THE LADY HELP.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 102, 23 January 1908, Page 5

THE LADY HELP.

>v a .vindication! - :' "At one timo lady-helps .had to tako employment for os. Gd. a' week,"- said a young" lady to 'a i representative of Tjie .Dominion -last evening. ''No\V-becauso they want their.'rights they liro being abused.;' The: rema'rk was ma<lo ; : in '''reference, to a published: allusion to lady-helps as "hybrid servants." "J. know of ono case" slio continued, ;"where a lady-help was engaged at an 'easy'.'situation,'which, however proved to be a boarding-house whero live men .were, lodging. v The, owner of the house found she could trust her lady-help aiul'-'so left on a six weeks' holiday. The unfortunate 'help' had tb ; do the. cooking, and everything else, and ilier salary .was ,Bs. • a week. When tho ■ mistress returned she presented tho 'Jadyhelp with a little pin-cushion in token of her gratitude! Now ,1 suppose - that girl is being -abused and called nasty insulting names at afternoon-teas because slid asked for better conditions!

: "I.know of another case' where a delicate girl thrown on tho world went to a situation at os..- a week. For that she bad to do sewing\ and cooking, attend to the children and.teac.il theni music besides.

"I. met a lady the other day who lias a'.boarding-house :md sho pays £9 rent, and about.,tho same amouut as interest on her furniture. „ The battlo is so severe that often sho cannot afford to take the tram to town. ' I asked her whether sho would not rather give it up and bo a lady-help again. Sho said sho would rather havo her present worry and hard work." Our informant added, the lady-helps now required 10s. and 12s. a week, and they would not be; "put'upon" as tlioy had been intho past: Their life was anything but nil .easy one. They wero mostly girls of education obliged to earn their living through stress of circumstances. And as a class they found tlio world very hard. i

•''She League of Mercy, which Ims for some time been working in Australia in connection with the Salvation Army, is now to be extended to' New Zealand. Tlie inaugural meeting will be held at the Citadel, Vivian Street, to-nigi)t.