CO-OPERATIVE WORK "CURSE OF NEW ZEALAND"

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 28, 1 August 1912, Page 7

CO-OPERATIVE WORK "CURSE OF NEW ZEALAND"

FARMERS' STRONG PROTEST. Co-operative labour found no favour with farmers at their conference to-day. Mr. H. D. Vavasour (Blenheim) moved — "That this conference strongly protests against public works being constructed under the co-operative labour system, or day labour." The system was, he said, the curse of New Zealand, depreciating the labouring man, giving him the incentive to be a loafer, and discouraging the zealous- and enterprising man. Under the co-operative system an enormous waste of public money had gone on. Before the late Government came into power railway construction cost £7000 a mile. Since that Government came into power thy average cost was £19,000 per mile, and the Seddon line, an easy line to construct, cost £20,000 a mile. This co-operative system accounted for tho scarcity _of farm labour. Grievous squandering of public money had gone on over public works under this system. Farmers must make a strong protest against this kind of thing. Mr. Mackay (Blenheim) said seventeen miles of the Seddon railway took six years to build. The same thing was going on there now. To devise anything worse for waste and corruption than this system would wreck tha brain* of a Bismarck. Mr. Birch (Marton) described the present methods of railway construction with pick, shovel, and barrow as 100 years old. He showed how ' costly to every member of the community this cooperative^ work was, making the railway construction, and ultimately fares and freights, much more costly. Mr. H. J. Richards (Levin) said the worst feature was that the country was not getting value for its money — certainly not on. railway construction — under the co-operative system. The slowest man invariably set the pace. The good man was demoralised. Mr. Nevins instanced the Hutt railway as a case where machinery could .have been used with great' advantage and economy. He never saw moro than one man, one horse, and one cart on work which could havo been easily and speedier done by machinery. Mr. M'Qoeen (Southland) said with the present indebtedness the country should have had miles and miles of railway bat for this enormous waste on co-operative work. Mr. Moss (Wellington) pointed out that good men had to "go slow" on such work or they would earn too much for the indifferent men. He did not look for much relief from politicians. Men who thoroughly supervised co-operative labourers were moved to other places, if they were thorough, by the invocation of the influence of the member for the district. He instanced work that lad been paid for and yet had never been done. Mr. Ewan Campbell regretted that there was so much talk over a question upon which all members were agreed/ The motion was finally agreed to.