THE LABOUR PROBLEM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 101, 22 January 1908, Page 4

THE LABOUR PROBLEM.

; - '■ ■ < V A AIARLIiOROUQH SCHEME. i-'AM.M HANDS AND DOJIISSIICS FROM SCOTLAND. What this country, chiefly needs, according to some worthy : people jiust/ across. Cook Strait, is a .largo ' consignment of. bonnie lassies anil braiv laddies from, north of Tweed. 1 The labour problem is acute in Mnrlborougn. and ii' number of sheep-owners have-'banded thims.olvcs. together to'solvo : it. .'A Blenheim iirm of land and. estate agents has under-' 'taken' to' organise; the scheme, 'and a\reprcsdntativo will go Homo to select tho emigrants., ,'l'ho idea,,wasat first;,mooted for tlio purpose of supplying inen. for farmland station \vork, but some of the Marlborough ladies.' tliough't; tlicy saw,; in.' lit- a possible solution ol' ..their-,own;particular labour-pro-; blci)i. : Tlie'/seliemo-has, therefore, been enlarged so as to include the supply of domestic. servants.'Nor is■/ it. confined to ■ Marlborough alone,' for circulars areVnbw being issued in' this district to employers of labour and to liouspwives who would W employing labour, if. they could .get it. -The: promoters of tlVc .schema are apparently of-.the -opinion that the young working folk .they want are to be obtained moro,easily, or in better, quality,.lrom Scotland .than from any other part of the United Kingdom. To Scotland, therelore, the agent will go, and while he de : scribes tlie> attractions of life in New Zealand in terms as glowing as'truth jivill allow, ho will cxerciso grout caro 'in' choosing those who are to come out under his, care. Merits of the Scots Domestic.' A circular letter, which is being : sent' to, ladies in Wellington and tho' neighhburhaod clearly oxplaiiis one part; of the scheme."lt states:— ' ". 'iDear Madam—A number of Marlborough employers—chiefly sheep : farmers—who are arranging .to .send a_ representativo Home, ill the immediate' fixture, for the purposo of sending out- a number of farm hands, intend at tho same-time . importing, a . number of domestic servants, same to bo sclccted after, tho'most, caroful investigation: I am commissioned to'maltu arrangements with employers desirous of taking advantage of this opportunity' ; to' obtain lirst-ciass domestics. It is proposed' that the girls shall' ho, obtained from Scotland, and. it is quite.: unnecessary for .ma to refor to the, many arid well-known merits of t-lie-'Scots servant. Local, ladies who have had exponeuco of these girls speak of them in a mpst entliiK siastic uinnner. As the prevailing 111 the Tinned Kingdom is very low, it will-be possible to obtain the very best class of'servant. ' . "■ ' ' ' - v ■: .I'i "; Advance of Passage Money. " It is also suggested that the local employees shall, in cases where it may be necessary, advanco tho. amount -of.'passage-money (£10), sarao to be'Mn' advance against- salary. However', 1 wish it to bo clearly understood that any person .making arrangements with mo will in no way becomo liablo until tho vessel'containing tho individual 'is. withiii tlireo days of, tho coast, .when tliev will be oxpectcd to .pay i.lio' passage-nioney, if. same is not already ]>aid. The tgirls will ■ sign ail agreement, and I would 'draw' attent ion to the fact that whero one signs an. agreement, accepting an advance, in tho United Kingdoni, same is absolutely binding, and. .anyone breaking same is amenablo to Common : Law. Wo proposa-that-the agreement signed by the maid shall bo for a term of two years, and shall provide for a salary of 13s. 6d. per week —less so much per week until'£lo, tho amount of passage-money, is readied, and also less Is. per week until £2 10s. is reached, tho latter amount to bo paid to us upon delivery of servant in order to defray expenses of sending representativo Home, etc." Terms for the Men. Circulars something like tho above will bo sent to fanners .and runholders. Tlio men who are to bo brought out to tho Dominion will be carefully selected, after duo investigation, by a representativo who lias had many years' practical experience on sheep station's. 'J'l'.n suggested maximum wago for men is ,CBo per annum, under a two years' contract-, but the men are to : bo engaged for the . first year at £60, > Tlio extra £5. is to : cover expenses in. connection with sending tho representative' Home, and, to be paid upon delivery of the m'u n at nearest port. Tlio employer may be. requested, on the arrival of tho man, to : mako.au advanco of tho passage-money (£10),-tho' same to bo deducted from tlio man's earnings, Tho' man, beforo leaving for Now Zealand, will ho required to sign a hard-and-fast agreement. .Employers will not bo required to advance passage-money until the. vessel is within three.days of I.lm coast. It is thought that a young man, with a little money behind him, who conies out with a view to improving his position in life, might bo willing, besides providing his own passage-money, to ncccpt an annual lower wage. Popularity of the Scheme. So far, some forty odd men have been applied for, and it is intended that tho representative will leave as soon as the number passes sixty. The exact number of women applied for cannot at present bo stated definitely, but it is anticipated that tho number will bo largo. Indeed, tho demand both for farm hands and domestic servants in all parts of the Dominion appears to bo such that the scheme may easily assume much greater dimensions than its original promoters reckoned upon. • / '