Grey River Argus. MONDAY, July 11, 1927. MR SEDDON’S LOW WAGE WANGLE.

Grey River Argus, 11 July 1927, Page 4

Grey River Argus. MONDAY, July 11, 1927. MR SEDDON’S LOW WAGE WANGLE.

It would be necessary to go back more than two generations to find in the annals of the New Zealand Parliament an instance of a West Coast Member voting for a policy of lowering wages. It is, therefore, a most unenviable distinction. which, as our Parliamentary reporter a few days ago pointed out, the present Member for Westland has earned for himself in departing as he has done from West Coast tradition by supporting the Reform Government’s institution of such wages as 9s and 12s per day at the present time. No part of the country has a larger proportion of wageearners than the West Coast, and, how that the milling industry, em-

pioymg so many at ordinary times, is coming almost to a standstill,, the lowering of rates on public works to 9s and 12s is calculated to place a considerable number of West Coast workers on a standard of living much lower than the average standard has been since the early nineties of last Century. .Seeing that he was one of no more than three nonlieform members who supported the Government when its failure to take effective steps to deal with the unemnlovment was questioned, it is the duty of Mr -Seddon to give a reason for his action,, and to say candidly whv he considers 9s ami 12s a day a more suitable rate of payment for a day’s work than the minimum rate nrovided in the agreement between the Public Works Department and the men hitherto engaging with it. It is very < uestionablc whether the Reform Ministers will take .seriously Mr Seddon’s reference to the large number of unemployed mill workers when he gives the strongest possible evidence of agreement with the policy responsible for the present unemployment by supporting it with his vote in a division, especially in the face of the fact that the great majority of the Party to which lie has hitherto professed to belon- refused to vote with the Government on the question. Apparently Mr Seddon is in agreement with Mr Coates in holding that men without jobs should “hike” off to the back o’ beyond and toil eight hours for nine shillings, a wage which in comparison with the nrewar rate is not equal to six shillings, because the cost of living is to-day at least GO per cent, higher than it, then was. If the Member for Westland has cut himself so far adrift from the principles which have guided his predecessors in the nosition for so long, he ought to ask himself whether the time has not come for him to go openly and candidly over to the Tory camp, instead of pretending to have one leg in the Opposition camp and the other in that of the Reform Party! If it is a fact that Mr Seddon has voted for low wages with the idea of conciliating Reform sympathisers, we imagine he has miscalculated them, because it is a fact plain to all that low wages must be more harmful to the West Coast than to almost any other district in the Dominion. It is obvious in all localities on the Coast that the depression existing arises from the workers’ greatly reduced spending power. Every business man must admit it. The proper place for an opponent of a living wage is in the ranks of Toryism. The first loyaltv of a Member of Parliament is to his own district, and where it is a -uestion of Party, a Member should recognise that the one with which he votes is the one to which he should honestly acknowledge his allegiance. In a matter such as this, the facts require to be brought into nrominence. so that, every wage worker , shall be aware of how they affect himself and his fellow-workers.J There can be no disputing the

facts in this instance, and therefore all wage workers should bear them in mind. There is an obvious movement on the part of wealthy interests to bring down all wages, and they are not mincing their words in avowing as much, and therefore every Member of Parliament who sides in their favour has taken his stand at this critical juncture in direct opposition to the worker.