WORKING HOURS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1368, 4 March 1865, Page 3

WORKING HOURS.

| TO THE EDITOE OF THE LYTTELTON TIMES. 1 Sir, —Will you permit me to inform the working community of Canterbury of a recent occurrence which much concerns them. During the month of February just passed, the hands employed by J. C. Wilson, Esq., C.8., of Cashmere, agreed to work for the month, at 20s a week, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the day. They did this because it was harvest time, and they wished to oblige their employer; but they afterwards received notice from him that unless they would continue to work for the same long hours they would be paid off at the end of the month. This morning they declined to work longer than eight hours in the day, as is the colonial custom, and were dismissed accordingly, except one hand, who agreed to work ten hours a day for the extra remuneration of a single glass of bitter ale per diem. I think, Sir, the community generally will agree that the colonial custom of giving working men m hour or two of daylight to themselves at the beginning and end of each dayis,for many reasons.an exceedingly good one in a new country ; and, certainly, to make an attempt, in a time of comparative pressure upon the labouring class, to obtain more work out of them without a proportionate increase of pay ought to be made public as a warning to others. I may say that the hands generally to whom this letter refers have no ill-feeling towards Mr. Wilson; many of them express the highest esteem for him and his family, and some have been long in his service. This letter is therefore written solely with the public object which I have indicated. I am, Sir, A WORKING MAN.