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Evening Post, Volume xciv, Issue 73, 24 September 1917, Page 8

Within the last week or two there has been quite a shortage o£ seamen and firemen in Dunedin, according to. an exchange. ' This shortage has been so acute that 18' firemen had to be taken down from Wellington the other day to.make up the complement on an overseas vessel. As regards men for sailing vessels, they are almost unobtainable, the pay and general conditions, as compared with those on steamers, not being sufficiently alluring to tempt the men. Some of the men on the steamers are making very high wages at the present time. The donkeyman on a coal boat had £22 for his tally, including overtime, for the first 17 days of thi6 month; a stoker on a small coastal boat in the last two months earned £23 4s and £24 3e respectively—more than the captain himself received!; and the boatswain on an overseas boat had £27 to his credit for one month. To earn such wages a man must, of course, work very long hours. Naturally (says the ChrietchWh Press of Saturday) the question of 6 o'clock closing was discussed by the majority of publican* yesterday, but few had anything to say against the measure. Most of them had been preparing for a reduction in houre, and the result is— though it is not absolutely authentic— that the standard bar price, after Tuesday next, will be 6d. That is to say, the medium beers, etc.,: will no longer be procured for 3d, twice that sum will be the standard price for beer, while nobody can venture to speculate on the price of spirits. "I suppose 6 o'clock is as good ac any other hour," remarked one publican. "If the bars closed at 8 p.m. we should have scores going home for dinner alter 8 o'clock, and we would get the blame. That is rfo U6e to us. If they want their beer they can surely get it within hours. If they don't, well, we can't help that, can we? We must close at 6 o'clock, and that is the end of the whole matter, though personally I should like to have a word with 31 r. Massey and with Mr, Myere on the subject. Summing it ill up, I think 3d Wttut downed," i