EMIGRANT'S LOT.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3134, 11 September 1922, Page 2

EMIGRANT'S LOT.

CONDITIONS IN NEW, ZEALAND. "THE NAKED TRUTH." Under these headlines a special correspondent to the Glasgow Evening Times describes conditions' in New Zealand as lie Jims seen them Glowing pictures l have* been drawn of the places that await deserving men in Canada, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand —free land or cheap land, high wages, and plenty of employment —the promise of a new heaven and earth is dtngled before the eyes of the hornyhanded' sons of toil. One listens, and wonders whether those gentlemen who draw these bright pictures are cognisant of the real facts. Mere is an advertisement which is typical of many that are appearing in the public prints all' over the country:— " EXPERIENCED DOMESTIC SERVANTS REQUIRED FOR NEW ZEALAND. Free passages and I'2 for expenses on joining steamer. . . . Reliable situations guaranteed. Farm Hands, Carpenters and Joiners', Pl'unibons, Blacksmiths, and Bricklayers also required. Excellent climate ; good wages." It is scandalous that such announcements should be made by responsible officials, lor. to say the least of it, they arc misreading. T am not sure how far the part relating to domestic servants is true, but I. am sure- that that part of the advertisement referring to bricklayers', carpenters, plumbers, blacksmiths, etc., is to put it mildly, overcolored. New Zealand has at the present time little need for them. She has too many unemployed within her own borders. The tradesmen who leaves the Old Country in the belief that in coming to New Zealand he is entering Elysium will in all likelihood be doomed to disappointment. During the past year T have been over the greater part of the Dominion, and have spoken to all sorts and conditions of men, and have found many deeply regretting that they ever gave credence to the fairy tales told them of the beauty and plenty and freedom of "God's Own Country." as the New Zealander delights to call his land. A laborer can usually find n job. but a tradesman has to be content with what he can pick up. This is not an industrial country, but an agricultural. The need is not for engineers', but ploughmen ; not for managers, but for men who can wield the pick and shove!. The patternmaker who is not willing to wheel a barrow, the grocer who is not willing to drive a dray, the clerk who cares net for a butter factory or a freezing works—in short, the man who wil! not torn his hand to anything—bad l better stay at Home. These things detract not from the excellency of the climate —its beauty, its fertility, its geniality, its clear blue skies, its freedom ; but one cannot live on beauty and fresh air alone, intending immigraivts should remember that, and not lie deluded by the glowing accounts of enthusiastic friends. Whatever New Zealand was a dozen years ago. it is not to-day a land flowing with milk and honey. The slump in butter and wool and beef has caused great distress, and many who bought farms during the days of prosperity have simply walked out of their holdings, leaving behind them their money and their all. The ex-soldiers have been badly hit. They bought when markets were inflated, and now that prices are falling they cannot carry on. Government is not able to lilt them out of the slough. With poverty and bankruptcy crouching at the door, the lot of the "cookie" -that is what the working farmer is called —is not a pleasant one. and itis questionable whether that of the merchant in the town is much better. ! beard Sir Thomas Mackenzie, a member of the Cabinet and late High Commissioner to Great Britain, utter a warning against entertaining too lofty expectations of New Zealand. There is abundant of work of a kind. hut it requires a stout heart and a strong arm awd dour determination to exploit it. By and by things will right themselves, and when the bush is cleared, and roads made and factories built Maoriland will offer opportunities to working men second to no?ie. Recently I asked a man of sound judgment and good position, who has In t'li here for nearly fifty years, whether he would advise an ordinary workman to come out, and he replied: "1 would not if he has a good situation at Home, tor (I) he might not make good, and if he were fifty years of age the probability is be would not; (2) die conditions and methods would be to him; (:)) he would miss many of the little comforts and luxuries he has been accustomed to; and (4) he mgbt not be ablo to accommodate himself to bis new environment." Not a few have failed in the last respect, and would lain return from whence Ihev fame, luit have not the means. [ met in DunecKn an ex-soldier who w.i- acting as a tramway conductor. Me told me that before the war he had been in a good position in the office of a. shipyard on the Clyde. When he got hi- discharge be ramc out here to better himself. His wage was CI a. week. but that did not go .so far. be said, as L'2 at Home. He did not like the P'lacc, but he would require to stay on. as he bad a wife and two children to keep. In the same town I fell in with another who had been an accountant in Liverpool, and rather fancied himself. He was weary—sick to death, he saidI ting lor a job. and was seeking to get back to old' England again. Still another. He was fifty-four years ef age. Me had come out because of the row-colored letters of a son who had run away from home, and reported that be was doing splendidly in the land of bis adoption. When the father arrived lie discovered his son idle, and l b:s story a. piece of pure invention. "Why did you write that you were doing so well and that your prospects were so bright?" ho asked, and the son answered: "I had to justify myself, and so made believe." In Wellington I came across a .structural engineer I knew in Glasgow. He was a young, strong, capable fellow, with an optimistic turn of mind, and a wife and two children. Ho was fortunate to secure a post at Co per week, but. as he had to pay fJ.S los a week for rooms, he had come to the conclusion that, notwithstanding its drawbacks. Paisley road west was a better place for him. I could tell of other similar eases. Of course, all arc not like these. Many, in spite of difficulties and privations, have made good. One member of the Legislative Council. with a i own and country bouse. started on the roads forty years-'ago. and by perseverance and hard work gradually wrought himself up to a position of af(luence. The days of romance are not past, and in a young country such as this there are infinite possibilities. A worthy old gentleman, spending the evening of his life in the midst of comfort and plenty, told me that he came out from Kilmarnock to Auckland as a young married man in the early days. The situation be came to was not what he expected. The work was different. I lie methods wore different, and so were his surroundings. Many a time he cursed the day ho left "Auid Killie." Hut his wife was a stayer; she cheered and encouraged him and guided the affairs under her charge magnificently, and as he was young and strong he

worked to the limit of his powers—-forty-eight hours at a, stretch and twenty-lour hours off, then forty-eight hours and again twenty-four off, and, that he continued for months on end. It was a hard and strenuous time hut they won through, and they are reaping a rich harvest now. I might tell of others, hut to what purpose? One cannot tell how the wheel of fortune may spin. Jn normal times tho workman may have a little more in hand at tho end of the year, but at present, with poor trade' and high prices, there is no inducement to him to come out here. Wages are better than at Home for those who can secure a job; but the cost of living is also higher. The average tradesman can make from £5 to £7 a week; tho clerk, etc., £4. House rents in a respectable locality run from 30s to IDs per week. Doctors charge from 10s 6d a visit. A hat that would cost 15s or 20s in Glasgow cannot bo got under :55s or 4f)s\ Nothing is cheaper here except butter and beef.