BOY LABOUR.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24, 28 July 1911, Page 4

BOY LABOUR.

THE FARMERS' DEMANDS. Boy immigrants wete discussed at the Farmers' Coaiference yesterday, when Mr. T. W. Foster (Southland) moved— "That in view of the scarcity of youthful farm labour, this conference approves of the introduction of suitable youths under caTeful selection froni Great Britain." There was, he said, a great scarcity of labotir in Southland. Tho 'boys already obtained from Horn© were, with one or two exceptions, a!i turning out well. Any New Zealand boy who wanted to could get on to the land in Southland ; but the New Zealand boys all wished to flock to tha towns. Some discussion ensued regarding tho inclusion of reference in the motion to the Sedgwick scheme. Mr. M 'Queen (Southland) oould. not understand the Government's opposi* tion to tho Sedgwick scheme. The union should not confine iitselff f however, to one scheme. Mr. Phillip (Otago> said the Sedg« wick boys had don» better than tho New Zealand boya. There Were very much fewer failures among them. Mr. Foster said nothing was further from the trnth < that these young men, as the Labour unions asserted, were sweated labour-^-aweated by the fattne-A The^ were nob introduced because they were cheap. They were^ paid 10s a week to start, and were not'worth much, because they did not know much when they started ; but they soon learned to do well and to command the current rate of wages whan they were able to earn it. The thanks of the union were accorded to Mr. Sedgwick for his woik, and cheques amounting to £87 10s have been received for the Sedgwick Fund.