FARM LABOURERS' DISPUTE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 74, 20 December 1907, Page 8

FARM LABOURERS' DISPUTE.

VALUABLE EVIDENCE,

UNION'S DEMANDS CRITICISED. •

(FROII OUK SPECIAL COE'nESPONDEKT.)

Chrlstchurch, -.December 19. Valuable evidenco was given before th ■ Conciliation Board at Ashburton during the hearing of the farm labourers' dispute by l Mr. John- Grigg of Longbcfach," who went into tho whole question of the demands of tho Union from an~ economical view-point, and. showed ill what respect they would prove detrimental if they were given tho effect of an award. Mr. Grigg stated that ho'farmed 6600 acres at Longbeach,/ and prior to his selling some of his land the area was over 10,000 acres. When lie was farming the ■ larger area, 143 hands were-employed. >■ At presont about 100 were employed. .. There was no general ' dissatisfaction . amongst'' genuino farm hands, or competent men, or men in porniauent work. Just lately his. ploughmen had asked for increased wages, but as the harvest was close at hand, and the £10 bonus due, and in view of the pro-', ceedings bteforo the Board, he had instructed his'manager, to inform the ploughmen .that' he preferred to, s leaVe .the,,matter' over till after harvest.. Ho was paying 225. . 6d. per' .week, which,, with ,a £10 bonus, was equal' to 265. 6d. throughout tlie year. The-m«n. had'indicated that'they would be satisfiedto go ori under the present conditions.' He had had no difficulty with-his men previous to the' .Union's ' agitation starting. ' .He knew, of'no country to which' New Zealand, farm labourers' - could go and better " their position. . : ' - - - ' ' •' ' 1 '■ .' , Asked as to .what the . result Would be of bringing the Union's Schedule into . force, _ Mr. Grigg said he was not. there, to dispute : the payment of a legitimate wage to cornpotent men; but there was absolutely: more . liberty without; a Union than with one. The . Schedule was not. ample enough from - thai farmer's point of vio». ' ''. ' V Ho asked Mr. Thorn if he'knew ."what th« ■ first charge against a farm was:. ,Mr. Thorn: Sou would put it down to interest or rent.. ■ , • i. . Mr." Grigg .-said; the'first charge against » , farm was wages, and the- man . who" was agitating" for the protection of tho working man' did not, know the 1 chief point of ; the 1 matter. . The second charge, was interest on borrowed money, if: any,'and the third, was interest oh the farmorV .capital'r' and his! living. - - If wages were raised to an abnormal point and ; definitely-, fixed ii might cripple the farmer. , His father had instituted ■ a complete system of accounts in connection with the farm; and he'had continued system for many years'. ,He could assure them that tho sheep account at Longbeach \ ; beat the grain, account. \ Indeed, sheep had \ - been paying abnormally.-•; He did not saj ]• that was always to })o tho enso, but if J ; wages went, too high, naturally the farmer.: would go in for sheep more than ever. They ; : had only to compare the present wheat pro>, duction of Ashburton County with what .it was. some years, ago when' one-third of the wheat produced in the Dominion was raised ill Ashburton! When ho farmed 10,000 acres, the amount paid in wage's was bo.tween £12j500 and £14,000. Going further'. ' back the total was £18,000 per annum.Ho had intended asking Mr.. Thorn what was his idea of'the amount spent by'farmers on '• ■good land por afire on labour, but : ho was \ sure from the answer given to his first ques-' tion that Mr, Thorn uid not knowi.the lab-. ourors 1 side, .and cmsequently did not. know - tho farmers. Taking land at £20 per acre, £1 per acre must be paid in wages if- no loss return was to be got from it than-tliat got, - at presont. If a farmer absolutely worked his farm free ,of mortgage he could .suit, himself whether lie paid less in wiiges, oV satis- 1 fied himself with less return. He believed that Mr. Thorn had set out to make th« country people discoiit-ented. ' ; Mr. Thorn.: I don't deiiv that .' . 1

Mr. Grigg said ho regretted that, a man should so employ his time, especially when.: farm labourers in New Zealand were'getting bigger wages than'farm labourers anywhere else. Competent men- were, becoming ;hardci to get, and the wages of ; such men went up in accord, so that tho competent man could . sell his labour to the very best advautae« ' on. his own account, without any. Union.'- The incompetent, man wouldi really beiiefit by tlia Union. If every workman was equal the farmer would have ; to- pay one uriiversa' wage. That'seemed be. intended, ant that meant paying . incompetent men th< same iwagos as competent men. • It seemed to follow that tho competent man would . suffer owing to tile big. wage paid tho, incompetent man. If tliero was not a profitable- return on the" labour employed a farmer could not pay,, increased- wages for long. Mr., Grigg . said .that his father had adopted the system,' of paying and feeding - a certain number of men for tie'sake of the good men amongst tbein, and* also, supplying swaggers with rations, so.'that, when,ha wanted "men quickly he .could get , them, , but ( . if preference was giifeii |;o unionists', fanners' could not be expected to provide for travellers. As. well as'he could remember his. father had paid as much" as £350, and a» high as £500, the last-named in a bad year, for providing staggers with - .Now- . ndays, owing to the co-operative works in . connection with 'railway, construction, the ' amount of surplus labour available was the smallest that had ever been in New Zealand. .. ■■ . ' Asked as to, the cost of growing wheSt, , Mr. Grigg said he had got.ihis manager to work .out tho cost ' on' Longbeach,.and he ' reckoned that it was £3 por acre without' allowing for .rent. Mr. Gordon Rich, who allowed for two years ront in this, following the English v system, made the cost £4 Bsi 7d. There waa ; \ only a Small area in New Zealand :tliat- could - 1 grow, wheat really well, and the.same'ar<i» ' 1 was about the best for-fattening sheep;'