s l o w a n d a p a r t f r o m p a i n t e r s 1 a n d t h e

u n s k i l l e d w o r k p e o p l e e m p l o y m e n t I n t h e b u i l d i n g t r a d e

can b e s a i d t o b e f a i r l y g o o d .

I n m o s t o f t h e g r e a t s t a p l e i n d u s t r i e s o f t h e c o u n t r y ,

h o w e v e r ; e m p l o y m e n t i s s t i l l b a d . I t i s w o r s t , i n

s h i p b u i l d i n g s m a r i n e e n g i n e e r i n g a n d s h i p p i n g w h e r e

3 4 . 2 $ , 2 2 * 2 $ a n d 21*1% r e s p e c t i v e l y a r e o u t o f w o r k , b u t

t h e r a t e o f u n e m p l o y m e n t i s a l s o v e r y h i g h i n g e n e r a l

e n g i n e e r i n g a n d i r o n f b u n d i n g ( 1 8 1 ' 6 % ) I r o n and S t e e l

M a n u f a c t u r e ( 1 7 . 1 $ ) R o a d T r a n s p o r t ( 1 6 . 2 $ ) P u b l i c W o r k s

C o n t r a c t i n g ( 1 8 * 9 $ ) P o t t e r y ( 1 4 . 6 $ ) C o t t o n I n d u s t r y ( 1 2 * 0 $ )

L i n e n T r a d e ( 1 5 , 1 $ ) L a c e T r a d e ( 1 6 , 5 $ ) W o o l l e n a n d

W o r s t e d I n d u s t r y (9 ,9$) T a i l o r i n g ( 1 2 . 4 $ ) H a t a n d C a p & e *

T r a d e ( 1 3 . 5 $ ) . F o o d t r a d e s ( o t h e r t h a n B r e a d M i l l i n g & o .

C o n f e c t i o n e r y ) ( 1 4 . 0 $ ) .

I n t h e b u i l d i n g t r a d e s t h e g e n e r a l o v e r a l l r a t e o f

u n e m p l o y m e n t i s a s h i g h a s 1 3 . 6 $ b u t t h i s i s due p r i n c i p a l l y

t o t h e s e a s o n a l d e p r e s s i o n I n p a i n t i n g ( 26 . " y O . I n m a s t o f

t h e s k i l l e d o c c u p a t i o n s i n t h e I n d u s t r y t h e r a t e s a r e much

l o w e r -

C a r p e n t e r s 4 0 1 $ Mas' 'ii3 3 . 5 $ B r i c k l a y e r s 2 , 0 $ S l a t e r s 5 . 4 $ P l a s t e r e r s 3 . 9 $ P l u m b e r s 6 . 0 $

Out o f t h e 9 7 , 4 5 0 w o r k p e o p l e u n e m p l o y e d i n t h e

k u i l d i n g t r a d e s a t t h e e n d o f December , , 1 9 2 3 , 5 4 , 6 8 6 w e r e

l a b o u r e r s , 2 8 , 5 1 0 w e r e p a i n t e r s a n d 2 4 , 2 4 2 w e r e i n a

m i s c e l l a n e o u s g r o u p o f o c c u p a t i o n s .

The f o l l o w i n g d i s t r i c t s may b e c l a s s e d s s t h o s e i n

w h i c h u n e m p l o y m e n t i s h e a v i e s t a n d d i s t r e s s t h e r e f r o m

g r e a t e s t o r v e r y ; c o n s i d e r a b l e .

S h i p b u i l d i n g ,

B a r r o w The C l y d e , -T y n o s i d e ,

The VJear and T e e s ,

S h i p p i n g a n d S h i p b u i l d i n g .

T h e M e r s e y , The D o c k D i s t r i c t s o f L o n d o n , P o r t s m o u t h a n d S o u t h a m p t o n and C h a t h a m , P l y m o u t h and D e v o n p o r t .

H e a v y M e t a l D i s t r i c t s ,

S h e f f i e l d D i s t r i c t The h e a v y m e t a l d i s t r i c t s o f the H i d l e n d s ,

( W o l v e r h a m p t o n , W e s t B r o m w i o h , W e d n e s b u r y , B i l s t o n and t h e B l a c k C o u n t r y g e n e r a l l y )

O t h e r s ,

I p s w i c h a n d L i n c o l n ( A g r i c u l t u r a l E n g i n e e r i n g ) , C u m b e r l a n d ( g e n e r a l l y ) . D u n d e e , N o r w i c h , M e r t h y r T y d v i l , D a r t f o r d .

5 . P o r " v a r i o u s r e a s o n s i t h a s a l w a y s b e e n f o u n d m o s t

d i f f i c u l t t o mate a n y r e l i a b l e e s t i m a t e o f the n u m b e r

Q(£ u n e m p l o y e d vltb have o b t a i n e d w o r k d i r e c t l y o r

i n d i r e c t l y I n c o n s e q u e n c e o f the m e a s u r e s t a k e n b y

G o v e r n m e n t t o r e l i e v e u n e m p l o y m e n t . T h e r e i s , h o w e v e r ,

no d o u b t t h a t i n t h e a g g r e g a t e t h e number i s a

s u b s t a n t i a l o n e , A t the same t ime I t i s n e c e s s a r y to

b e a r i n m i n d t h a t w i t h c e r t a i n i m p o r t a n t e x c e p t i o n s ,

s u c h a s t he a r r a n g e m e n t s u n d e r t h e T r a d e f a c i l i t i e s

and E x p o r t C r e d i t s l e g i s l a t i o n , t h e ' e x i s t i n g s chemes

f o r t h e r e l i e f o f u n e m p l o y m e n t h a v e h a d c o m p a r a t i v e l y

l i t t l e e f f e c t i n t h o s e h i g h l y s t i l l e d i n d u s t r i e s ,

s h i p b u i l d i n g , s h i p p i n g , h e a v y m e t a l s and t e x t i l e s ,

i n w h i o h unemp loyment i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s e v e r e .

PART I I .

Important Unemployment Relief Arrangements approved' by previous Admlnls'ti*a'li6ns 'aW

" 'novi in operstionT

In the following parsgrephs the Committee summarise

brief ly the principal arrangements for Unemployment

Relief approved by previous Governments.

E13BATI0K $OVERMEN T

The principal Contracting Departments have under­

S$5. taken to accelerate Government work during the present

winter to the f o l l o w i n g extent:-

Admi ra l t y £1,010,000 War O f f i c e 515,000 O f f i c e o f Works and Fo r e s t r y

Commission,.,. 200-000 Post O f f i c e . 1,000,000

£ i i , 7^5,000".

I t i s doubt fu l whether th i s aggregate f i g u r e cou ld ,

w i th advantage , be apprec iab ly inc reased . In add i t i on

to the above the l a t e Government approved (Cabinet 5 (24)

Conclusion 4) the i n s e r t i o n in the fiavsl

1924-5 of the sum c f £5 m i l l i o n s f o r the

Est imates f o r

cons t ruc t i on

o f C ru i s e r s . Tenders f o r the v e s s e l s have not y e t been

i n v i t e d , and whi l e i t should be noted that some l i t t l e time

must e lapse be f o r e construct ion can commence i t must not be

f o r g o t t e n that from the purely unemployment po in t of

view the orders w i l l be the most use fu l work which can be

undertaken in the s e v e r e l y d istressed, sh ipbu i ld ing

indus t ry .

In each of the years 1920-1, 1921-2 and 1922-5

large sums have been a l l o c a t e d from the Road Fund towards

vilorkB which rave been1 piit In hand at an.earlier date than

otherwise would have been doiae In order to afford employ­

ment. Towards earlier programmes certain contributions

were made by the Exchequer, the balance of the money

being fouiad by the Local Authorities, The estimated

aggregate coBt of the works In these programmes Is now

put at £25 million, of which, In round figures the

State bears £15 million an'd the Local Authorities­

£11 million.

In addition t6 the above a programme of special

works In re l ie f of Unemployment was sanctioned last

Autumn under which the Rosid Fund w i l l contribute

£8 millions to works estimated to cost £ l l f million.

In a l l , therefore, the total sum sanctioned iti respect

of which contributions have been promised or allocated amount c

from the Road Fund/to £37 million, towards whioh

figure the total Gdvernmetit contribution is about

£22 million. . . .)

Works assisted by the Ministry of Transport

taclude the constriction slid maintenance Of arterial

and other roads and the construction, maintenance

and repair of bridges etc. Among other important :

schemes, which have recently been approved and on

/which

(,

Nature-., cftne-Head EuadGrants.

which work i s now proceeding or w i l l s h o r t l y be

s t a r t ed , ara c e r t a i n Greater London A r t e r i a l Road

Schemes to cost £3 m i l l i o n , the new Edinburgh-

Glasgow Road, and the 'Blrmingliam-Wolverhampton Road.

