THE SCARCITY OF LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 79, 27 December 1907, Page 2

THE SCARCITY OF LABOUR.

v'SrECUiiiA' Wmtten foii The Dominion.) .. IV. SELECTION OF IMMIGRANTS. It is evident from tho previous articles that any considerable relief in the "present industrial tension must be derived from external sources, and in this connection it may. be argued that the arrivals in Now Zealand last year exceeded in number the. departures by 14,000. "Here," tho superficial, observer will say, "we have tho wherewithal to rim our factories and our coal, mines... Matters must speedily right, themselves. Even if tho nowcomors arc, not skilled in' the particular class of work which is olforilig, if they have hoalth and 'gumption' aiuK are" riot afraid of work, thoy will'soon settle down_ in .their now callings." ' . . ' '' •. "Unsuitable Immigrants'.'.'--. "'.-' : ' . It would:be equally logical f or, a man'who was in >want of 10,000 corks to acquiesce in the. substitution of 2000 turnips. The .latter might be intrinsically of greater value,, as turnips they might bo the best the world could produce, yet as. stoppers for bottles they would fail. The facts that both corks and. turnips consisted essentially of cellulose,-and-.that by. a chemical treatment the substance, of the latter could be rendered im- , pervious \ to- water, would not interest the consignee. He would -plead in: rejecting the that he wanted corks. Of course if ho had inadvertently specified turnips, he could not complain. Of the .14,000 additional people which the country presum- , ably holds'this year, comparatively few belong to the classes really in demand, but tho inhabitants of Now Zealand must not com-; plain, for their official' advertisements— which include inter alia.the published utterances of statesmen and others—have hither-' to informed the British public ■ that agriculthose with a little capital —tourists, retired naval and military officers, • skilled mechanics generally, domestic servants—in fact, practically all classes except clerks and shop assistants —will find New Zealand a more favourable , habitat ■than -England. Yet every ship's officer is besieged by applicants for-, "a • chance: to •work a passage Home," and a fair number certainly manage to sign on in oho capacity or another. From personal knowledge, the writer can say that many of these men arc neither unintelligent, incompetent, '''tired,", nor_ dissolute, yet they failed to make good their footing in what ; is after all —pace Messrs. Tillett, Mann and Co.—an industrial paradise.' Each one of the men who return disappointed to England acts as a deterrent to Intending emigrants. Now this ■: 14,000 is abnormally high in comparison with other years, and in tho absence of official statistics it is difficult to say what deduction must-be made for tho "extra coal-tiimmers". mentioned above, and also for tho largo number of tourists who arrived towards the end of the year'andwho consequently figured on: one side only of the national ledger. The beautiful photographs and woll-written eulogies of. New Zealand issued by the Tourist Department, do nothing towards the solution of the question now being considered... It is probable also that but few- retired officers respond to tho invitation. They are usually citizens of the world, and know that, there are plenty of districts in Franco, Spain, Holland', etc., that offer, at loast equal advantages:. In ;any case neither ■ they- nor -their families seriously affect: tho situation ■ either way.' : • '. • . . • ■'.-•■'" ./' ' The Agriculturist.' •;.: . Tho!,' agriculturists' / wliq- conic : to .'New Zealand "may ./buy put.rand thus J dis l place A fr6m .particular', "sections their'.'present 'occupiers,, who : "can -then:"'retir'b'' from ..active-business," buy land in. another part' of the country,' or themselves emigrate. If the- now. comers' are'insufficientk. provided f.witli- capital -they: ,must : . waif tlieir : chance-with'the-■numerous applicants- of ''older, standing at the land ballots.' In-no event is. it easy to see ivhat: tho-•■'country"; as , derives-.from-'its'''expenditure on- .advertisements. Surely- the' issub. >ith-- regard- : to.closer settlement is' clear' enough. Either there are." or • there are riot' a ' large ■ number ofpeoplo in the Dominion anxious to take up agricultural pursuits.- •' In " the- latter event thore is no reason" in the compulsory resumption', of large estates for cutting up purposes; in tho former it is-illogical ..to advertise for peoplo in other countries*, to como here to swell ■. "the * thousands , - of the landless." The. children of the agricultural .immigrant are not likely'to take up work-in, factories, for which, in fact,- they are as a. rule hardly suited. :'' ' . It may bo said without fear of contradiction that there are no openings in Now Zealand at the present time for members of the motal trades, and that. tho building and tailoring ..'trades, as well- , as , many, others, can only, offer to immigrants work which, though sufficiently, well' paid, is ' too ' irregular to',bc satisfactpry. This Ms-not sufficiently indicated in official advertisements, although it must bo admitted that clerks, and shopmen are warned that New Zealand offers them hut-small opportunities. (Tho effect of this warning is that each member of these classes who is nominated for an assisted passage is careful'to. conceal his real calling). On the other hand, no stress is laid upoii the noint that there is a considorable shortage of hands in certain bran-ches-of manufacturing,industry and in coalmining. Now, '■ for , a man of the artisan, class, who is in, steady .work and putting, money by, .emigration is not within practical -.polities at all. All he thinks about is marry-, fine, bringing-up hisfanlily, ancUaviug morq money. Those who, have .been struggling through a hand to mouth existence iu'Lngr land are quito. willing to leave it,, but thoy do not know how to scrape togethor tho necessary ten pounds. If thoy aro.men with families—and therefore . tho. more-valuable to this country at the present •juncture— ■ their■•difficulties aro- increased. In short, in tho formor case the artisan will not enngnito to Now Zealand; in the latter, lie cannot. •■ However -seductively the 'advertisements' aro worded, something' more than tho ofiVr of a passage at £10 per .head is needed to attract.'people of the class really, required. . The Employers' Position' , It may then bo asked , why—presuming that orders aro constantly being refused for want of men to do tho work—the largo employers do not themselves import the necessary hands. To some extent they do so, but taken big and large the results are not toohappy. To begin with, it is scarcely pnssiblo for tho head, of a business in New Zealand to ,exercise tho. necessary judgment through an agent 12,000 miles away. Although the appointee niay be a good tradesman, industrious, sober,' , and energetic, ho may yot fit in very badly with tho particular requirements of his employer's business, and tho contract will press-very heavily on both parties; Thoro is also. ,a distinct risk that tho artisan may take'iindub advantago of the fact that ho is under contract. The Crown Agents for Colonies, important mining companies and other large exporters of skilled labour, find it necessary to insert for their own protection very stringent clauses in' thoir agreements with employes of the "foreman" grade. It is also quite possiblo that tho employer may not bo able to provide absolutely- continuous employment throughout the currency of tho agreement although his competitors may bo busy onqugh. Thoro is thus rather more'responsibility about direct importation of labour than most individual employers caro to face. Matters arc still moro complicated when it is a girl that is imported. The moro capable, bright, and energetic she is, the sooner sho will bo induced to leave her original employer. Such' considerations, however, do not apply in equal measure to associations of employers working'in conjunction with a Government Department. Tho first point is that tho workers ', must receive free passages, and tho question then arises as to tho onus of payment; Now, when one master mechanic at times of unusual pressure is compelled to approach a competitor for bands it -is quite • for b siut-ablo

