THE DEVON'S IMMIGRANTS

Evening Star, Issue 12868, 18 July 1906, Page 8

THE DEVON'S IMMIGRANTS

[Special to the Star.] AUCKLAND, July 18. Ave coom here to get work, and am goan to do it,' said one of the batch of the 114 immigrants who arrived in Auckland by the Devon from England yesterday, and this pretty well sums up the attitude of the new arrivals Ihey want work, and are not afraid of hard graft. They are a likely-looking lot of men, taken all through; they are well set up, anU have intelligent faces. The majority paid their full passages, ouly about twenty bemg assisted by the Government grant. Several have brought their wives and children, whik others are wailing to see how life in New Zealand suits them before sending lor tl-cii families. The men are drawn from all parts of the British Isles. The greater number an from England, but there are a fair uumVei of Scotsmen, half a dozen Taffies, an<' aliiui an equal number of Irishmen. The trades represented are as 7aried as the localities from which the men were drawn. The rew arrivals were met by Mr J. E. March, immigration and junior labor officer, who supplied them with all the available information. It is probable that a number of those bookec for the South will stop here if they can ob tain work. Those suited to such employmen will be immediately sent on to the mail Trunk Railway works, either- from Aucklanc or Wellington. "I was attracted by the Government advertisements," raid one immigrant when questioned as to the reason of his coming so fa' afield. "What did they call it?— God's owi couutry. wonderful land, and so on. It wa the promise of eight bob a day that brough most of us, though." " Bight and tenpenc a day," corrected another. "That's what w< were to'.d we could earn on the main trunl line were we to come out here, and now wi want to tackle the work." " Any farm laborers aboard?" "Yes, I'm one myself, bul no farmwork for me. Seven days a week, ard work never over. I'd sooner tackle : pick-and-shovel job, and know when 11 done my eight hours' solid graft. None o the farm hands aboard intend to go in fo fanning here. We will all tackle naw\ work as soon as we can get to it. "I'm bour.c" for the main trunk line myself." " We are all prepared to work hard," saif' another. "But some of us are not used ti laboring work, and some of the others don'l want to leave the towns. There are a :o of builders and mechanics aboard, but not a great many of the laboring class. Things are pretty dull in England just now, escep ; ;ii Lancashire. That's a good country, bu; there's too much working sixteen hours a dav for 25s or 30s a week."