Cer ta in l a r g e Bridge Schemes are under c o n s i d e r a t i o n ;

the l ay and Quecns fe r ryBr idges w i l l r equ i r e

Par l iamentary powers and n e g o t i a t i o n s for the new

Menai Bridgo are in p r o g r e s s , and the des ign of the

br idge I s under cons idera t i ons

Severa l l a r g e schemes f o r Art -er la l . Roaxla harve- "been.

prepared and cons idered by the M in i s t r y of Transport

which would not r equ i r e S ta tu to ry Author i ty^ but for .

whioh no d e f i n i t e f i n a n c i a l p r o v i s i o n has been mado.

The most important o f these i s the scheme f o r the

Manchester -L iverpoo l Road. This scheme would cost

a t o t a l of £3 m i l l i o n and n e g o t i a t i o n s are be ing

conducted on the bas is of a Government con t r i bu t i on

of 5D per cent., Other schemes are the N o r t h - O r b i t a l

Road round London, and the Cherteey Road, es t imated

t o cost £5 m i l l i o n and £1,500,000 r e s p e c t i v e l y .

I n add i t i on there are a l a r g e number of misce l laneous

a p p l i c a t i o n s from Looal A u t h o r i t i e s whose schemes

aggregate about £5 m i l l i o n ,

The Grants g i ven by the M in i s t r y cf Transport are

based on the cost of the Works and vary normal ly from .

50 per fcent t o 65 per cent ; In ve ry e xcep t i ona l cases

Grants have been g i ven up to 75 per cen t .

In fur ther subs tant ia l commitments of the

Road Fund ara entered i n t o i t must be assumed*that i t

w i l l be necessary to c a l l upon.the Treasury , a l though

not i n the immediate fu tu r e , f o r subs tant ia l advances,

and poss ib l y f o r a cons iderab le p e r i od , Such advances

i f r equ i r ed over a p e r i od o f more than one year are i n

e f f e c t short term borrowing by the Road Fund,

IjSWBTJOr&M

OOMUrfTBB.

INTER WORKS

[925 -24 .

fa) GENERAL.

UP t o the bummer o f 1923 the Un emp loyment

G r a n t s Com I t t e e h a d d e a l t w i t h n e a r l y 1 0 * 0 0 0 s c h e m e s

o f work '.-nd lw.d a p p r o v e d g r a n t s i n r e s p e c t o f s c h e m e s

c o s t i n g o v e r £ 4 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , p r o v i d i n g * P P R O 3 F C I M N t e l y

1 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 m - n - m o n t h s o f d i r e c t l o c a l e m p l o y m e n t , '.md

s t l e a s t s s much more i n d i r e c t e m p l o y m e n t i n t h e

m a n u f a c t u r e o f m ^ t e r i ^ L S E

A s r e g c r d s t h e p r e s e n t w i n t e r t h e p o s i t i o n i s s s

f o l l o w s . - ?

C i r c u l a r s w e r e i s s u e d l a s t y e a r t o L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s

i n v i t i n g them t o i n d i c a t e t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h t h e y w o u l d .

he p r e p a r e d i f n e c e s s a r y t o p u t i n h a n d w i t h S t a t e

a s s i s t a n c e w o r k s f o r t h e r e l i e f o f u n e m p l o y m e n t d u r i n g

t h e W i n t e r 1 9 2 3 - 2 4 .

A t t h e same t i m e L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s w e r e i n f o r m e d t h a t

t h e t e r m s on w h i c h S t a t e a s s i s t a n c e w o u l d b e g r a n t e d t o

a p p r o v e d s c h e m e s w e r e t o - b e i m p r o v e d i n t h e c a s e o f c e r t a i n

c l a s s e s o f s o - c a l l e d " r e v e n u e p r o d u c i n g " w o r k s b y i n c r e a s i n

f r o m f i v e y e a r s t o f i f t e e n y e a r s t h e p e r i o d o f g r a n t o f

5 0 ^ i n t e r e s t o n t h e c a p i t a l c o s t o f t h e w o r k s - l a t e r t h i s

was e x t e n d e d t o a l l r e v e n u e p r o d u c i n g w o r k s o

The t e r m s f o r n o n r e v e n u e p r o d u c i n g w o r k s w e r e

c o n t i n u e d a s b e f o r e , , v i a . 6 5 $ o f t h e i n t e r e s t and s i n k i n g

f u n d c h a r g e s o n t h e l o a n r a i s e d f o r t h e w o r k f o r f i f t e e n

y e a r s o r h a l f t h e p e r i o d o f t h e l o a n .

F u r t h e r sums w e r e a l s o p r o v i d e d f o r g r a n t i n g a s s i s t a n c

on t h e b a s i s o f 6 0 $ o f t h e w a g e s c o s t o f w o r k s f i n a n c e d

v t h e r w i s e t h a n b y l o a n .

The r e s p o n s e t o t h e C o m m i t t e e 1 s c i r c u l a r was h i g h l y

s a t i s f a c t o r y - L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s s u b m i t t e d p r e l i m i n a r y a n d

p r o v i s i o n a l s t a t e m e n t s o f s chemes a m o u n t i n g t o o v e r

£ 2 4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 o n t h e l o a n b a s i s a n d o v e r £ 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 on t h e

6 0 $ w a g e s c o s t b a s i s . T h i s was a m a r k e d I n c r e a s e on t h e

r e s p o n s e t o t h e C o m m i t t e e ' s c i r c u l a r o f t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ,

when t h e v a l u e o f p r o v i s i o n a l s chemes s u b m i t t e d on t h e l o a v

b a s i s a m o u n t e d t o some £ 1 3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 .

0

. ( QAJJ A s a r e s u l t L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s we i * e - , then a s k e d t o pu; ' L v

" f o r w a r d ' d e f i n i t e s chev i e s I n d e t a i l a n d u p t o t h e 2 3 t h

J a n u a r y s c h e m e s t o t h e v a l u e o f n o l e s s t h a n £ 2 1 , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 .

h a v o b e e n s u b m i t t e d o f w h i c h £ 1 4 , 1 9 3 , 0 0 0 h a v e b e e n '

a p p r o v e d . , £ 2 , 2 2 0 , 0 0 0 r e j e c t e d , a n d £ 4 , 6 8 7 , 0 0 0 a r e u n d e r

c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

More s chemes a r e b e i n g r e c e i v e d d a l l y , b u t a p a r t

f r o m t h e s e , t h e t o t a l o f s c h e m e s a p p r o v e d s o f a r e x c e e d s

c o n s i d e r a b l y t h e t o t a l f i g u r e f o r t h e W i n t e r 1 9 2 3 - 3 w h i c h

a m o u n t e d t o u n d e r £ 1 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 .

c) 601- WAGES On t h e b a s i s o f 60% o f t h e w a g e s c o s t t h e v a l u e o f mi SCHEMES c

s c h e m e s a p p r o v e d u p t o t h e 2 8 t h J a n u a r y a m o u n t s t o

£ 1 , 5 1 4 , 0 0 0 o u t o f a t o t a l v a l u e s u b m i t t e d o f £ 2 , 5 7 7 , 0 0 0 ,

o f w h i c h £ 4 5 5 , 0 0 0 h a v e b e e n r e j e c t e d o r w i t h d r a w n a n d

£ 4 1 0 , C 0 0 v a r e u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n ! .

H e r e a g a i n t h e f i g u r e s a r e f a r ahead , o f t h e c o r r e s ­

p o n d i n g p e r i o d o f l a s t y e a r a n d m o r e a r e b e i n g r e c e i v e d

d a i l y .

I ; ALL P r o v i s i o n i s b e i n g made i n t h e E s t i m a t e s f o r 1 9 2 4 - 2 5 P X M B & ,

t o meet p a y m e n t of g r a n t on a l l s c h e m e s l i k e l y t ' * be

r - e . a e t v e d ' ' ' t h i s " " W i n t e r , a n d s c h e m e s h a v e b e e n r e f u s e d on

p r a c t i c a l l y t w o g r o u n d s ' . o n ! y e 0 g t h a t t h e y a r e u n s u i t a b l e c

o r t h a t u n e m p l o y m e n t i n t h e p a r t i c u l a r d i s t r i c t i s n o t s e v e r e .

The t o t a l n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t s c h e m e s so f a r d e a l t w i t h

b y t h e C o m m i t t e e t h i s W i n t e r a m o u n t s t o 2 , 1 5 0 o u t o f 2 , 5 7 4

r e c e i v e d .

The t o t a l amount o f e m p l o y m e n t b e i n g o r t o b e a f f o r d e d

d i r e c t j y b y t h e s c h e m e s s o f a r a p p r o v e d t h i s W i n t e r a m o u n t s

i n a l l t o 6 2 4 , 0 0 0 m a n - m o n t h s .

