PICK AND SHOVEL IMMIGRANTS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12483, 20 April 1906, Page 10

PICK AND SHOVEL IMMIGRANTS.

\ PROTEST FROM THE TRADESCON FERE-N CE. THE IMPORTATION OF NAVVIES RE~ONTED. The Labour Conference •exprc&cd its resentment yesterday afternoon at t'ae proposal cf "the Government to import 1000 nawks, with a view to their employment on public we rks. Mr D H. Hampton (Wellington) wived:—"That thu Government b? urged to introduce legislation to restrict the importation of labour under contract, whether male or female, t»pca*ino- to the question. Mr Hampton said the fact Mint the Government was tho Greatest similar in respect to the importation, of labour boded ill for the reception cf the resolution *lien it wa* torvarded t o it. According to the oircniar published that morming. t'Jio Government desired 1000 navvies for employment on the "Main Trunk line., but, he would guarantee that if the Government, or any private individual, was desirous of employing 1000 navvies, and was pro-par-cd'to pay them a hvin-s and a docont wage, they would receive appiications from 200.1 or 3000 inside a week. them try it on that bans bo.fere advertising in the Old Country. Tiu> Goveniment hold out what might appear to a man in England to be a bign wa". , , viz.. Gs to ft, a day. ant! t!n\v 'siird that higher wages mi.ffht. \w made under the- co-operative e-ysti-m. But he knew bettor; t-hey bad heard too lnisph cf the r-nu-atlng of Mv« navvirs employed en. the public works of thts cclonv to iw-s anything like this without protect. They were told what a grand country New Zealand wnf, and al out it b?ing God's own country. Well, hr> agrred that it was a good country, smd tor that reason lie thnugh't they slsould tn. - -"md make it a better j>l ace for tlitKsp who lived in it. before men. here from other countries. (Hear, hoar.) He hopr-d the Conference would iv>t aillow the Government to bring 1000 navvies from England without entering 1 a fitronr , protest agsinpt its action. 1 Mr A. Csllins (WfUington) said that thrio h?.d boon an instance in. CantriI biirv of the importation of girls for (ho ! tailoring trade. That kind of thing would n-i be alle-wrd on the other side, wVrc ilipy hud a statute dealing w;th I cont-rnct labour. Mr D. McLaren (Wellington) said he would like to more us an amendment ! that the following words be added to the ! motion:—''And that this Conference enters iifi emphatic protest against tho projected i.mpcirtatiain bj' the Govenv msnt of 1000 navvies and 1000 domestic j servants."

Mr Hampton: I am quite willing to accept it as an addition to the motion. Mr McLaren, continuing, said that the Conference had just parked a motion in favour of equal pay for men and wompii, iJrovided that they did equal work, and if tha Govennmout was going to brine; in an unlimited supply of domestic servants, while Mia/t class of labour was still unorganised, it would mean the cutting down, of tho existing rates of pay. Tho?e, who required domestic iservairts could have a much larger supply, if fihe girls were better treated. (Hear, hoar.) Attempts had been mails in Wellington, to organise a domestic servants' union, awd ho hoped that sooner or later they would I>o successful. There was a great outcry far domestic servants just now, and tihe papers f?aid they ODiild not be got for lore or money. It was a farce to suggest that they could be got for love, for there was not much of that wasted on tiheon, and when it came to a. question, of mon?y 'there was even less. In many cases domPiStic service was almost equivalent to slavery- As to tfho importation of navvies, he thought it was dono for the purpose of giving the landowners of the colon.}' a supply of cheap labour. Mr E. Gohns (Canterbury) «iid Chat the Kaiapci Woollen Mills iniported a number of female workers from Australia: they wero supposed to be skilled workers; and were brought over for the purpose of introducing new methods. But while some of them were placed in charge of tables, a nuinlicr of ethers were given inferior positions to those occupied by local girls. Since then some of them had returned t<> Australia, dissatisfied with the conditions Kere. Mr J. T. Paul (Otago) said that if they allowed the importation of labour to go on, they were not very far off a severe industrial depression, as far as the workers were concerned. *On one hand the colony wa>s borrowing very largely, and the workers who were being' imparted were men whose own hands wero -ill that stood between them and starvation. Tliev to have £~> when they landed, but a man with only £o in his possession would ■have to get to work pretty quickly, or else ho would s-.oou, becomo a pauper. He thought that when sonio of the principal public works and the large municipal undertakings now in hand wore completed, there would be a very largo amount, of surplus labour in the colony. Mr T. G. Love (Hawke's Bay) also supported the motion, and the debate was interrupted by the 5 o'clock adjournment.