SCARCITY OF FARM LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 800, 25 April 1910, Page 10

SCARCITY OF FARM LABOUR.

Ml '■ ONE : : •• the "Gisb6rne Times" on ' Me scarcity of farm labour, "Ex-Farm Hand says:—l claim; to know a little about tho. subject from the working man s point of: view, '.because, upon 1 leaving school, I became a general farm- hand.: After, several' years of experience, .however, I got;back to town. 1 could name many lads, who wont into . the country after leaving | school, but after ai few years most of them came back to."the towns ■ again, .and the , fanner, has lost his 'opportunity to sequestion again arises: \\ hy did these youiig>. men give.- up their healthy; country life;, to come back to town . The answer, J think, is rot..hard; ta find.' Takej': for instance, •y tte-.cawiof. anyone of these' ladsj refer 'tt novelty of-the lifo wears olr, and ho gets a year or two's experi- • e j C Ji' he,compares the.gcneral condition } ?! of his life "with those- of. his old school '-.ymates;.Ttrjxom he has. left in'town; The. ■ comparison, needless- to. say,-is in .nine cases out. of ten most unfavourable. He sees his , old ohums.i.with 100 per cent, ' more ' - small, petty things, if.VfcSkeu singly,, but collectively : thejygo a long: way to smooth over the rough - cages, of everyday-life, whilo'he' geeps .in a wharo,-where 1 (unlike :Mr. - Farmer)..he docs not: wen have the small: comfort of_ sheets, to his bed. - Ho. could buy them if. he wished, certainly; but jho has he to wash them for him? On Sundays, after his rdutino work, is finished lie (if he believes 111 the old - fdage tliat:"Cleanliness is. next to God-' • hness ). dcies his. weekly -washing, etc., etc. In his few hours of meditation, ha thinks how much more comfortable and . . happy, ho-might have been if he had - had :tho sense to learn 'a trade' in -tOWn..

: We'_have only to live once—onco a boy, then; a youth, and Liter manhood. Most men- generally look forward to the time when they mil h'avo a Home of their- own—it is their birthright." As a "benedict" a nir.Ti is moro dependent upon his,employer.. He has his home to : consider, and ho-cannot; pack up his bag and-"get" at a moment's notice. One would naturally suppose; then, that ■if fanners'wish to keep their, men they would encourago them to marry, or, at least;. that they, would put no. hindrance in ; their.' ; way, but the exact opposite to this'-.is.Hho caso. : They pay their' weekly hands-so much a week and their tucker'(3os. is a good wage), but what about, his wifeP ''For her ho has to. provide' a. home in or near some town whore ho is able to,rent a'house. How far, will his wages go towards providing : and keeping ' this home? Necessity drives this to seek other occupation.-.

Tho Southland branch, of the Farmers' 'Union was the first in tho Doto. take advantage of tho organisation of the Central (Unemployed) Body for London, an institution which "works : under Government supervision in the 'lield of emigration. Some months ■ ago a number of married couples, , : who had been selected by various - Southland farmers from a list provided by the Central Body, arrived at tho Bluff and proceeded to thoir new homes, and on Monday (says tho "Southland: Times") cicht lads, similarly brought out, came by tho Warrimoo. ex .Omrah. at Melbourne. Theso young men'range from 17 to 21 years of age, and., have; beenbespoken for' :Bome of the best, farms in -Southland-