T h e s c h e m e s a s s i s t e d h a v e b e e n v a r i e d , i n n a t u r e , ' a n d on

t h e w h o l e t h e y h a v e b e e n w o r k s o f m a r k e d p u b l i c u t i l i t y n o t

o n l y f r o m t h e p r i m a r y p o i n t o f v i e w o f d i r e c t l y p r o v i d i n g

local emp loyment t o u n e m p l o y e d p e r s o n s , b u t a l s o i n

. a f f o r d i n g e m p l o y m e n t t o wo rkmen a t t h e i r own , t r a d e i n

f a c t o r i e s , w o r k s h o p s , e t c . , ' t o a n u m b e r a t l e a s t as g r e a t a s

t h e f i g u r e s g i v e n a b o v e .

To m e a s u r e t h e e f f e c t o f t h e s e , rorks i n r e l i e v i n g

.... u n e m p l o y m e n t i t i a a c c o r d i n g l y n e c e s s a r y t o d o u b l e t h e

f i g u r e s o f m a n - m o n t h s i n t h e p r e c e d i n g p a r a g r a p h .

( e ) As f o r e c a s t e d i n P a r l i a m e n t i n A u g u s t l a s t a new ASSISTANCE TO PUBLIC d e p a r t u r e u n d e r t a k e n t h i s w i n t e r t o r e l i e v e u n e m p l o y m e n t i n -UTILITY UNDER- . i n d u s t r i e s s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d h a s b e e n t o g r a n t a m o d i f i e d TAXINGS.

f o r m o f a s s i s t a n c e t o l a b i l e U t i l i t y U n d e r t a k i n g s c a r r y i n g

o u t ' w o r k s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s , w h e r e t h e

w o r k i s c l e a r l y o f a n a t u r e w h i c h n o r m a l l y w o u l d n o t b e

e x e c u t e d f o r some y e a r s .

A n u m b e r o f p r o p o s a l s o f t h i s n a t u r e h a v e b e e n r e c e i v e d

b y t h e U n e m p l o y m e n t G r a n t s C o m m i t t e e f r o m S t a t u t o r y B o d i e s

s u c h a s Gas and W a t e r C o m p a n i e s , D o c k U n d e r t a k i n g s . a n d

E l e c t r i c i t y U n d e r t a k i n g s . I n p r a c t i c a l l y a l l t h e c a s e s s c

f a r d e a l t w i t h t h e d i v i d e n d s o f t h e c o m p a n i e s a r e a l r e a d y

l i m i t e d b y s t a t u t e s i n s u c h c a s e s a s t h e y we re n o t s c

l i m i t e d t h e C o m m i t t e e h a v e ' s a t i s f i e d t h e m s e l v e s t h a t t h e

m a k i n g o f a g r a n t w a s n o t l i k e l y f t o a f f e c t t h e d i v i d e n d .

The t o t a l v a l u e o f t h e s c h e m e s a s s i s t e d on t h i s b a s i s so

f a r amount s t o a b o u t £ 1 , 5 3 0 , 0 0 0 a n d a g o o d many o a s e s a r e

u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n - m^re a r e b e i n g r e c e i v e d .

I n a l l t h e s e c a s e s emp loyment i n t h e I r e n a n d s t e e f

i n d u s t r y must r e s u l t b y r e a s r - n ftf t h e m a n u f a c t u r e o f p i p e s ,

j a i l s , c r a n e s a n d o t h e r m a c h i n e r y , and g i r d e r s f o r s t e e l

f r a m e b u i l d i n g s .

- 1 ' 2 ' . ' - :

The M i n i s t r y o f A g r i c u l t u r e ' s t o t a l commitments a r e

£ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 , t h i s sum p r o v i d i n g f o r s chemes o f a t o t a l c o s t

o f £ 3 0 5 , 0 0 0 . £ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 Tjas t h e t o t a l money p r o v i d e d f o r

t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r a n d t h e M i n i s t r y ' s r e s o u r c e s a r e

a c c o r d i n g l y now e x h a u s t e d . Up t o J a n u a r y 5 t h a n a v e r a g e

o f 1 ,180 men h a d b e e n e m p l o y e d on t h e s e w o r k s f o r t w e l v e

we e k s .

S i m i l a r l y t h e S c o t t i s h p r o v i s i o n o f £ 3 5 , 0 0 0 h a s b e e n

e x h a u s t e d a n d S c o t l a n d h a s a s k e d t h e T r e a s u r y f o r an

a d d i t i o n a l £ 4 0 , 0 0 0 .

u n d e r the E x p o r t O r e d l t a S c h e m e , - w h i c h i s i n t e n d e d

to f t f o i l l t r t e t he r e s u m p t i o n o f tho o r d i n a r y means Yfhereby

t r a d e r s c; n o b t a i n f a c i l i t i e s f r o m t h e i r b a n k e r s t o e n a b l e

them to f i n a n c e t h e i r e x p o r t t rade 1 ' , the G o v e r n m e n t

g u s r c n t e e d r a f t s d r a w n s g a i n s t s h i p m e n t s o f g o o d s

e x p o r t e d f r o m G r e a t B r i t a i n to a p p r o v e d c o u n t r i e s a b r o a d ,

O r i g i n a l l y a s y s t e m o f " A d v a n c e s " ( . i . e , o a s h

d i s c o u n t i n g of B i l l s ) w.".s a d o p t e d , b u t h:::s b e e n d i s ­

c o n t i n t i e d a n d s u p e r s e d e d b y ; two systems o f " G u a r a n t e e s " ,

v i z : ( a ) g e n e r a l c r e d i t s w h i c h do n o t i n v o l v e a

s e p a r a t e r e f e r e n c e t o t h e . E x p o r t C r e d i t s D e p a r t m e n t i n

r e s p e c t o f e a c h s p e c i f i c t r a n s a c t i o n : (b ) c r e d i t s i n

r e s p e c t o f e a c h s p e c i f i c t r a n s a c t i o n .

P o s i t i o n a t D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 1 9 2 3 .

Re p a y m e n t s T o t a l S a n c t i o n s Amount s o f A d v a n c e s , Amount s i n

S a n c t i o n s C a n e o i l e d t a k e n up B i l l s p a i d u s e o r end G u a r a n t e e s E a r m a r k e d . C a n c e l l e d .

( 2 ) (.3) (4) ( 5 ) £ £ £ £

lances­ 3,164,257 1,412,107 1,752,150 344,790 1,40^,360 oific

lotionsferal

17,983,832 9,831,436 5,447,370 3,115,720 5,036,676

lits 6,035,287 3,951,245 695,206 604,089 2,084,042

Maximum E x c h e q u e r c o n t i n g e n t l i a b i l i t y 2 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

Amount i n u s e o r e a r m a r k e d . 8 , 5 2 8 , 0 7 8

B a l a n c e a v a i l b l e 1 7 , 4 7 1 , 9 2 2

- 13 ­

i w 0

LVNTEES UNDERUfiv'EACILITIES PS, 1921 and' 3 .

(IiOiUAL ' ^iophebi.

Under these Aots the a*reasuryis^ empowered, on

the advioe of an Advisory Committee, to guarantee the payment of interest and principal, or either interest

or principal, of loans raised in connection with capital

undertakings, provided the loans are expended in such

a way.as to relieve unemployment in Great Britain.

Position at December 31, 1920,. ^ , £

Exchequer contingent l iabi l i ty authorised by Trade Eacilities and Loans Guarantee Act, 1922 (Session 2 ) , in respect of capital 50,000,000

Total amouat in respect of Which Treasury have stated their willingness to give guarantees 38,205,645

Since November 1923 no further guarantees have been

definitely approved because the Powers of the Treasury

to give guarantees expired on 9th November and wil l not

be brought in existence again until a new Act has been

passed. The Committee, however," have recommended to

the Treasury further guarantees in excess of £1,000,000

anci the Treasury have expressed their willingness to

give guarantees in those cages as soon as the necessary

Statutory Powers have been obtained. One of these

guarantees is to the Government of Lithuania for

£1,000,000 for the construction of certain railways

ohd the construction of grain elevators. The Committee

have also indioatod to Companies the terms on which they

would be prepared to recommend guarantees. The total

amount involved being £4,250,000 the two largest being

the Electricity scheme of the British Aluminium

Company, and shipbuilding proposals amounting to

£1,700,000

In. response to enquiries by the Unemployment

Committee of the late Government., the Colonial Office

recently submitted certain proposals for assisting the

I l l

r e l i e f o f unemployment a t home , and. a t the same time

developing the Colonies and P r o t e c t o r a t e s in A f r i c a .

