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214
Men who had obtained a good report from the foreman of the
Works on which they were employed, have thereby been helped to
obtain other employment on their return. One applicant and his.
family have been permanently settled on the land at Hollesley Ray,
and another man, G. Bretherick, is selected for similar treatment,
the Superintendent, Mr. Bolton Smart, speaking very highly of him.
In other cases there appears to be no improvement in the
position or well-being of applicants, some having done nothing but
a few days' harvesting since their return from the Colony, or work
provided by the Central Body, and have again registered their names
at the Distress Committee's office.
The advantage of the colony over the non-colony work is
that it is available during the whole of the year, and offers the
possibility of a more extended period of employment, with the
additional advantage of living in the country air. On the other
hand the non-colony work has the advantage of enabling the men
to return to their homes each day, and gives them a better opportunity
of finding other employment. The majority preferred the noncolony
work.
The special difficulty with which the Committee had to contend
was the inability of many deserving applicants to remember the
addresses of employers and the date of their employment.
The method of payment of wages at the Committee's Office,
and the allowances at the homes of applicants appears to be the
best. The uses to which the opportunities of visiting the homes of
colonists have been put are that of observing if the home was being
properly conducted in the absence of the husband, and of giving
advice as to migration or emigration.
The Committee consider that Conferences of Distress Committees
would serve a useful purpose in discussing the various methods of
procedure. The "Reserve" system of filling vacancies has been of
decided advantage in having men already selected when a vacancy
unexpectedly occurs. The permission of the Central Body to
Distress Committees to avail themselves of voluntary sasistance
has been taken advantage of, valuable assistance at a time of
pressure having been rendered by members of the Committee in
registration and payment of allowances.
The instructions of the Central Body, that a preliminary investigation
of applications be made, with a view of ascertaining
whether applicant had received Poor Law Relief and was a resident
of the Borough, before filling in the record, were followed, with the
result that in a number of instances it effected a saving of time by
revealing the fact that applicant was disqualified under the Act.
The investigation was not limited, but nearly the whole of the
records taken were investigated, as it was feared that if only a limited
number were investigated they might prove to be the very cases that
had obtained work when they were wanted for filling vacancies, a