OUR LETTER BOX.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 39, 10 September 1887, Page 4

OUR LETTER BOX.

THE LABOUR QUESTION.

[To TBS EDITOB.j

Sib, —In toy rambles I hear a great deal said on both sides of this question, started doubtless by Cr King's motion to reduce the County wages from 8s per day to 7s. From what (ah' be gathered from the general public, they ; seem to regard the motion from trto : points of view, and neither of them are coh.plimentary to the mover or the Council. The first is, that Mr King, being a large employer of labour him- j self, sought to reduce his own men’s wages by reducing the County Coun- : Oil’s i and the second is, that if economy ; Mud retrenchment were the object in view, there were the higher salaries; of the Clerk and Engineer, from which ‘ great savings might be made without " impairing or sacrificing any of the ability which the Council now possess. The first lies between Cr King and the workmen, the second between the ratepayers and the Council. Looking at the matter from my impartial point ot view, Cr King appears to me to be' ifi ' a fix- -which it will be well for him to explain away if he seeks re-election next November—in thia way, he cannot say he is actuated by a desire to save ratepayers’ money oy an economical re-adjustment of wages and salaries in accordance with the altered times and prices of commodities, or he would not nave left out the higher paid servants of the Council, neither would he —had he any regard for the ratepayers 1 money—have proposed leave’ of’absence (taking all the surrounding circumstances into account) to one of the clerks ata subsequent meeting, especially as the head clerk, although he has so much work as to require assistance, still finds time to do e vast deal of other work; and there is no doubt he will be asked if he thinks

that men working eight hours a day for 8s have time to supplement that sum with any other work, and if not, why deduct 12J per eent. from the working men and leave the higher paid and lighter worked untouched ? These are questions he will be asked and which it will be well for him to be prepared to answer if he comes before the ratepayers as a candidate for re-elec-tion. So far the ratepayers have a good argument and one which utterly condemns the conduct of Cr King and the Council, but they are evidently blinded by self-interest, when, to strengthen their argument, they say that high wages mean high prices for Commodities and that when wages are 10s or 12s a day everyone is well paid for everything he produces and money it plentiful and things boom along, but that must be from natural, and not fictitious causes. In this they make one fatal error, that the prices of commodities depend on wages, whereas it must be the other way about. Wages must depend on the prices of commodities for a community to be sound and produce without loss. If commodities are produced at a loss through high wages the end of production is only a matter of time, and therefore anything that tends to keep wages at a fictitious standard is harmful to the community, who are the ratepayers Now it seems to me, looking at this question of wages in its relation to the price of commodities (and it is a burning question everywhere) in as an impartial light as human fallibility will allow—and perhaps I am helped in this by being almost independent of hired labour or of seeking day labour, and at the same time can realise the effects of the fall in the price of all Sroduce, —I say it seems to me that : the County Council has evidence before them, or are satisfied that the relations between wages and the prices of produce have altered, then I say it is the imperative duty of the Council in the interest of the community to readjust their salaries and wages to the altered circumstances, or otherwise tney help to uphold a fictitious rate of wages which will be hurtful to the community, and their constituents, the ratepayers, would feel much more satisfied if they were certain they were paying no more for the services than they were forced to. The impression certainly seems to be abroad that equally good service could be got for lees money, and an application to the market would prove if that impression is correct. It could do no harm, and might save a considerable sum of the ratepayers’ ’money to spend in a much more remunerative manner.—l am etc,

PbHICLEB, Ormond, 80th August, 1887. iOur correspondent evidently knows eof what he is writing about. We entirely disagree with the reduction of workmen’s wages, and have very plainly stated so. "Pericles” certainly knows nothing of the duties of the County Clerk or he would not suggest that his salary should be reduced. We maintain that Mr Warren has few equals as a Clerk, and can safely assert that he honestly earns every penny he receives from the Council. We hold the same opinion as to the Engineer, who for the valuable services he renders, is by no means overpaid. As to the suggestion that the position should be put in the market the Council are not likely to adopt it. They have got one of the best Clerks in the Colony, and well know it. In conclusion we might inform “ Pericles ” that even in our back page the space is limited.—Ed.]