IMMIGRANTS AND WAGES.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10737, 7 November 1928, Page 2

IMMIGRANTS AND WAGES.

(To the Editor.) Sir.—Up and down the country the JLabnr party candidates are stating that immigrants have been induced to come to New Zealand by a Government-' publication which they say infers that workmen’s wages here range from £7 10s to £ll 10s per week. -Here is the statement of -Mr D. G. Sullivan as 'reported in the Lyttelton Times: “British workers wero given the inference that the workers wages here ranged from £7 to £JI 10s a week.” The game statement only slightly varied, is being made by others of the, party in various electorates. The ground on which they make that statement is a booklet issued some time ago by the Government Publicity Department, and entitled “New Zealand. The Brighter- Britain.” Now wo challenge any of these candidates to deny that on page 28 of that booklet the rates of pay per hour are plainly set out for the various trades and occupations and that at such rates no workers could possibly earn anything approaching £7 a week. ft is a contemptible misrepresentation for these Labor Party candidates to ignore the fact that these rates,* which are correct, arc in the booklet. instead of taking such an honest method of criticism they have turned t <4 a paragraph on page 39, which does not state rates of pay or mention earnings at all, but deals with income tax and have drawn an inference of their own which is not even correct as applying to that paragraph. Hill they tell us why the’ do not take the booklet as a whole and draw their inference frojn that: or will they show how workers can earn £7 a week on the rates set out on page 28:* What they are actual!' doing is representing to their audiences a booklet those present have •lever read and are deceiving their hearers by withholding the fact that the very booklet they are using on page 28 disproves the statement they are making. It is a most gross and contemptible method of misrepresentation to thus present matters to the public. Men such as Messrs D. G. Sullivan, P. Fraser, D. \V. Coleman (Mayor ol Gisborne) and others who have held public positions ought to be ashamed to use such a palpable method of deception. The paragraph on which they arc relying reads thus: “In New Zealand the average working man with a family of three and an income up to £7 10s a week would pay no income tax at all, and less than £4- per annum in income-tax with an income up to £ll 10s a week.” They are reading that to mean that ihe average working man with n, family of three earns £7 10s a week, etc. However, it does not sayso. If we wrote “the average married woman with a family ol seven has a very hard struggle” thev would not read that as meaning that the average married woman has a family of seven. Why, Ihen, do they read into the booklet words that are not there? it appears to us simply loose writing, but the positive* statement about wages is .on page 28, where tile minimum award rates are set out in detail. Plasterers (about the. highest) is shown tui 2s SJd per liour. weekly hours 44. Others shown are much lower. Work M ont and ask where does their £7 10s a week come in. We make no apology foi saying such misrepresentation is con (emptible.— fours, etc., N.Z. AVELEABE LEAGUE.