IMPORTING DOMESTIC HELP.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 865, 11 July 1910, Page 3

IMPORTING DOMESTIC HELP.

A NEAV SUGGESTION. Mrs. 1-himo Lindsay, agent of tho British- Women's Emigration Association, who has been in New Zealand lor the past few weeks, is interesting herself greatly in tho domestic servant problem, and has now formulated a ■scheme which she is bringing before tho uotioc- of tho Government. Domestic workers are undoubtedly wanted for Now Zealand, girls who will take some of tho burden iroiu the shoulders of tho hard-worked mothers of the community. Tho trouble is that when girls are imported they invariably go to tho mistresses who can afford the highest wages, and not to the mothers of small families who can only afford a small weekly wage.

In an interview with a representative of 'fJti: Dominion, Mrs. Lindsay explained that her idea was to bring out large numbers of girls from suck orphanages at Home as those for the children of naval and military men, Freemasons, and others of equal standing. In these institutions tho girls, who come of respectable parentage, are trained in domestic work, and at the age of fifteen or sixteen arc. ready to go to service. At present many of them are sent to Canada.

Mrs. Lindsay suggests that- an arrangement should I)!. , mads with the Xew Zealand Government, and that large numbers of these girls should he brought out to New Zealand to become wards of the State until they reach the age of twenty-one. Through properly-appointed Government agents they conkl be placed in suitable homos, homes of people oaruing between two or titiw hundred pei-nds, where they v.-oult! vpcoivo a salar.v of Bs. )k>i- week. Thi? s.alnry would nnt be paid to the girls, but to the Labour Department on their account, and a proportion would b- deducted during the first year to repay the cost of passage. The second venr' the «i: - lR would have the whole of the ?;:. o. week, and in following yoars 1-hoy would receive the graduated wage in which would bo entitled.

Of conrs?,' special provision would have to be ninde for the caro of tho girls both in England, on t-lm passage out. find after their arrival bore, nnd Mrs. Liiiflfa-y lia-s many ingenious suggestions to make on these points. Thoro would no difficulty, she thiniks, in olrt-.iini.iijr the girls from orphanages all c \-ir Kn<'bnd. and previd-.-vl the nii<sIrws tivh'd tliom wHb mnskl-M-n----iinn. rrr.'r.iiig t'i!it swh young <jii-] s r-Miltl onlv Mp with tho hut ■irifc undertake all flomestio fluh'os. the r.cJiemo sliouW, Mrs. Liiidsay thinks, work very well.