IS SHEEPSHEARING EASY?

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 242, 6 July 1908, Page 3

IS SHEEPSHEARING EASY?

WITNESSES DIFFER. ( THE CANTERBURY EVIDENCE. In tho Canterbury'shearers' dispute before the Arbitration Court at Christchurcli some interesting evidence has been given. At the .outset (says our special correspondent) Mr. Darcy, onq of the Union's representatives, stated , that the mon who did shearing in New Zealand wero the same who did shearing in Australia, where, by a,recent decision of, tho Federal Arbitration Court, higher rates than thoso ruling in New Zealand were awarded.. A great deal of dissatisfaction was. caused, among the-Australian shearors at the'lower New Zealand rates. Higher Australian Rates, The' 'shearers in Neiv Zealand now made 12s. 3d: per week loss thaii the 'Australian rato. The rate now demanded by the Union was 225. 6d. per 100, but even under this tho Now Zealand shearer would mako ss. 3d. per week less than tho Australian shearer. , Tho increased rato "was justified also by tho increased loss of "'time through wot days, and the cost of steamer and railway faros between Australian and New Zealand places. . Arthur John . King, a shearer of thirty years' oxperienco, said that fifteen or sixteen years ago his earnings w-ere about £2 a week clear. Hp now sheared every season in Canterbury,'and earned about £3 a week. Ho did / better i at- wharf labouring, owing .to -wet weather at shearing. .He knew.of no oc-. cupation so hard, on account of the quality of the sheep. The tally was about thirty or forty less than it used tobe.. Now tho sheep v/ere,woolly right down to their toes, and. they could hardly .see because of tho wool round'their eyes. r ,On account of grinding, the shparer/ usually lost-fifteen minutes at dinner time, about ten minutes at the " smoko,".jand half, ah .hour after, knocking, off., ■ - i.; Almost a Strike. Tho meri . had. refused altogether to work at the present rate, and only the'officers of, tho Union*'had'"prevented strikes. Without ' an increaso'many of tho shearers intended next-: season to givo un : shearing. 'Bad.'dagging would cause a loss of about twenty sheep a. day. Shearing wet sheep frequently caused . illness and colds among tho men. He objected 'to carrying sheep out of. the pen,' for he had seen an animal weighing 3501bsi Merino sheep.'were''.the hardest to. shear: his average'tally last year" had been about. 120 ' The next hardest sheep ,to'shear were halfbreds or three-quarter-bred 'Lincolns, and Von theso he had averaged about 130. Ho .had tallied about the .same oil crossbre'ds.' Double-, fleeced sheep wero worth considering; he had 'dono as' many, as twenty in a, day. l ' The Bill of Fare. / „'; / " The Union was*convinced of the need for a definito food ration for. the, men.:- They had trusted to tho employers' 1 sense of humanity in : the ; - past,' but- their experiences . caused them to object to do so in the future. The demand is as follows: —"The employer shall supply the' following rations freo of cost to tho shearers Oatmeal, tea, coffee,-' sugar, flour, rice, sago,.'currants, raisins, find salt,\pepper, niustard, vinegar, butter, jam, milk, vegetables, mutton" or beef, baking powder, cream of tartar, carbonate of soda, hops, dried apples, and:curry powder; the same, to be cooked in' a Vholesome manner and served in sufficient quantity." / ■ Mr. Acland (part-owner of'tho'Mount Peel' Station): ''If wo supply fresh apple 3, instead of dried apples, would *we ; . bo committing a breach ? - .' ' His Honour Mr. Justice Sim said they would. • " ' • ; Tho Owners' Case. ; Mr. H. D. Acland,- part-owner of. the Mount Peel Station, said he thought shearing was easier noiv than-.it .wa5,.15i.0r,16.-years ; ago, owing to sheep farmers going iii.'fof mutton more than for wool.- .The.proposed scalo of rations would render .sheepowners liable to bo prosecuted every day; because they could not guarantee to have, always the ,different things enumerated...; . Fresh milk- would entail the .'keeping- of cows.•-. Some Flgures.r • •• ■ - - -- Mr. T. J1 Teschemaker, owner of Otaio Station, South Canterbury, said he had beenconnected with the Wool .industry in tlio Dominion For 50. years.,: 1n.,1869. wool was unsaleable,'.but, it had since gone as high-as Is. 4}d. per lb. When the existing award was agreed to wool was 40 per cent, higher-in price than at present. Tlie average earnings of shearers oil -his station last season amounted to £4:125. :2d."per. week. . Tho season had not been a good oiie as regards weather. He. did not think that shearers today' were, what they used to be.' They had not the'grit or determination to. shear, and that was the cause'of'the smaller tallies and disputes. • .. Money in Shearing. V , ' t .. Mr. George Gardiner, a farmer of Medbury, said ho: had followed tho shearing in Australia in 1891, 1892, 1893, .and since then ho had still been connected with sheep. Shearing was the most profitable thing a man could turn to, if he had only his hands to depend on. He had shorn between .70,000 and 80,000 in three years; and that had enabled him to take up a run in Cheviot.' Ho had received .CI a' hundred, and found himself. The wool of Australian sheep in a dry season was full of sand, which damaged the oomb3 and cutters. 'Australian sheep wero harder to shear than New... Zealand sheep. A shearer's, lot'. was now 'considerably easier than it was tei?/years ago, and the food was bettor. The Saturday half-holiday , was not applicable to New Zealand, • for it was a "wicked waste of time," on account of the lost timo during the week. OAMARU POULTRY..SHO.VV. THE CCP WINNERS.' At tho _Oamaru Poultry Show (say 3 a Press Association message) the South Island Association's , championship: for game fowls was won' by B. i H,. Hart (Lawronce), and that for buff orpingtons by W. Balcli (Rangiora). The cups were won as follows Langshans, Mr.. G. Gardiner (Oaniaru); wyandottes, Mr. G. H. Blair (Timaru) ; leghorns, : Mr. W.,. C. Lillico (Timaru); minbrcas,, Mr. S. ; R. Burns (Timaru); -black orpingtons, Mr. W. Balch (Rahgiot-a); buff ' .'orpingtons,' Mr. N. H. Fountain. (Dunedin); pigeons, Messrs. Fraser Bros. (Christchurch); bantams, Mr. E. Wernor (Oamaru). .