THE DEMAND FOR LABOR,

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1691, 5 January 1874, Page 4

THE DEMAND FOR LABOR,

In the Provinces ofcOfcagb and Canterbury, yseriqua fears are> entertained that"; the supply of labor will bo inadequate « to* the 'requirements .of • the- season,/. and a general Bcarcity ! b£:harvest hands is anticipated throughput, .the, 'Colony. . Lar^e bodies of immigrants will reach both Lytteltpn and : Port 'Chalmers within the next two months, -bub -riot sufficiently early, it is feared, nor in sufficient nu.mbers- i tb ; 'meet' the extraofditiary demand, which witf ariicf. ; \ F6f, ine 1 district of Oamaru alone, ii is' 1 estimated that 2000 harvest hands will { bo required $ and .in reply to* 'a' representation .of, their wants from gentlemen 'connected with the district,,the) Sunerintendentpf Otagocoald give f np ,-prQ.mise of t being; able, to furnish' newly arrived immigrants .in .anything approaching' i the tiu'mb^r^asked for. In Canterbury,' so " great "is~th^ "scarcity "of men, that the LyttettfmsWitks is advocating the suspension of all.pujblic works for two.]orj Jhree mqn.ths, in: order that labor for harvett niay be available. Our i contemporary, could hardljThave fthdiightf out the consequences of carrying his suggestion into effect. . Public ys;or}jßf are in/thg; hands of contractors, wib would require .

a large compensation for having to suspend operations during the best two months of the year for prosecuting their undertakings, and it would not be just to the Colony at large that it should be taxed for the benefit. of a particular. class, however important that class may be. But suppose all work connected with the construction .of railways suspended, would thefpicJc-ahd-shoYei-menithe splitters and fencers', the plate-layers and carpenters, and the whole tribe of workmen thus suddenly thrown into the labor market, be converted at once into useful harvest laborers, _able 'to earn the high wages:they would be^ccrtain to demand ? The suggestion is impracticable. The farmers of New Zealand must .battle through their difficulties as best they can. Harvest everywhere, requires more men than farmers can employ in other seasons ; and this has to be met by long hours and increased wages. It is nonsense to expect labor specially created for an occasion. With emigration to Otago and Canterbury wisely managed, the' arrivals in those Provinces within the next month ought to be sufficient to meet all reasonable waqts of farmers. . Is. not the dread of having to, pay high ..wages, for harvest assistance, at the bottom of much of the cry of scarcity of labor 1