By fa r the most important of these proposals was one

f o r the const ruct ion , at an e s t - " " t e d cost of

£6,150,GOO, o f a Hallway in Kenya and Uganda to open

up l a r g e cot ton growing a r eas . The l a t e Government,

on the recommendation of the Unemployment Committee,

approved in p r i n c i p l e the construct ion o f th i s Hallway

and requested the Treasury and the Co lon ia l O f f i c e to

examine the f i n a n c i a l aspects of the proposa l s , with a

v iew to the scheme being f inanced on terms as favourable

as the circumstances may permi t .

The present i n t en t i on i s tha t . the ass is tance g iven

to development schemes in the Crown Colonies and

P r o t e c t o r a t e s should he on the same terms as were o f f e r ed

at tho recent Imper ia l Economic Conference to the

Dominions, namely the p rov i s i on by the B r i t i s h Government

of th ree -quar te rs of the i n t e r e s t f o r a pe r i od o f five­

years on loans rais9d f o r the undertakings.,

These terms have been communicated to the var ious

Dominions concerned and are s t i l l under cons idera t ion .

So f a r as i s at present known no proposals have yet

been r e c e i v e d from the Dominion Governments or from tho

Dominion State Governments,

ALLEVIATION OF GEE UN-EMPIOYMEKT SITUATION IN DIRECTIONS OTSE-t THAN SEE ABOVE.

Various proposa ls f o r dea l ing w i t h the h i g h l y

important and d i f f i c u l t prob lem.o f ^avoni le , Unemploy^.

ment were r e c en t l y undor cons idera t i on by Committees

of the l a t e Government. Copies of the Reports of

these Committees, C.U.614, have been be fo re the

Committee3 Beyond approving the p o l i c y of s t imu la t ing

I ioca l A u t h o r i t i e s to g r e a t e r a c t i v i t y f o r p ress ing

on the p o s i t i o n of Juvenile Unemployment Centres on

the e x i s t i n g bas is o f the State bear ing 75$ of the

cos t , the l a t e Government took no d e f i n i t e dec is ions

on the recommendations contained in the Reports in

question,,

In add i t ion to t h e measures euKmariaed above, i t

must, of Qpurse, be remembered that var ious arrangements

are in opera t ion tending to m i t i ga t e and to r e l i e v e

the s i t u a t i o n , In t h i s connection re ference must bo

made to matters such as Overseas Sett lament, Unemploy­

ment Insurance, Post-war Sett lement mainly of ex­

s e r v i c e men, Land Sett lement and the ac t ion taken by

Poor Law A u t h o r i t i e s in persuaaaoe- of t h o i r s ta tu to ry

powers. P a r t i c u l a r s of these arrangements w i l l be

found in the s p e c i a l Report on Unemployment fo r the

monthending December 31st. ' , 1823, C P o f i ( 2 4 ) , a t tached .

I t must no t a lso be f o r g o t t en that l o c a l Au tho r i t i e s

and important pub l i c u t i l i t y undertakings have,, them­

s e l v e s , a c c e l e r a t od work in order to r e l i e v e unemploy­

ment. As--an ins tance , re ference maybe made to tho

a c t i v i t i e s of c e r ta in o f the Railway Groups whose

recent announced programmes of renewals e t c

aggregate about £30,000,000, i t i s uncerta in how much of t h i s expenditure r e a l l y represents rm work..

THE C(MJITT.K3J^S3TGGESTTX1S^AJP. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR r^gj^r^j^TP^TKEj W^lib"2MS5rr PROBLEM.

In this part of t h e i r Report the Committee submit to the

Qabinet.their views ao t o the biiirt remedies for the Immediate

relief and ultim&te solution of the-unemployment problem. Owing"'

to the very short time a v a i l a b l e the Committee have not been

able to examine the possibilities and effects of a change of

polioy and for the time being they feel bound to limit their

suggestiona to l i t t l e more than ah sxtensioa. of the chief admin­

istrative measures they have feuiul in operation, particularly

those like the Trade F a c i l i t i e s aulwae and the Export Credits

BCheme, which stimulate the development of normal trade along

normal lines.,

In the past thetendenoy of previous Governments has been

to start by attempting to alleviate unemployment by the provision

Of rel ief works of various kinds and after experience has shewn

the difficulty of. solving the problem on these lines5 to eoncen­

trate more and more on efforts to revive and expand trade. The

Committee assume, however, that the policy of the present

Government wi l l , from the start, aim at the augmentation of the

total volume of employment and the consequential absorption of

the unemployed in their own trades and industries, and that the

Government wil l regard the ad hoo schemes for the temporary i

re l ie f of the unemployed as of secondary importance and as being'

merely supplementary expedients pending the coming into full

operation of the Government's plans for providing further

permament employment.

I t follows from this that the Government',s schemes should

go on all the year round and that arrangements should not aim, as

in the past at attaining their maximum effect in the winter months!

The Committee think i t necessary that emphasis should be

laid on the Government's polioy not being so much for the

"relief" of unemployment as for the. restoration of trade. Specifio schemes recommended to stimulate trade or temporarily to \ absorb unemployed, must be seen in perspective to the Govern­menfs whole polioy both in foreign ,,and internal affairs for the restoration of the international trade on whioh we

- 1 ? - so 1

RnSjbSPSCTS IMG

so largely depend. The Committee are so impressed with,

the Importance cf" this fact, which has been toe l i t t l e

recognised in the past, t h a t t h e y suggest that the Prime

Minister might take the earliest possible opportunity of

making i t clear that t h e G o v e r n m e n t have no intention of

drawing off from the n o r m a l c h a n n e l s - *?f trade large sums

for extemporised m e a s u r e s w h i c h can only be palliatives,

and that the necessity of expenditure for subsidising'

schemes In direct rel ief of u n e m p l o y m e n t wi l l be judged

In relation to the greater necessity for maintaining

undisturbed JJxe ordinary -financial- fac i l i t ies - and recourses

:of trade and industry.

By the end of 1923, a number of important industries

had made some, recovery (in one or two casqs almost

complete) from the serious depression which prevailed

earlier, and there seems no reason to think that during the

f irst few months of 1924, at least, this recovery will

not be maintained. . Among these industries may be

mentioned coal (which produced more than, in any other

previous year exoept 1913, and exported almost, as much

as in that year); iron and -steel (whioh Is benefiting

by the recent large orders placed by the railway companies-and

. and the improvement, such as i t is,, in shipbuilding, but

may be adversely affected by intensified competition

from Germany, Prance and Belgium).; building material;

pottery; ' leather; and boots and shoes, With a large

housing scheme in operation,, improvement should spread material

from the building and building/trades to a number of

other related Industries.

Shipbuilding seems- to have moved from low-water

mark, but the improvement, so far, is slight and there -18­

i s no.,

i s no p r o s p e c t o f n o r m a l a c t i v i t y b e i n g r e a c h e d f o r

some c o n s i d e r a b l e t i m e t o come . G e n e r a l e n g i n e e r i n g

i s a l s o l i k e l y t o r e m a i n b e l o w n o r m a l , t h o u g h some

i m p r o v e m e n t m a y b e a n t i c i p a t e d . The l i g h t m o t o r c a r ' ,

t h e t e x t i l e m a c h i n e r y , and t h e h e a v y e l e c t r i c a l

e n g i n e e r i n g s e c t i o n s a r e t h o s e w h i c h h a v e b e e n

l e a s t u n s a t i s f a c t o r y . H e a v y c h e m i c a l s , c e m e n t , and

t h e h e a v i e r - b r a n c h e s o f t h e m i s c e l l a n e o u s ( n o n - f e r r o u s )

m e t a l t r a d e s she?/ s i g n s o f f a i r a c t i v i t y . The g l a s s w a r e

i n d u s t r y seems t o h a v e e m a i l u r o s p e c t s o f a d v a n c e ,

- The t e x t i l e i n d u s t r i e s a r e p r o b a b l y t h o s e w h i c h

show t h e l e a s t p r o m i s e o f e a r l y improvement . ; H o s i e r y

and c a r p e t s a r e n o t s o u n s a t i s f a c t o r y , - b u t l a c e i s v e r y

d e p r e s s e d . S i l k , J u t e , f l a x ( D u n d e e - c a n v a s more

t h a n B e l f a s t l i n e n ) w o o l and c c t t o n a r e a l l u n s a t i s ­

f a s t o r y . The s h o r t a g e o f f l a x due t o t h e a b s e n c e o f

R u s s i a n s u p p l i e s , and o f c o t t o n b e c a u s e o f t h e s m a l l

A m e r i c a n c r o p , and t h e p r o b a b l e s h o r t a g e o f w o o l d u e t o

d & g i n i s a e d f l o c k s o f s h e e p h a v e h a d t h e e f f e c t o f m a i n ­

t a i r u r g p r i c e s a t a h i g h l e v e l , , w i t h a n u p w a r d t e n d e n c y ;

Any a t t e m p t a t p r o p h e c y must n e c e s s a r i l y b e

v e r y q u a l i f i e d and t h e w h o l e s i t u a t i o n m i g h t he r a d i c a l l y

a l t e r e d s h o u l d d i s t u r b i n g e l e m e n t s a r i s e e i t h e r a t

home ( a , g . s e r i o u s i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s ) o r a b r o a d .

