The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1911. DOMESTIC SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1031, 21 January 1911, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1911. DOMESTIC SERVICE.

The reason why tho servant question gives everybody. so much to talk about, and gives many people bo much vexation, is that the whole institution of domestic service, is in a stage of rapid transition. Such a ■ stage' is bound to be both interesting and .uncomfortable. Originally, domestic service ■ was founded on the Old World, distinction between • aristocracy and tho peasantry. . That distinction, fading everywhere, has scarcely ever been visible in this country. To an observer accustomed to the finely graded societies of older lands, New Zealanders seem to be all of one class. The submissiveness, the respectfulness, the patience, the quietness, tho plodding industry, which arc the qualities . of the disappearing peasant of Britain and Europe, arc still desired, but rarely found, in tho domestic servant. It was in many ways immensely _ convenient tijat ancient unquestioned assumption that certain families must bo served and that others must serve them; that the accident of birth (but it was not called accident then) gave to whole classes the right to command and imposed on other . classes the obligation to obey; that ■ tho blood ofjthe knight was of quite, a different composition from the blood of the' serf. Age-long acceptance of such notions almost made them true. Aristocratic typos and plebeian types became, or seemed to have become, hereditary. But the modern spirit, with its commercial system, popular education, and ballot-boxes, has long been, changing all that. It would be idle to wish it back. Feudalism, _ with all itsvirtues as well as its vices, has perished from the streets and the -fields, but it still retains a diminished life in tho drawing-room and the kitchen. The reason of the survival is, perhaps, that women arc more, conservative than men, and men are,more conservative in their homes than anywhere else. Bo this as it may, 'it hardly needs to be stated that an institution which is closely involved in the idea of social subordination must bo greatly modified if it is'-to. prolong its existence in a time when that idea has reased to control human 'relationships. Hence, a process of adjustment, which is chiefly evidenced in a number of interesting and more or less hopeful experiments. The confessed object of the experimenters, some of whom operate in concert and some ,as individuals, is cither to inducc tho potential, but (in tho mass) unwilling, domestic to enter into service, or to find means of doing without her. The second alternative leads in some eases to hotel-living, and to much limitation of families—things.which, whatever justifications may be pleadI od—in specific instances, are, from I a national point of view* regrettablb.

A bettor result of _ tho-effort to dispense with domestic help is seen in the numerous appliances now available for lightening tho necessary task; of the home, and in the thought which is increasingly given to the isamo object in tho planning of houses. These arc -fresh and striking proofs that scarcity of labour, rather than necessity, is the parent, of invention. Much more will yet bo effected in this direction, but already skilled and thoughtful housewives arc marvelling at the immense waste of labour that has hitherto .been going on in all sorts of dwellings. "Co-operative housekeeping" and the central kitchen for the preparation of separate meals arc extensions of the same general idea, but are still in the early experimental stage. Their effect on home comfort and home feeling has yet to bo ascertained. "The simple life" is also in part an endeavour to do without servants, and so long as it does not degenerate' into faddism and become a complex kind of extravagance, or make so much sacrifice_ of-comfort-that health suffers, it is a good and wholesome thing, and has contributed to the peace and happiness of many households. Of - mothods for inducing tho possible domestic to accept the work, one which was much in vogue in this country a few -years ago seems now to be going out. We refer -to the notion of treating the"help" as "one of the family." It amounts in most cases' to very little more than having her eat at tho same table. The position is generally somewhat equivocal, and is often quite awkward for both parties. Most sensible girls in domestic servioe do not like it. The arrangement is often only a protcnco,.and sometimes, it is feared, a make-weight for less favoured treatment in othertespects. In some English homes of late years cultured' young women have accepted domestic service with families of no higher rank than their own. They wear the cap and apron, and their deportment_ when on duty is that of the traditional maidservant, but they are well paid, they have leisure, and their private sitting-rooms; where they are their own mistresses, may be .as pleasant and tasteful' as the'' apartments of' '."the"'-family." It is an experiment which is understood, tohave worked well in a number of instances, but" it could not bo very widely carried out in the one-servanfc establishments which are so much the rule in this country. Other attempts to solve the servant problem take the form of seeking fresh sources of supply. Useful work has lieen done, and sorelyneeded relief brought. to many a •wearied housewife by the organisations which bring parties of girls' out. from Home. If they are sufimbued with the traditions of English . domestic scrvice, their fortunate mistresses are soon the •cnyy of ! their,circle. _ The scheme is, however, only a, palliative,"and"from tho naturo of-the social changes we 'have .referred to, it cannot permanently solve the'-problem." Chinamen and Island boys have beon tried, but the White New Zealand sentiment is against t-hem. There is also (in England more-than hero) an endeav-; our by means ,of genera) ' exhortations, large and special rewards for long.service, to foster,the idea 1 that domestic .'service is a profession. 'Froni- a"'high' religious or philosophic standpoint, •"•of .course, it is, but the girls do not readily mount to those heights at the., bidding of parties whoni they canpot .but regard;as. primarily.interested-in a different,aspect of the matter. Special education for--domestic service, on, the other hand, should ..prove a really effective way of . causing it to be "regarded with respect. ■Trades, unionism has. during recent years come into . domestic ser.vice,.;but wc have not heard, much of this; development justTatply.'.Perhaps .we never; shall., . by its, t yery nature and methods, ignores all/personal ties, and this, relationship between mistress and maicl is always, more or less, a personal relationship.' What could a trade union secretary, or a judge of the Arbitration Court, say to a servant who refuses to leave a family in reduced circumstances and persuades them, to let her stay at a smaller wage? It has-to bo Confessed that there is no general and universal solution of tho , servant ' problem. Every actual instance in which it manifests itself is different from every other. There , are as many servant problems as there are servants and mistresses. The experiments we have mentioned are useful to. thci. .individual :as suggestions merely. They prove nothing absor lutely. Common sense, a kindly consideration .not degenerating into Sentimentality, a laying aside of pre? judice, a cheerful acceptance of im evitable change—these, aro some of. the elements of tho homely philosophy that may somewhat allay the irritation, which is inseparable from a- condition of unsett-lement.