WORK AND WAGES.

Evening Star, Issue 9742, 26 June 1895, Page 2

WORK AND WAGES.

THE RELIEF WORKS,

A full meeting of the Committee was held this morning. - Mr Chisholm handed in a cheque for £25 from the Caversham Borough Council. Mr Rawlins waited upon the Committee to give his views on engaging the unemployed at goldmining; and the Committee came to the conclusion that it was a matter for private enterprise. It was reported that fifteen men had been selected for work to-day. -the following letter from Mr Farnio was received:—

. ' Dunedin, June 25,1895. Gentlemen,—According to a promise made to your deputation to-day, I herewith forward a reportre finding some employment on the Otago and Southland goldfields for the men out of work at present. I would not advocate sending men promiscuously over the country. Whatever is done in the way of prospecting must be bated upon purely practical lines. In the first place, men should be selected of sober habits, possessed of a thorough knowledge of gold mining from their past experience; also of a good, sound way l<lUe . and who could be relied «Pon in every

« Qi, c con: iteration would be to endeavor to hx the best locality where gold is procurable, and it should be so situated that the living of the men might be as inexpensive as possible. I have been led to understand from reliable authority that the Longwood district presents features of this nature. The whole of the ground is said to be highly K -\ aT y heavily timbered, and will ?)-° V b °th Are and shelter for the men. AMr Rillston called upon me to-day and gave some valuable information re the -Lougwood diggings He is a mine manager possessed of considerable experience, holding certificates to verify Ins statement. He states that he would undertake to head a projecting party and to give the Longwood giouncf a fair trial. In fact, he stated to me that he is positive he would succeed in discovering a payable held there, Rillston’s statement was afterwards corroborated by a Mr Orlinshaw who is also an experienced miner, and who would form one of a party to test the matter. Seeing that the public mind has at present a leaning m this direction, I would suggest that a party of men, fully equipped with tents and tools be chosen for the work. The Committee would be able to open au account with a storekeeper at Riverton, who would provide the men with rations to the amount of, say, 8s per week per man, which, I think, would be ample, speaking from my past experience of tent life. Apart from this, the men ought to be allowed a small wage to keep them in clothing for three months. Ly the end of that time it would be determined -ketlierthc held could be worked profitably or Perhaps it would be advisable before finally settling this matter to get Professor Ulrich’s opinion as to the nature of the ground Mr Rillston will, at my suggestion, call upon your Committee to-day to give you further information upon the subject.

At the weekly executive meeting of the New Zealand Workers’ Union at Waimate the secretary was instructed to draw up a report on the state of station accommodation throughout the colony, also to inquire how casual labor is to be dealt with according to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. A committee will meet on Thursday night to deal with the local unemployed difficulty. J A meeting of the Carriers’ Union was held at Christchurch last night, when a resolution was carried sympathising with the Wellington carriers in their protest against the issue of licenses to Chinese. It was resolved to circulate a petition asking the Government to abolish the present system of contracting for the carriage required by them, °