Some N o t e s on p a r t i c u l a r t r a d e s a r e a n n e x e d . *

See A p p e n d i x I I ,

MEASURES DESIGNED TO STIMULATE AMD ENCOURAGE THE EXPANSION OE TRADE.

A, Improved Relations with Foreign Powers.

7 99

The Committee are oonvinoed that no permanent

solution Of the Unemployment problem ia possible

until normal conditions of peaoe have been re­

established throughout the world, and in particular,

until the relations of Great Britain with certain

Foreign Powers whioh, In the past, have been her

important customers, have undergone improvement. In ­

this connectionj the Committee have in mind the

re-establishment of normal conditions in Europe and

the ful l resumption of polit ical and trading relations

with Russia and certain other countries.

The Committee welcome the decision of the

Government to grant de Jure recognition to Russia as

a f i rs t step in this direction. At the same time

they are of opinion, from the Information before them,

that the grant to Russia of de jure recognition wil l

not of i tsel f have any great Immediate effeot upon

the Unemployment situation because ­

(a) The maximum amount of trade which could be done with Russia in any cane Is not great:

(b) The problem of finance, without whioh no large volume of trade is possible, is s t i l l unsolved:

(c ) The revival of trade, must in any case be a slow and diff icult process:

The Committee also feel that the ab?*ve general

considerations apply, though no doubt to a much less

extent, to the case of Mexico from

whioh oountry at present de jure recognition

ic withheld.

/Tbe Committee

w n, t-j s 5 J

The Committee recommend to the Cabinet -

To take note of the Committee5s view that the most hopeful s o lu t i on o f the Unemployment problem l i a s in the re-establ ishment of normal peaceful cond i t ions throughout the world and in p a r t i c u l a r in the removal of a l l impediments, whether p o l i t i c a l or otherwise to the f u l l re-opening of normal t rad ing r e l a t i o n s wi th countr ies where such r e l a ­t ions do not a t present e x i s t ,

Trade As ind i ca ted above the Committee recognise that a l l F a c i l i t i e s anTlsipo^l schemes f o r the a r t i f i c i a l c r ea t i on of employment or f o r CreaTEsu

r e l i e v i n g unemployment by payment of bene f i t can only be

regarded as p a l l i a t i v e s and that the only r ea l cure i s

such a r e v i v a l of normal trade a c t i v i t y as w i l l au tomat i ca l l y

re-absorb unemplsped.-workmen in to t h e i r accustomed occupa­

t i ona . This r e v i v a l w i l l n a t u r a l l y b e expedi ted by any­

improvement in the p o l i t i c a l and economic s i tua t i on i n

Centra l Europe,, Apart from t h i s , however,, i t would, not be

wise to expect too g rea t immed ia t e - r e l i e f from p o s i t i v e

Government measures of encouragement,, The Committee1's

a t t e n t i o n , however, has been c a l l e d to the operat ion of

two measures;, the Export Cred i t s Scheme an ! the Trade

F a c i l i t i e s A c t , both of which were express ly dev ised to

s t imulate en t e rp r i s e of a kind l i k e l y to increase employment

in the United Kingdom, Immediate l e g i s l a t i o n i s necessary

to extend the per iod during which guarantees can be g i ven

under both these measuresi The Trade F a c i l i t i e s B i l l as

dra f t ed extends the operat ion of the e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n

f o r one year , namely, to November 9th 1924, and should i t

be decided to extend the arrangements beyond that date

fur ther l e g i s l a t i o n in the Autumn would be necessary , jrat

may be very d i f f i c u l t to enact having regard to Par l iamentary

considerat ions, . I t has accord ing ly been agreed that the

B i l l should prov ide fo r an extension to March,1925

? B 4

I t is also proposed to extend the period of guarantees

under the Export Credits Scheme to September, 1926,

and the period during which the guarantees may remain

In foroe to September, 1950. No addition is required

to the sum already available for Export Credits,

The Committee assume that i f the flnanoial

negotiations with Soviet Russia about to be opened In

Lendon are successful they wi l l be followed by the

extension of export credits and trade faci l i t ies to

that country. No new legislation wi l l be required

for this purpose, and the Committee understand that any

modification of method which may be found neoessary

in applying the Export Credits Soheme to a country

like Soviet Russia where foreign trade Is a Government

monopoly, can be made by administrative action.

The Committee recommend to the Csbinat:­

( i ) Ehet subject to the examination of the draft Trade Facil it ies Bi l l by tho Home Affairs Committee authority should be given for the introduction of the Bi l l in the House of Commons as soon as possible after the ro­assembling of parliament.

( l i ) That the president cf the Board of Trade in consultation with the Chancellor of the Sxohequer should be requested to examine carefully the regulations under whioh export credits are given, YJith a view to amending any rules which unnecessarily restrict the beneficial operation of the Export Credits Soheme.

K SMPISE D E V E W M E H T , C l a u s e 2 o f t h e D r a f t T r a d e F a c i l i t i e s S i l l

c a r r i e s o a t t h e scheme a d o p t e d by t h e I m p e r i a l

K c o n o m i a C o n f e r e n c e f o r a s s i s t i n g E m p i r e

d e v e l o p c s a a t , S u b j e c t t o e e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s t h e

T r e a s u r y u n d e r t a k e s t o , p a y , f o r .a p e r i o d n e t

e x c e e d i n g f \ y e y e a r s , t o t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f a n y

p a r t o f H i s 3i&3eetyrs D o m i n i o n s a n amount n o t

e x c e e d i n g t J ^ e e ^ t i a r ^ s r s o f t h e i n t e r e s t p a y a b l e

on snah. p a r t o f a l o a n a s i s e x p e n d e d i n t h e

U n i t e d O n g & o i t u

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e p r o p o s e d e x t e n s i o n s o f t h e

B a s i n G i s h u r a i l w a y i n K e n y a a n d U g a n d a a t a c o s t

o f £ 3 , 5 3 0 ? 0 C 0 t o w h i c h d e f e r e n c e i s f a d e a b o v e , t h e

' C o m i t t e e u n d e r s t a n d - t h a t t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e

f e r t h e C o l o n i e s h a s u n d e r o o n s i d e r a t i & n v a r i o u s

p r o p o s a l s f o r a s s i s t i n g E m p i r e d e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h ,

i f a d o p t e d , m i g h t i n v o l v e an a g g r e g a t e c a p i t a l

e x p e n d i t u r e o f a f u r t h e r £ 3 , 0 S 0 ? 0 0 0 . S t e p s a r e

a l s o b e i n g t a k e n t o a s c e r t a i n w h e t h e r t h e s m a l l e r

C o l o n i e s a n d p r o t e c t o r a t e s c o u l d n o t , w i t h

a d v a n t a g e , u n d e r t a k e h a r b o u r , r a i l w a y , b r i d g e e t c .

w o r k s on i m p e r i a l E c o n o m i c C o n f e r e n c e t e r m s . The

C o m m i t t e e h o p e t o b e i n a p o s i t i o n t o make d e f i n i t e

s u g g e s t l e n s t o t he C a b i n e t r e g a r d i n g c e r t a i n ft

t h e s e p r o p o s a l s i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e .

The C c m a i t t e e recommend t o the C a b i n e t ; ^ ( 1 ) S o c o n f i r m t h e d e c i s i o n t a k e n b y

t h o l a t e G o v e r n m e n t t o a s s i s t t h e l o c a l G o v e r n m e n t s i n c a r r y i n g out t h e K e n y a - U g a n d a r a i l w a y s c h e m e , t o the e x t e n t c f a l o a n o f £ 3 , 5 0 0 * 0 0 0 , f r e e o f i n t e r e s t ' f o r 5 y e a r s , r e ­p a y a b l e t h e r e a f t e r by a n n u a l i n s t a l l mehts s p r e a d e w e r a p e r i o d o f 3? y e a r s and t o a u t h o r i s e t h e pro . s e n t a - ' t i o n t o t h o H o u s e o f Commons o f t h e r e q u i r e d S u p p l e m e n t a r y Es t imate . - .

