LIFE IN THE HOMELAND

Evening Star, Issue 15065, 23 December 1912, Page 7

LIFE IN THE HOMELAND

WRETCHED LABOR CONDITIONS,

DUNEDIN BUILDER'S IMPRESSIONS,

Mr George Lawrence, an ex-Mayor of Dunedin, who has just returned from a long holiday in the Homeland, recorded to a 'Star' reporter this morning his impressions of life in Great Britain. Judging from his narrative, it is clear that Mr Lawrence made the most of his opportunities to study many aspects of life in the industrial centres of England and Scotland. He. found that business was good everywhere,, and particularly brisk in the iron trade (lie saw 30 vessels in the course of erection at the shipbuilding yards on the Clyde), but he also found that in many branches of industry the conditions of the workers arc- near to slavery, us compared with things in Australasia.

Mr Lawrence, who was accompanied by his daughter, left New Zealand early in April last, joined the Australia at Sydney, and travelled homeward via Toulon. There they left the boat, and" journeyed across France. In France he was most impressed by the farming industry. Almost every foot of the land is made to supply labor and produce wealth. Even the steep hillsides are terraced and planted, and he believes that the peasants take twice as much out of the land as that taken by English and Scottish farmers. In France there _ seem to.be few country seats or mansions surrounded by large grounds fenced or walled in and used only as pleasure grounds for the owners and their friends, as is the case in England and Scotland. That, he believes, accounts for the healthy and wealthy condition of the French nation to-day. After an enjoyable trip through France, they'left Boulogne for Folkestone, thence by train to London. They arrived in England on a Sunday afternoon, and on the way from Folkestone to London they noticed that tho Sabbath appeared to be strictly observed. It was not so in France, for there, in the very early morning, men, women, and youths were seen .working on the land, on buildings, and at other pursuits, pretty much as on other days, which was to them a sorry picture. •' It* is nearly 40 years since I left London," remarked Mr Lawrence, '-and I expected to see many changes. This expectation was realised. The streets of London to-dav are mainly constructed of concrete, blocks", and neuchatel. They are beautifully clean, and the former noise and jolting over the cobbled streets is a thing of the past. The old cumbersome system of horee haulage in cab and omnibus has largely given place to the motor bus, taxi cabs, and electric 'cars, which run many miles outside of London, all round Greater London and suburbs. In many parts, the areas which in my day were brickfields and market, gardens and unused land are now covered with nicely-built houses. In these places one seems'to be still in the heart of tho city. Greater London, too, has been greatly beautified by the planting of trees in front of the houses and in many of the streets, and by new recreation grounds and reserves which were formerly_ brickfields and market gardens. The vehicular traffic in London and other large cities is enormous. The way it is controlled by the police is simply marvellous. Although the population has increased enormously, the footpaths are" not anything like so much congested as they were 40 years ago. Tho quick and ample bus and taxi service and underground tube and overhead train service make it comparatively easy to tiavel the footpaths of London. One can travel far easier and quicker under London than on or over London, so to speak. That, at least, was my experience. " The . social position of the laboring classes in London and other large cities is not good. They have grent reason to lie dissatisfied, and the unreasonable treatment they haws received and now receive at the hands of the powerful companies, combines, and wealthy classes is not creditable to the Mother Country. Tho condition of the workers is much better than when I left, but they are still badly treated, and although the poverty is not so marked as then, there is yet great poverty and distress among the workers that ought not to be. Unfortunately, poverty is not altogether the result of oppression and low wages, for in many instances men earning fairly good wages are living in poverty and squalor. The drinking habits of very many of the working class, both men and women, are appalling, and cause much of their poverty and distress. It is a common thing to see from early morning till late at night as many women as men lounging in front of the bar counter, with their children hanging round tho door, while many stand on the footpath and drink and feed their young children with it. This has become so serious a question that I saw- it had been suggested ' that an Act should be passed prohibiting the supply of liquor to women before noon.' There is no doubt that the present and future generations of the workers are. and will be, greatly enfeebled and degraded by the demoralising effect of excess in the drinking habit.

