SHEARERS' QUARTERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 290, 1 September 1908, Page 4

SHEARERS' QUARTERS.

GOVERNMENT BILL CRITICISED,. , (By C. -Lewis, M.P:) •It iis' gratifying' to notice that (farmers havo at last been induced to'.tako some passing interest in Labour legislation. For many years they" have sat idly by when such legislation lias been .before' Parliament, "in tlio belief that they wore not concerned, and this attitudo has been faithfully reflected by manyveount'ry members,' ,who in .this respect; havo been, jugged; .representative of itheir,constituents. In .the many resolutions, however, that have.been reported I havo failed to notice any reference to what Jvrogard as the more. .important features of the Bill. By comparison with -these the triviality of its provisions exceeds their absurdity, and that.is saying.a.good deal. .; In .the first place,; I .w^nt-to know/what, excuse the Minister can urge for bringing ni • the Bill at all. Who "askc&for it? From whom did ho scok information, and advice. Clearly,, not from sheep-owners. it irom shearers? This appears at least unlikely. In April "last the Court;of Arbitration issued an award in a dispute instituted by shearers in Wellington and Hawke's Bay. I have be-, fore mo a copy of -:tho claims. preferred by shearers on that .occasion.. It might bo Bupposed-.th'at shearer? would tako that,opportunity t of asking for anything they wanted, and for itlio redress of any grievances or disabilities they were labouring under. -Shear \dajtpis jafer (to. lights in. the , dining-room, food, grazing lor a jhoisS -to'! each shear.erj .ctc., and these claims, were granted -by 'the .Court. It might perhaps be argued.-.that in-all' such-i ca?Ss; .tiio. union 4 always asks for .all it jvants, and a bit more than it really .expects to got. _ But not one of tho .provisions of Mr. Millar's Bill appears in tho claims of sh'Carers before the Court. A Breach of Faith,

But what strikes one most forcibly about tho whole" thing is tho flagrant and wanton ljreaoli ,of faith involved ■in -the presentation of such a Bill., Since 1898 all ,py<>r New Zealand have beon bringing their \wh»res into conformity with the law. Existing whares have been altered, old buildings pulled' down, and hundreds of new .ones erected. In each and every instance the Minister for Labour, through his inspectors, has signified his entire approval of what has 'been done. - Sheep-owners before erecting ! new whares have' been ' .careful to submit plans to tho inspector, and immediately Erior to the-.opening of the session inspectors, ad signified their entiro approval of existing buildings. Yet'the Minister does not scruple "fib' introduce, and ask Parliament to pass, a Bill which would compel every sheepowner in the Dominion to spend a considerable amount of money in altering buildings already declared by J. a w to be sufficient. ■ * And he'does this at a time (a)-when, the between epipioyer and employed were never ,in a moro .delicate ,or .critical position, And .(b) w)ien sheep-owners have just concluded the most disastrous year they have experienced within recent memory. I know that : %>tisanda of owners .wound up the than 'they started. ' In May JC' jvaf .guying good, gound,', strong, fouryea;v,o}d jgjvjss iji lamb for slilJJjijgs a. head. Last y.W jtliey' flojilij ' b,een:' pjirchased for sixteen. I.know ofip "lino" of'3ooo ewes bought in.'January at sixteen shillings,", .ifiii'sold* in lamb in June at six. Not only so, ' but to drought, and in some cases fires, owners all over the .country have been obliged to reduce their flocks, and so .own fewer sheep wortji six to. .ejghfc shilling than they held last year at sixteen' shillings to a pound. It is' at su,ch a tune'-as tills that ; the Minister asks Parliament to impose upon sheep-owners lia-? bilitiesv'fhat . shearers vhayo .not, .asked for-. Is thlsxtbe? spiriftin- which i».. Mißjstsjyfor; Labour should approach tho almost insoluble problems arising out of the present tangled industrial situation? Are employers and "employed v ]jk,ely U> ,J>epefit. by., tjie, of a Mijiifter wbp forgets tha| l)e js.'a-Minis-, ter for Industry, anil 'merely' cop sidcrs "tliat"' ho is Minister solely for Labour ? Nor-.does it. ayajl to' say that lie will accept apy 'amen.dipppt.s .nyide by tho Labour Bills Cflmmit-tee pr ip .tjjo JJouseV-',l f'."Parliament jyjl] not aiJewi to. oppress'mpWyor.s.'j to the ofife'is desJre? he-will nat/urr | ally take as^inuclrag-ho csn..get. .'Has-Jiel introduced-the 'Bill to stejv.Shea/'ers'ivliat lio would "do for-them' - .bifr f6r y tlfe -ppjKisitib'ji, and after that, to claim credit from pmployers for his modewtiofiJp.- not- insjstinc;- upon- it ? This game s 'Xgry. oJd, pppj. 'and is getting j a bit shop-worn. No, .not.only ~tho:MinisT:er who cau3ed(this'Biir't<> sideration' of: Cabinet," but his colleagues who endorsed it, must he. judged, hy what they asked, for, not by what get.