( 2 ) To r e q u e s t t h e S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r t h e C o l o n i e s t o s u b m i t f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n c f t h e unemp loyment C o m m i t t e e h i s o t h e r p r o p o s a l s f o r u n d e r t a k i n g E m p i r e D e v e l o p m e n t w o r k s ,

( 3 ) To r e q u e s t t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r t h e C o l o n i e s t o c o n s i d e r t h e a d v i s a b i l i t y o f f o r m a l l y a p p r o a c h ­i n g t h e G o v e r n m e n t c f t h e I r i s h F r e e S t a t e w i t h a v i e w t o s e e i n g w h e t h e r t h a t G o v e r n m e n t w o u l d be p r e p a r e d t s t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e I m p e r i a l E c o n o m i c C o n f e r e n c e t e r m s e

The p r o p o s a l s o f t h e C o m m i t t e e ! s H o u s i n g S u b - C o m m i t t e e

f o r d e a l i n g w i t h t h e h o u s i n g s h o r t a g e , i f a d o p t e d and c a r r i e d

I n t o o p e r a t i o n ^ w o u l d u n d o u b t e d l y r e s u l t i n I n c r e a s e d

- e m p l o y m e n t i n t h e b u i l d i n g t r a d e s a n d i n t h o s e t r a d e s a n d

I n d u s t r i e s ' w h i o h s u p p l y t h e r e q u i s i t e m a t e r i a l .

The e s t i m a t e s *?£ t h e n u m b e r o f a d d i t i o n a l men who

w i l l f i n d employment , , a s s u m i n g , a v e r y l a r g e e x t e n s i o n o f

t h e p r e s e n t s c h e m e s , d i f f e r c o n s i d e r a b l y . F o r e x a m p l e ; ^n

p a g e 3 o f t h e i r R e p o r t , ( C . U . 6 3 2 ) t h e H o u s i n g S u b - C o m m i t t e e

g i v e t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e B u i l d i n g T r a d e s '

E m p l o y e r s ' F e d e r a t i o n t h a t f o r 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 h o u s e s a n a d d i t i o n a l

500 . ,000 men w o u l d be r e q u i r e d , - , T h i s f i g u r e h a s s i n c e b e e n m o d i f i e d t o S C O , 0 0 0 .

T h i s f i g u r e i s p r o b a b l y on t h e h i g h s i d e and t h e

M i n i s t r y - v t H e a l t h hava - exV i ina t - e - d t h a t on t h e b a s i s t h a t t h e r e

I s l i k e l y f o r a l o n g t i m e t o come t o b e a. s t e a d y a n d l a r g e

demand f " - r o t h e r b u i l d i n g w t r k , i e , a s s u m i n g t h a t t h e r e i s e

n o a v a i l a b l e , p o o l o f s k i l l e d l a b o u r , e x c e p t i n p a i n t e r s , a t

t h e p r e s e n t t i m e a n d t h a t c o m m e r c i a l b u i l d i n g , m a i n t e n a n c e

w o r k a n d b u i l d i n g . o f l a r g e r h o u s e s i s l i k e l y t o m a i n t a i n

I t s p r e s e n t demand f o r l a b o u r f o r some y e a r s , t h e f o l l o w i n g

w i l l be t h e t o t a l numbe r c f a d d i t i o n a l s k i l l e d a n d u n s k i l l e d

men r e q u i r e d I n t h e b u i l d i n g t r a d e s a l o n e , t o e x e c u t e

p r o g r a m m e s o f 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 a n d 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 h o u s e s ' p e r a n n u m c ­

o, of Houses or,-annum ropbaod bo 100.000 150,000 200^000

b u i l t .

Estimate To ta l Balance To ta l Balanco T o t a l BaJbaaoo of men number of ex­ number of ox t ra number of ex t ra employed of t r a men of men men r e - of men men re-­on 1919 men r e q u i r ­ needed, quired, needed, qu i red . and 1923 needed, ed, schemes 0

a i l ed 19,097 58 ; 250 40,153 88,875 69,779 118,500 99,-105

is k i l l e d , 13,800 42,100 29,000 64j300 50,700 85,600 72,000

otal:- 52,897 100,550 .69 ,153 153,175 120,-179 204,100 171,405

The above f i g u r e s do not. of course, include the

add i t i ona l employment which would, be g i v en i n d i r e c t l y as

a r e s u l t of g r e a t l y increased bu i ld ing ac t i v i t y ! .

On the. sbove bas is and assuming tho e r e c t i on in 1925

and 1925 of -100 , 000 e x t r a houses employment in the bu i l d ing

trades alone w i l l be found fo r - a fu r the r 69,000 s k i l l e d and

u n s k i l l e d men.

The Committee recommend the Cabinet: -

To take note of the Committee's opinion that the carry ing out of a l a r ge Housing programme would mate r i a l l y contr ibute towards r e l i e v i n g "unemployment', prov ided that i t does not unduly deple te the resources necessary f o r g ene ra l t rade development,.

- 25 r

* ftne of the main perplexities before

the Cemmittoe is that unemployment is most

serious in those industries which it is most

difficult t* help through the irdihary channels

of Government assistance e.g., Shipbuilding,

heavy engineering^ iron and steel, c*tton.

While i t is true that these industries are

suffering from the general trade depression

there are particular causes at work in eaoh.

For example, shipbuilding Is dependent en

the requirements of shipping, and there is

afloat several million tens of tonnage more

than in 1913 at a time when the movement ef

international trade is much Below the 1913

level . While i t is true that some of this

tonnage is obsolescent, thero is probably s t i l l

a margin between the available tonnage and the

required tonnage to be taken up as trade

revives before asy substantial erdars fer new

tonnage are likely to be placed.

Heavy engineering is neminally carrying

a personnel probably substantially in excess of

prospective.'...

prospective requirements. This is due of

course to the art i f i c ia l Increase of tho

engineering industry caused by war work.

and the position has been intensified by

the great reduction in the market for armaments.

Tho iron and steel trade shows a percentage

of unemployment of V! (a fal l ing percentage)

but according tf press reports its production

is now at tho level cf 1913. This is due

probably to the very great improvement in

meohnioal plent introduced during the war.

The Cotton trade has to face the diminished

purchasing power of valuable eastern markets and

at the same time the prospect, thia year, accord­

ing to market reports, of a possible shortage,

and/or severe increase in the price of raw cotton.

It would be difficult so far as the Committee

have been able to go at present to bring within

tho ambit of any general scheme fer relieving in

unemployment/trades with suoh diverse problems

and accordingly the Committee recommend:-

That the President of the Board of Trade and the Minister &t labour should be requ&g&edto enquire and present a joint report to the Unemployment Commit tee $a the position and prospects of tho abevonamed and any other basio industries where unemployment has

' been continuously severe over a long period.

0vPLOYMENTjbP MEASURES

Ministryof TransportUndertakings.

l b FUNDPANGE.

-

' ' ­ As is indicated on page 9 above there are various

Important road, works which could be undertaken by the .

Ministry of Transport if definite financial provision

was forthcoming. -

These schemes are :-

The Manchester-Liverpool road, Total cost £3,000,000

The North-Orbital Road round

London " " £5,000,000

The North-Chertsey Road, " " £1,500,000

In addition there are a large number of miscellaneous

applications from Local Authorities whose schemes

aggregate about £3,000,000.

The Committee have requested the Ministry of

Transport to furnish them with particulars, of these

various projeotB, the carrying into effect of which

necessitates Borne consideration of the finance of

the Road Fund which is discussed in the following

paragraphs.

The actual state of the Road Fund on the 31st March,

1924, is likely to show an excess of l iab i l i t ies over

assets of about £6 millions. In future years i t is

expected that this excess will be liquidated and wil l

be fully discharged by the end of 1928-9. This

calculation, however, includes no contribution to the

Manchester-Liverpool Road - (the estimated cost of

which te the Road Fund would be £1-1 million on a 50$'

basis) or other similar future undertakings, for whioh

no provision has as yet been made,

On/

On tho 31st March next the Road fund t i l l hold

very largo cash reserves (over £13,000,000) and no

Question of borrowing to meet existing l iabi l i t ies

arises immediately in view of this fact.

The existing Statutory Borrowing Bowers o f the

Road Fund are conferred by Section 13 of the Develop­

ment and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909, which

empowers tho Minister; with the approval of the

Treasury, to borrow on tho security of the Road Fund

for expenditure "which appears to the Treasury to be

of such a nature that it ought to be spread over a term

of years, oo, however, that the total amount required

for t hG payment of interest on and the repayment of

money so borrowed shall not exceed in any one year

£200,000".

The question whether to exercise, or even to

extend, the existing powers of borrowing was considered

by tho late Government but i t was considered that with

tho guarantee o f Treasury cover the Road Fund would

be able t o finance not only its l iabi l i t ies than

existing, but the new (1924-25) programme, and also

the Liverpool-Manchester Road. It was therefore

considered unnecessary to pursue the question of

exercising tho existing powers of borrowing or to

ask Barliamont to extend the limit within which the

Road Fund can borrow with a view to future exercise

of the powers so extended.

-29­

In cons ider ing the extended use of the lioad Fund

f o r f inanc ing works i n connection wi th unemployment

i t must be remembered that the Itoad Fund i s der i ved

from taxes on v e h i c l e s , almost the whole of which

comes from mechan ica l l y -p rope l l ed v e h i c l e s . These

t a x e s , which were imposed in consu l ta t i on with the

indust ry , were based oh the understanding that the

money should be used f o r the improvement o f roads.