sum to bo paid per head for the accomm<V elation, and similarly all those employing direct imported" labour might justly be called upon each to contribute his quota to-', wards the reimbursements of the State'i outlay. In cases where the imported worker , had no dependents at Home he also might bo called upon to do his share towards paying off the cost of his passage, but if he were a marriod man with a family he should not bo asked .to. pay anything.' If may be objected that employers would whenever possible refrain from using a man who cost them two or three shillings extra per diem, but these suggestions arc brought forward on the assumption that' the scarcity is so groat that employers in some lines of business are at thoir wits' end for hands. If the assumption is ill-founded, ' then the scheme falls to the ground.' So much does the community at large gain by the immigration of a family of. hoalthy children that the State might very properly assume the whole responsibility of,,their passage-money. The shipping companies ' certainly do their best to meet the needs of immigrants-in.this respect, but the husband and father has to pay sooner or later, and , it is no- light matter for a working : man to incur a debt of some .fifty or sixty pounds, which ho ■'.must ■■ 'liquidate within, a certain, period. ... $■■■ .-, The actual solection of -Jtho immigrants: would'be sufficiently'simple; On receipt of , a cablegram-asking, for. Say, fifty, cdlliers, . the High /''Commissioner would advertise hie ;requirement's either through : cortain • local papers '.or' by .means- of circulars, in.certain mining districts, and' would choose those men..that best suited- the conditions. Nowy. although .it is difficult , for- the High Commissioner to prove that a-man is a .clerk or a 1 shopman, Mt is quite easy to show that l an , - applicant is : hot a' collier. It 'may'be a clearance from a lodge, a certificate from "a ' local clergyman or J.P., or merely a peculiar development of the. .forearm-, > but no man ' can follow any. manual calling for a number, of years without haying something 'to show ' for it. But nothing is gained by.vague advertisements in certain selected newspapers," liowevor wide their circulation may be, and similar remarks apply to other trades. For .example, if cabinetmakers or •.' wero required, a poster in three "or.'fqur spe-. cially selected houses of'call .would result in the High Commissioner being simply inundated with applications;, and everyone would-' be from a thorough tradesman. * '■">''■ . ■ ■'•