CORRESPONDENCE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 26, 31 July 1911, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE COST OF LIVING. TO *tt« SMTOft, Sir,— l notice that Mr, Hill, in hie controversy with Mr. M'Laren, made a statement, to the effect ~ that no New Zealand butter was now on the English market. Ever since butter first went up many weeks ago, we have had the tantalising experience of reading in our Scottish papers, received here each week, a large type advertisement by a Clydeside grocery firm, running thus;—Danish butter W1 l s id h er ]b New Zealand butter ... ls Od per lb And We in the land of its manufacture are paying Is 5d and Is 6d 1 In to-night's Poet (24th July) there is an article on "Butter and Cheeee," and' it concludes with the statement that most probably ne*t year there will be a greatly increased demand for New Zealand cheese. In other words, wei poor housewives may be called upon to paylOd or ls a lb in order that our, cousins at Home may buy it for Sd. Does it not occur •to i you, Sir, that this kind of preference, including the high-priced inferior meat, the subsidised appleA that go Home, while we pay high -prices for .what is left over— and such like, may be very inimical to the feeling you have so loyally striven to 'foster, especially during the last three months, viz., the 1 preference for New Zealand made goods, "local industries?" To,, my mind it is. not calculated to make one feel either kindly or patriotic. There are many item* of dear living in. this country which I have not seen commented upon. May I refer to three or four merely ac, examples : — . Ist.— At Home one can buy a 21b jar of pure jam, including strawberry, for BJd. Here in the land of fruit, where it almost grows of itself, one has to pay at least I 3 4d for 21b of unadulterated jam. 2nd.— A tin of tomatoes at Home cosW &id (in a country where they are comparatively, little grown). Here, where they can be carted away, but are left to rot became so plentiful, we pay 8d and' 3rd.— A tin of Englieh-made cocoa costs, if 1 remember aright, s^d. . Here it is lid. 4th.— Sunlight soap at Home is 7id a packet. Here it is Is. In the two former instances there is no duty and no carriage, only a small increase in cost of production. In the latter> there is cost of carriage in both, and duty in at least one ; but why to so Wge an extent? Any woman who has intelligently kept house in the Old Country, and tried to do it here, could supply a lengthy list of such inequalities, and any member of our Parliament who had j the courage to institute «, crusade against what some of us feel to be an injustice as tvell as a hardship, wotlld earn 'very heartfelt thanks from many a severely streeaed honsekeeper.-»-I am," etc., * "THIN BUTTER." Wellington, 24th July, 1911, xo ras em-tor. Sir,— l am glad to see that Mr. Bolton lias drawn attention to the high cost of living in New Zealand, undeterred by any. special pleading from interested parties. Nowhere is the cast* <«> high as in Wellington, not only because of dear butter but also because of high rents. Now, sir, from what I have seen Of the building trade, I know that owing to high land Values, it simply does not pay to purchase & section to build. Land 'is systematically held out of use for speculative purposes, and I do not see how the values are "to brought - down except by a further tax upon iand values. But what' hope is therei of any .attempt to tax out the speculator as long as the- : present 'Gov.ernment's policy refnains the saftie? There is too much living on the reputation of the late Mr, John Ballance, Further, before the high cost of living is reduced, the timber duty must be taken off. We saw from the newspapers a_ little while ago how the timber organisation operates. An attempt was made by the Timber Merchants Association to penalise Prouse Lumber, Ltd., but the magistrate very properly put the wet cloth on the association's eloquence by holding that th® agreement, if any, was contrary to public policy. • I expected some abler pen to draw attention to this matter, but like a lot of other matters that vitally cohcern the public it Was scarcely noticed. It seems to me that' if the present New Zealand Government were as Liberal as the Lloyd George Government in the Old Country they would coon make short work of th© land specu- , lators' ring, the butter ring, and the timber ring. They would then be better occupied than in giving impertinence to municipal representatives.— l am, etc., FREEMAN. Wellington, 29th July, 1911, MR. FOWLDsTnO. MENTAL HOSPITAL ATTENDANTS. TO THE HDIToa. Sir,— Some time ago you published a letter signed "Asylum -Worker," also the Hon. Mr. .Fowlds's reply thereto, in which he made light of the attendant*' labours. Having worked in these institutions, I am in a position to disclose the true state of affairs. Mr. Fowlds pointed out that four days per month and one full month were allowed as holidays in each year, He also mentioned that half hours were allowed for meals. I will grant all this. But will Mr. Fowlds, or anyone else, deny that the unfortunate' Government servants work eight hours and over fifty-four minutes for every day in the yea,r, including Sundays and holidays? Their hours are rather complicated, and perhaps an explanation will prove of interest to the lion, gentleman." Alternate days of eleven and thirteen and a half hours are worked. On the eleven hour day two half hours are allowed for meals, reducing" {.his day to ten hc-urfi actual duty. On the thirteen-and-a-half-hour day three half hours are allowed for meals, making twelve hours actual duty for these days, or a-n average of eleven hours per day for the Week. One short day in each week— never a long day— i« allowed bjS "day off," making sixty-six hours for the week. A ' fortnightly dance is held, which increases every alternate week's duty— -after "day 'off —to sixty-nine and a half honre, or an average of sixty-seven and a hah' hotiw per week for forty-eight weeks. Tho remaining four weeks of the ypar are allowed for annual holiday. This works out at eight hours and 'fifty-four minutes for every clay in the year, truly *• deplorable state of affairs in a country that boast* of the eight-hour ejstem. Can justice be done to the insane of the Dominion under these antiquated conditions ? One correspondent stated that the female staff at Ttmtua w'eru kept on duty till 6 p.m. on three "short days" (from 6.30 a.m. to '6 p.m. constitutes ft "short" day for these unfortunate young women at Porirnaj. It wotjld be interesting t6 know the Minister's intentions regarding Mr. Hogg's motion of last session. Hoping, sir, that yon will take an interest in this unfortunate body of workers.— -t am, etc, B. 0. FULLBBOOK. 22nd July, 1911,