The motoring industry i s suspic ious that the money

i s in f a c t be ing d i v e r t ed f o r the r e l i e f of unernploy­

ment which they consider i s not a proper charge on

tho Road Fund, The M in i s t r y o f Transport has always

s e l e c t e d works which are requ i red in the i n t/ r e s t s

o f t r a f f i c and has only a n t i c i p a t e d them f o r the

purposes o f unemployment r e l i e f , but in any suggest ion

to t i e up the f inances of the Road Fund f o r a long

pe r i od of y ea r s , c r i t i c i s m and p o s s i b l y oppos i t i on

must be expected from the motor use r s .

The new motor t axa t i on introduced by tho Finance

A c t , 1920, formed in e f f e c t a bargain between motor

v e h i c l e owners, as road use rs , a n d the Government,

This understanding w a s r e f e r r e d to a g a i n a n d a g a i n

in the course o f the. debates on the Finance B i l l and

the Roads B i l l ,

The Committee recommend to the Cabinet - '

(1) That the M in i s t e r of Transport should be author ised ­

fa) To re-open nego t i a t i ons wi th the Au tho r i t i e s i n t e r e s t e d in the scheme f o r the Liverpool-Manchester Road on the basis that the Government cont r ibut ion should be f i x e d in aocordence with terms agreed between the M in i s t e r and the Treasury,

( b ) To p r e p a r e f o r t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e U n e m p l o y m e n t C o m m i t t e e , a p rog r amme o f Wo rks f o r t h e w i n t e r 1924 , - 25 ; s u c h p r o g r a m m e t o i n c l u d e among o t h e r i m p o r t a n t u n d e r t a k i n g s t h e N o r t h O r b i t a l R o a d and t h e new C h e r t s e y R o a d .

( c ) To p r e p a r e f o r t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e U n e m p l o y m e n t C o m m i t t e e a s t a t e m e n t a s t o t h e p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f r e l i e v i n g ' u n e m p l o y m e n t by means o f : ­

( i ) An e x t e n s i o n o f l i g h t r a i l w a y s , " p a r t i c u l a r l y i n A g r i c u l t u r a l d i s t r i c t s .

( i i ) I m p r o v e m e n t s i n t h e e x i s t i n g C a n a l s y s t e m .

( 2 ) To r e q u e s t t h e C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e E x c h e q u e r i n c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h t h e M i n i s t e r o f T r a n s p o r t t o e x a m i n e t h e g e n e r a l q u e s t i o n o f t h e p r o v i s i o n o f f u r t h e r f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s f o r t h e o r o o o s e d new p rog r amme i n d i c a t e d i n ( 1 ) a b o v e , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h a v i e w t o d e t e r m i n i n g w h e t h e r t h e e x i s t i n g l i m i t s w i t h i n w h i c h t h e R o a d Fund can o p e r a t e , s h o u l d be e x t e n d e d a n d i f BO i n what f o r m P a r l i a m e n t a r y s a n c t i o n f o r s u c h e x t e n s i o n i 3 n e c e s s a r y .

( 3 ) T o t a k e n o t e t h a t t h e Commi t t ee p r o p o s e , i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e ; t o e x a m i n e s u g g e s t i o n s s u b m i t t e d t o them b y t h e M i n i s t e r o f T r a n s p o r t ( c . U . 636 & C U . 6 3 7 ) f o r u n d e r t a k i n g a new r o a d a n d b r i d g e c o n s t r u c t i o n p rog r amme and - ; l s o f o r s t i m u l a t i n g emp loyment b y t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f e x i s t i n g h i g h w a y s . *

7ii The Committee have noted the ve ry substant ia l

measure of unemployment r e l i e f whioh has r e su l t ed

from the e f f o r t s of the Unemployment Grants Committee.

The Committee f e e l , no doubtj t ha t the Cabinet w i l l

wish the work to be continued g ene ra l l y on e x i s t i n g

l i n e s .

The Unemployment Grantb Committee were author ised

to approve f o r grant worko ca r r i ed out by loan,

oommenced during tho Autumn and Winter of 1923/24

up t o a t o t a l c a p i t a l oost of £20,000,000. They have

approved over £14,250,000 worth of suoh works and''have

under cons ide ra t i on further schemes t o the va lue of

v £4,250,000 making a t o t a l f i g u r e of £18,500,000.

More schemes a re coming in d a i l y and i t i s probable

that the f i g u r e o f £20,000,000 t o which t h e i r authorisa.­

t i on extends w i l l be reached i f not exceeded i n the

course o f the next few weeks i

The Committee propose to cons ider , in .consul tat ion

with the Unemployment Grants Committee c e r t a in of the

cond i t i ons upon which grants are at present made with

a v iew to see ing whether any r e l a x a t i o n o f the cond i t i ons

i s d e s i r a b l e .

I t w i l l a l so be necessary f o r the Committee to make

an e a r l y recommendation as to. the t o t a l c a p i t a l value

o f works car r i ed out by loan which tho Unemployment

Grants Committee w i l l be authorised to aid in the

coming F inanc ia l y ea r . As ind icated above the

corresponding f i g u r e fo r the Autumn and winter o f

1923/24 was i:2O.000,000 and on the information a t

present be f o r e them, the Committee think that sanct ion

fo r an amount not l e s s than t h i s f i gure w i l l be

requ i red .

The Committee recommend to tha Cabinet ­

( i ) That in order that tho Unemployment Grants Committee may be able to continue to assist Bohemes on the loan basis, the Committee may be authorised to exceed the oxisting limit of £20,000-000 (the total value of suoh schemes to bo assisted in 1923*-24 by a further sum of L£,000^000 making £22,000,000 in a l l ) .

( i i ) That the Cabinet should approve in principle­the polioy of assisting works starting in the Spring and Summer months. \

i i i ) That the Treasury, the Ministry of Health, : the Scottish Offioe and the Unemployment Grants Committee be authorised to formulate proposals regarding the financial provision to be made during 1924/25 in respoot of the Cammitteo^ various sohemes with a view to the issue of a circular to Local Authorities early in Maroh 1924;

( iv ) That the Unemployment Grants Committee be requested to submit for the consideration of the Unemployment Committee a memorandum on the proposals and difficulties of the present schemes under whioh financial assistance may be given to Public Util ity Undertakings.

-Z2A­

The l a t e s t - a n a l y s i s of the Min i s t r y of

"Labour of the i n d u s t r i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of

unemployment on t h e 21st D e c e m b e r 1923 shows that

270,000 females w e r e u n e m p l o y e d in Great B r i t a i n

and N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d out of an insured populat ion

of 2,975,000, a p e r c e n t a g e of 9.1 as compared

with a corresponding percentage f o r males at that

date of 1 1 0 S . Of t h i s f i gu ro t h e t e x t i l e t rades

i n o l u & i a j t e x t i l e b l e a c h i n g and d y e i n g account

f o r a b o u t 93,003; the c l o t h i n g t r a d e s , p a r t i o u ­

l a r l y t a i l o r i n g and dross and mantle making and

m i l l i n e r y f o r 38,000; the d i s t r i b u t i v e t r a d e s

f o r S3.00C and h o t e l , b o a r d i n g h o u s e and c l u b

s e r v i c e s , which are of c o u r s e ' a f f e c t e d by seasonal

c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , f o r a fur ther 21,000. I t i s

o b v i o u s l y a very d i f f i o u l t p r o b l e m t o devise

" r e l i e f schemes" a p p l i c a b l e to women, and so f a r

i t has only been pos s i b l e to make arrangements f o r

d i f f e r e n t types of domestic t r a i n i n g . The Committee

understand that the Centra l Committee on Women's

T ra in ing and Employmemt are cons ider ing the

matter and w i l l s h o r t l y be m a k i n g proposals to the

Min i s t r y of Labour on the p o s s i b i l i t y of f i nd ing

employment f o r some of the unemployed women and

these proposals w i l l r e c e i v e immediate consideration,

F i n a n c i a l p r o v i s i o n f o r t h e s e s chemes w i l l h a v e t o

b e made a n d t h e C o m m i t t e e p r o p o s e t o c o n s i d e r t h i s

q u e s t i o n i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e . - *

i i n - : Committee recommend t o t h e C a b i n e t -

T h a t a C o m m i t t e e c o m p o s e d o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the T r e a s u r y , t h e B o a r d o f e d u c a t i o n , the S c o t t i s h e d u c a t i o n D e p a r t m e n t and the M i n i s t r y o f L a b o u r b e a u t h o r i s e d t o p r e p a r e a R e p o r t f o r the c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t he U n s m p l c y m . n t C o m m i t t e e on t h e w h o l e q u e s t i o n o f J u v e n i l e Unemp loyment , , r e g a r d b e i n g h a d t o m a t t e r s such , a s t h e e x t e n s i o n o f t h e s y s t e m - o f J u v e n i l e U n e m p l o y m e n t c e n t r e s , t h e l o w e r i n g o f the a g e l i m i t i n t h e U n e m p l o y m e n t I n s u r a n c e ^ o t and t h e r a i s i n g o f t he s c h o o l - l e a v i n g a g i ,