"As a native, of a village near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. T was naturally drawn to that part. "Bucks is on* 1 of the prettiest and most fertile counties in England, and ■when I reached there in May it was at its best—a veritable Garden of Ederi. But amidst its beauty what did I find? I found it a county of abject slavery. Men with largo families a to working nine hours a day for 12s a week: ploughmen work two horns longer each day, and they get 13s per week, or an extra Is for an "extra 12 hours' work To enable them to keep from starving altogether,, the men havo rented to them 50 or 40 poles of land at an excessive, rent. On this, by working before and after their ordinary day's work, they grow vegetables to help supply .their wants. They ;i,re chiefly vegetarians, be-

! cause they cannot afford butcher's meat. One lady'told my daughter that she had beep, married 27 years, and had never in that time had a leg of mutton or its equivalent in meat on her table. These poor people do the work, and yet if they ever have a bit of meat it is a small scrag end of the cheapest kind possible. They live in semi-starvation from birth till death, and in a county where both landlord and tenant are rolling in wealth. One farmer died a little while ago in my native village leaving £83,000. When approached by his employees for more wages he used to tell them that farming wasn't paying, and that ho couldn't give them more, for he would soon have to go to the workhouse himself if things didn't improve. He had been clearing something like £1,500 annually out of Ms leased land worked by these poor slaves! " The lands of England and Scotland do not employ half the labor they should, nor do they produce half of the wealth to the nation "they ought to produce. Hundreds of thousands of acres are not cultivated at all, but used for the pleasure of the landowners and their friends. As a consequence the rural districts are fast becoming i depopulated. My native, village has decreased one-third since I left, while many villages have fared much worse, and 6ome have nearly gone out of existence. Many of the young men who were working for 5s and 6s per week enlist as soldiers. One on furlough told me that he was far better off in the Army, as he received 5s 6d per week, was well fed and clothed, while he only received from the farmer 5s per week, without food and clothing. That is the experience of thousands in the British Army to-day. The land wili not keep them, and the taxpayer must. "The land laws of Britain and the greed of the landlord and their tenants are largely responsible for the loss to the nation o'f the very best and most thrifty, and independent of'its working people. Nearly all who can get away are leaving the rural districts for oversea countries or to largo and already congested cities. This, with the degrading effects of the appalling drink habit, is going to bring Britain to the dust, if some remedy is not soon effected. In a few years England will be largely populated by a physically-wrecked people and by foreigners. At the present time it is freely stated that there are nearly one million Germans in London. In my opinion, the only salvation for England lies in drastic land and liquor reform, a curbing of the greedy spirit of the monopolists and combines, and a proper system of land cultivation. To eifect this, England needs the assistance of all her dependencies, the assistance of their .best statesmen'. The statesmen at Home to-day are not what they were half a century ago—like the people, they are weakening. They are tinkering with matters, instead of providing useful legislation. There appears to be a feeling of insecurity among the thoughtful people both in England and Scotland that a calamity is looming in the distance. Many welcome the interest awakened in England's dependencies as to this danger. " While in England I lectured on the advantages offered in New Zealand to good, steady agriculturists, domestic servants, and others, and distributed some New Zealand literature (which was given me by the High Commissioner). There are hundreds of good men and women' who would gladly come here, but they cannot. While Canada is offering £2 as a bonus. New Zealand requires each man to pay £8 and deposit a further sum of £lO. How c;m men receiving only 12s a week ever save such a sum? It is impossible. Consequently thousands of good laborers are compelled io live in semi-starvation, and half the winter idle, while our farmers are restricting the planting of crops for want of men, and thus retarding the progress of (ho country. In my opinion good men and women should be able to come here free. It would be the best money ever spent,' as they woidd be supplying a much-felt want, and be the means of producing wealth for tho country. If the Government would give me the opportunity, I would easily get 50 families to come to New Zealand, provided they come free.

"As regards our produce, I was speaking to English producers and to a Commonwealth representative at the Islington Produce; and Dairy Show. All were surprised that New Zealand was not exhibiting produce. They all admitted that New Zealand was far ahead of them in butter and cheese, and would have carried off the prizes at that show. It is acknowledged, too, that New Zealand mutton is the best that comes into the English market, and I was told by a butcher in South Wales that a large quantity is being sold as English meat at 9d and lOd per lb, also that much Argentine mutton is being sold for New Zealand, and that stricter inspection in this is required. Several offenders have been convicted for it, but the practice still gees on. New Zealand, in my opinion, is not half advertised. On some future occasion I may have something to say on the method of street-making and other matters connected with municipal work. Duncrlin and other New Zealand cities arc vcrv much behind the times in some matters."