The Hastings Standard Published Daily. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1896. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

Hastings Standard, Issue 59, 4 July 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1896. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

The member for Invercargill, Mr J. W. Kelly, apparently fancies that his mission in political life is to uphold the cause of woman. His latest freak is the introduction of the Domestic Servants' Half-Holiday Bill, which is certain to receive a short shrift when it comes up for second reading. Domestic service is not popular with our girls, most of whom seem to prefer sweating at dressmaking and other lady-like occupations rather tblin undertake the homely work with its higher remuneration. Perhaps the aversion to domestic service is in a measure attributed to the fact that as a rule domestic servants are not looked upon as occupying any standing beyond being the mere slaves ef the house, and the term " slavey," which is the common name applied to female domestics, helps to establish this contention. The Registry Offices, however, for their own convenience no doubt dignify the domestic with the title of " Generals." Perhaps if we examined the matter closely the title is not undeserved, as the household slave needs to be somewhat of a general to get through her work during the day. No doubt there are drawbacks to domestic service, but to compensate for this the wages ace high.

The misfortune is that the girls of today look upon domestic service as degrading, while as a matter of fact it is nothing of the kind. To return to Mr Kelly's Bill. One would fancy after reading this measure that the servant girls in this colony were harshly treated ; we believe to the contrary, and have no hesitation in saying that as a general rule the domestics are very much better treated in the colony than is tne case elsewhere. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining a good useful servant girl, mistresses are careful when once they have secured such a treasure to treat her with great consideration in order to retain her services as long as possible. However, Mr Kelly thinks they are badly treated, and he desires to give them a half-holiday one day in the week ; but in attempting this legislation Mr Kelly treads upon delicate ground. The ladies have taken to criticising the measure, and what they think of it may be gauged from the remarks made by Lady Stout at a meeting of the Southern Cross Society on Monday last at Wellington. According to Lady Stout the Bill would be quite unworkable. Every girl would have to be turned out of the House on the half-holiday from three o'clock until 10, which would mean that those girls who had no home to go to would be compelled to promenade the streets. They could not come into tea unless their mistress felt inclined to get it for them, because the Bill said that if they were employed at their ordinary work the mistress was liable to a penalty of £5. In the country, apparently, the poor girls would have to take to the fields. Again, if it should happen that the mistress was ill in bed, it made no j difference—the girl must go out and J leave her mistress to take care of herself. Or if, on the other hand, the j girl happened to be ill herself, it still ! made no difference —she must leave the house, j With that criticism Mr Kelly will ! have to reconstruct his precious measure, but in any case we do not | believe that the Bill will get through | the House, as there is no call for such ! a measure. There is no harm in Mr I Kelly indulging himself in his little j weaknesses, more particularly as there | is no harm likely to be done.