LABOUR IN AUCKLAND.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 108, 30 January 1908, Page 5

LABOUR IN AUCKLAND.

PROSPERITY OF THE EAST COAST. (BI TKLEGRAFJX —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) ' Auokland, January 29. "After an extended tour through tho country districts, I may safely say that I have not for many years found so much work ottering and men so hard to get," says a'writer of Labour Notes in tho "Horald." "All through the East Coast, which is tho richest and most neglected district in tho provinco, tradesmon of all kinds aro in demand.' Farm hands, station hands, and navvies are all sought, for, and aro apparently unobtainable. • Wages aro good, and conditions of employment aro greatly improved on what tihoy used to be a few years back. Around Gisborno tho grass-seed threshing is now in full swing, and many of tho mills find it difficult to work full-handed, lis. for 10 hours, and no lost time during shifts, boing on offer. "Prosperity seems written all over tho face of the district, and with improved means of communication tho wealth of tho district will show an onormous increase. The want of railway communication is a groat drawback in tho Motu district, lying between Gisborne and Opotiki.' On the routo of tho i proposed railway between Auclslnnd and Gisborno thore has been enough valuablo milling timber destroyed in recent years to liavo paid for tho railway, besides supplying a long-felt want to tho district in tho shape of first-class timber at a reasonable cost. Tliero still remains a large quantity of this valuable and unronowablo asset in tho district, and it is to bo honed that tho visit of tho Hon. R. M'Nab will result in its being converted into a source of potential wealth and saved from destruction by fire,"