Prematura , Canterbury farmers, are. congratulating themselves upon jtjio' fact .that the ' Arbitration Court has refused jto make aji award involving agricultural • labourers. Does tills BilJ suggest that:fmality has been reached! 1 Aro they really o\ifc 61' the wood? Wo liavo always heard a lot about the-senso of security which tho Arbitration Act confers upon employer?, 'Is there any. security for apy employers when the Cabinet seeks to pass legjslatipn imposing upon employers liabilities which were not even asked by a union whcli had been beforo tho Court only a few wpeks previously f This aspect of tho Bill is tlm oijo to which I would direct the closest attention on the part of those concerned, or likely to be concerned, by any' Labour legislation. Nor should farmers overlook thg fact that it is with the Gqvernmpnt-tljat 'so octpd that town employers' associations afa urging tlio Opposition tq coalesce, ' ; ' ''' : Tho fran'ter qf thi;'-schedule to'tho Bill—not to mention the provisions to bo found in it.s clauses'—has inissed his vocation. Hp should be jyritjng burlesques for t)io stage. " T|io autliqr pf : fchp _"yyashing and Mangling Bill" may Hit(e Jijg, dinjinis}}j}4 head. Put ,yliat most impresses me' of the whole' thing/ Lot my'-' reacle-'rs visit tlje'icooperativa wqrks in_tiiq c|ep£h',°f winter;'let them glance at the accommodation huts, or eyen- tjie pormftpept cottages, along our' railway lines, fqr tho accommodation or railwaymsfi i let them inspect jsorno of th» workers' honidg, 'ejected, under the .supervision, pf the Minister'fqr Labour for the permanent occupation "qf 'workers '(this "scheme ' has been practically abandoned because ij; did: not pay) and they will ' rfali?i> the immense _ gulf thst _ separates . Liberal professions from Liberal'" performances. Yet theso dwellings have cost po . much ,to erect that' workers cannot afford to pay the rent representing interest upon their cost. As for cjj-operatjve.'labourers and railway men, tho sheep-owiier who askocl ' his Eliearer? to put jip with such acoominodatiqi) ps they, .suppliedwith wonhrquickly be punishwl, oven Dfitjor. tho 'existing law. Yqt' many shearers booome c'o-oporativo labourer? in t|)o winter. Surely it is in the winter months ; that they stand, most in ' heed of a fireplaco in their .beijrooms, a hot bath, and a wooden floor in sleeping and dining rqbms.' Aro tjicso rooms separate and distinct in railway and po-operativo camps? Wo only have to pursue this system' of comparison through tho various clauses of the sch-edijlp tp realise to wliat.lepg'ths smiffjing hqmbug can carry its exponents.

Coocj Quarters Not Grutlgad, It is hardly fair to speak of a wliaro as t} place in which a shearer only spencjs a few days in the year. It is perfectly true that if everything goes exactly right my men will cut oiit in a week. But after that thoy go to anothor shed, and so on for a couplo of mouths. And-, tile shearer works iard at that. So that no rational being will' grudgo him a ■.comfortable fqod. My' own idea is to got tho best men available, and to'treat .them so-tbat-they-will, want to corao back next year." And I flatter myself that I; can get nearer tho' in.ark,-thap. the Bill docs.~ J •hiivo'.a theory that' vegetables and such-like matters in {ho commissariat department occupy a higher place in tho shearer's affections than a nine-foot six stiul, or a fireplace jn his bedroom, 'or oven a book on first aid. And about this hot bath. At five o'clock when men comq off tho board water that has been standing in an iron tank .a blazing sun is. much,-top.hot for drinlaiig. Docs tho Minister really think

'that'shearers are such a puling elfcminato set of wastrels, that.-such water is too cold for'&Keml'f.Aii&i aiyliow why is tho clause, so onesided? I must liavo a clause providing soven days jyit.ho.vt. tho qption for any shearer not; talje bath. Nor can I bo '■blufFe'd > , loelerng' tbo iloor and splashing. il;.musfc .see" jny . man . tho water, and test its_tomj>eraturo with a thermometer. But tjio r 'clausp'about the ppoj? sleeping apart from, any shearer; well, really I don't know so" »much- about that. On my place last year 'the !co"ok' and "o'no" of the shearers were man anfl.AVifQ.:-.,'And,arn;l|?rH"No, clearly this clause, wants watching. : There. are only two satisfactory features about, the situation. One is tho heartiness with which anyshearers I have met disavow any responsibility; for tho. Bill, and double -up at my. analysis of its provisions. ' The other is that overi if tho Bill passes I can discern a gleami.of., hope. , According to tho Attorfley 7 .G,en,e]'al's f .dictum that a striker ,censes to 'bo a striker tho moment ho cojniinonces to strike a shearer ceases to be a shearer when he catches his first sheep. Possibly bo becomes a Cabinet Minister,' or, at all events, something that I could put into imy sparo bedroom , without infringing tho ; law. •••* ' •