/h i l e some U'n*' i . . y loyment u n d o u b t e d l y e x i s t s i n

c e r t a i n r u r a l a r e a s , the q u e s t i o n i s n o t s o a b n o r m a l and

a c u t e a s i n t h e towns a n d i s l a r g e l y b o u n d up w i t h the

l a r g e r p r o b l e m s o f a g r i c u l t u r a l d e p r e s s i o n w h i c h i s

u n d e r the c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f the- a g r i c u l t u r a l P o l i c y

C o m m i t t e e , c i : 1 c a u s e s s u c h a s t h e C a t t l e

S l a u g h t e r i n g p o l i c y no d o u b t t e n d to s w e l l t h e volume

o f r u r a l u n e m p l o y m e n t . The Committee , c o n s i d e r t h a t ,

p e n d i n g f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t he b e s t p o l i c y w i l l be t o

c o n t i n u e t h e e x i s t i n g r e l i e f s c h e m e s f o r w h i c h a d d i t i o n a l

f i n a n c i a l p r o v i s i o n i n r e s p e c t o f the c u r r e n t y e a r w i l l

h ave t o be made 0

The Commit t ee recommend to the C a b i n e t ­

( 1 ) T h a t the- L i n i s t e r o f a g r i c u l t u r e a n d : i s h e r i e s s h o u l d be a u t h o r i s e d t o e x p e n d a f u r t h e r sum ( o v e r and a b o v e t h e £250 , 000 a u t h o r i s e d b y t h e l a t e G o v e r n m e n t and now e x ­h a u s t e d on c o m m i t m e n t s ) i n a s s i s t i n g o u t s t a n d i n g l a n d d r a i n a g e w o r k s i n r e l i e f o f u n e m p l o y m e n t a-v t h a t w o r k on t h e s c h e m e s be a l l o w e d t o c o n t i n u e u n t i l 50tn J u n e , 1 9 2 4 ,

( 2 ) T h a t t h e j o o t t i s h B o a r d o f A g r i c u l t u r e s h o u l d be a u t h o r i s e d t o e x p e n d a f u r t h e r sum ( o v e r a n d a b o v e t h e sum o f £50,125 a l r e a d y p r o v i u e a ) f o r a s s i s t i n g w o r k s e l l a n a d r a i n a g e ' , f a r m w a t e r s u p p l i e s and i m p r o v e m e n t s t f a r m r o a d s i n S c o t l a n d , and t h a t w o r k on the s chemes be a l l o w e d to c o n t i n u e u n t i l 3utm June .

( 3 ) T h a t the a m o u n t s to be p r o v i d e d u n d e r ( 1 ) and a b o v e s h o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e the U n e m p l o y m e n t C o m m i t t e . i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h :' D e p a r t m e n t a l p r o p o s a l s r e f e r r e d t o i n the f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h .

9 ^ 0 8 0

e FURTHER S t e p s h a v e b e e n t a k e n t o o b t a i n f r o m ; a l l DEPARTMENTAL

PROPOSALS. G o v e r n m e n t D e p a r t m e n t s c o n c c s r a o d w i t h u n e m p l o y m e n t

r e l i e f m e a s u r e s , , S t a t e m e n t s s h o w i n g t h e t y p e o f w o r k

w h i o h e a c h D e p a r t m e n t w o u l d w i s h t o pu t f o r w a r d ,

a s s u m i n g f i n a n c i a l p r o v i s i o n w e r e a v a i l a b l e . ' . A s

s o o n a s t h e d e p a r t m e n t a l r e p l i e s h a d b e e n r e c e i v e d

t h e C o m m i t t e e p r o p o s e t o c o n s i d e r them i n d e t a i l and

t h e y h o p e t o be a b l e t o s u b m i t t o t h e C a b i n e t a

s u g g e s t e d p rog r amme o f f u r t h e r w o r k s t o b e u n d e r t a k e n

i n t h e i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e , t o g e t h e r w i t h e s t i m a t e s o f

t h e c o w t o f t h e w o r k and t h e amount of emp loyment w h i o h

a c c r u e 0 - .

SUPPLEMENTARY I m m e d i a t e l y on t h e r e - a s s e m b l i n g o f P a r l i a m e n t ii; E S T I M A T E S , & c 0

w i l l b e n e c e s s a r y t o p r e s e n t t o t h e House o f Commons a

S u p p l e m e n t a r y E s t i m a t e of t h e amount r e q u i r e d i n t h e

y e a r e n d i n g 3lst M a r c h , 1924 f o r r e l i e f a r i s i n g out o f

u n e m p l o y m e n t , i n c l u d i n g g r a n t s i n a i d . The t o t a l amount

o f t h e S u p p l e m e n t a r y E s t i m a t e i n q u e s t i o n i s £730,100.

A s r e g a r d s t h e n o r m a l D e p a r t m e n t a l E s t i m a t e s f o r 1924/21?

t h e p o s i t i o n s p e a k i n g g e n e r a l l y i s t h a t t h o s e e s t i m a t e s

a r e s t i l l u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d t h a t s h o u l d t h e C a b i n e t

d e c i d e t o i n c r e a s e t h e p r o v i s i o n a t p r e s e n t made i n t h e

v a r i o u s E s t i m a t e s f o r u n e m p l o y m e n t r e l i e f t h e n e c e s s a r y

a l t e r a t i o n s c o u l d b e e f f e c t e d .

d ) * R . B . HOWQRTH-j S e c r e t a r i e s S i g n e d on b e h a l f . T nr

S , , , x, , , r, t i j . b l . U jM .E i l W.EJ.O.D ­, ) to t h e of t h e C o m m i t t e e , i' CrW,,G,, J3ADY, ) C o m m i t t e e , GEAIRMAB".

2 W h i t e h a l l G a r d e n s , S c w Y l .

7th F e b i u a r y , 1924.

APPENDIX I I .

NOTES ON TRADE PROSPECTS I I 1924.

nn and Steel Trades. ImportB of raw materials in 19SS were in

every quarter better than in 1922 and though the impulse of the.

Ruhr died out, the fourth quarter showed a revival on the

third. - The imports of iron ore were in that quarter nearly

72$ of the quarterly average for 1913, British exports alBO

were better than in 1922 and again the fourth quarter showed a

revival on the reaotion of the third and was only slightly

behind the total of the second. The revival was most

noticeable in the more finished classes of tinplatea, galvanised

sheets, railway material, &o. Prospects;, for 1924 appear bright,,

fllohlnery. Competing imports are not important except in a few

classes. The loss in exports during the summer was nearly made

good in the fourth quarter whioh was only 2,000 tons behind

the f i rs t . This revival, shpuld continue, as steel production

has increased.

ghiolea. Exports of motor oars an cycles inoreaaed progressively u

through the year, and those of locomotiveswere greatest in

the fourth quarter. There, is no reason to anticipate a check

" "in T H I N , development,

itton. Retained imports of raw cotton in the fourth quarter

of 1923 were nearly 16$ greater than those in the fourth quarter

of 1922, but owing to the short American crop and higher prices

i t appears doubtful whether the aggregate imports of last

year will be equalled. Outlook bad.

I0i­ Retained of sheep's and lambs' wool in the I M P O R T B

second half of 1923 were lees than one-fifth of thOBe of the

f irst half. Supplies, especially of merino, are short and

prioea are rising, Qutlqck bad.

Other

igr textiles, Outlook better then in 19S3 or 19££..-especially for' Jute,

but flax ie s t i l l very short and expansion in that branch

unlikely.

in-ferrous Metals, flutloek better,,than in 19SS. espeoially for copper

and tin and zinc. There was, however, a reduction in lead

imports in the fourth quarter of 19S3 and supplies are reported

to be short.

tper. Imports of woo d pnlp in fourth quarter of 1923 show a

seasonal decline, but s t i l l were below fourth quarter of 1922.

Considering the large inoreoses in the other quarters this may

not be of importance and the outlook may be regarded as favourable.

jf.tb.er. Increased imports of hides in second half of 1923 over

f i rst half and over second half of 1923 augur well for 1934, and

imports of leather were also maintained Outlook for leather

and boot trades good;.

11. trades. Imports in 1923 oompared with 1922 show a patch of

development, but generally comparing the last quarter putiopfc

for 1934 shows some improvement.

legdoals. Judging by the r-un of the exports in 1922 and 1923

' Prospects, are frppd in ammonium sulphate, sodium compounds,

coal tar dyes, painters' colours and soap.