Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1879. THE UNEMPLOYED.

Hawke's Bay Herald, 31 May 1879, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1879. THE UNEMPLOYED.

The very rowdy and discreditable meeting of " the unemployed " at Christchurch was highly creditable to our working classes, for it unmistakeably showed that the better class of workmen held aloof, and left the agitation to be sustained by a few loafers. Jack Lee, tlio originator of tlio moating, and the chief speaker there, is a well-known loafer of the M'liaren stamp, always ready to stand on any convenient stump, and hold forth in violent language on the "wrongs" of the working man. Thank Heaven, we have as yet few of that kind of men in the oolonies, and when they do come they are not long in fiuding their true level. The artizan in New Zealand is, as a whole, superior to his English brother, and though he may for a moment be led away by plausible claptrap, he generally soon "bottoms" the extent of the mental capacity of his would-be guide, philosopher, and friend. Jack Leo is too well-known in Christchurch to have any influence with the real working men, and loafers are happily few 5 so that his following is small. He and the two or throe other men he could induce to come upon the platform contended that, because the Government 3gents were so silly as to pay their passage to thecolony, the Government was bound to find them work Avhen they arrived. Such an argument is monstrous. The men were not obliged to emigrate— they came here of their own free will. They are now to some extent, no doubt, suffering from the scarcity of money, which prevents buildings and other works being proceeded with as rapidly as last year, but they have in the past done so well thatwith ordinary thrift they would have been prepared for a season of enforced idleness. In Canterbury, during the first three months of the year, the building of the Temuka hospital and several other local works had to be suspended because of the scarcity of labor and the high price demanded for that labor. Mr Macandrew the other day remarked that tenders for public works were from 25 to 30 per cent, higher than two years ago, the contractors unanimously giving as their reason that they had to pay so much more for labor. The towns may have been fully stocked for some time, but we have had continual cries from the country districts for more workers. Yet we are told by these selfappointed advocates of the " working man" that the labor market has been so glutted that work has been difficult to obtain for years past. We can readily understand that Jack Lee and others of his kidney have not been all the time employed, for two very sufficient reasons. In the first place they are not likely to seek for work ; they wait for it to come to them. In the second place masters "fight shy" of such men, for they conceive it no part of their duty to give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, and shirk all they possibly can. Those willing and able to work have not found employment scarce, though they may now and then have been idle for a few days. Many of thorn have placed themselves beyond the reach of a temporary depression. We want no Government aid for loafers — if they leave the colony so much the better for us. If the depression continues, and many of those really anxious to obtain work are unable to do so, it will be well if the Government can put more contracts for public works in hand. At present the cry is from a few loafers, who at the first breath of adversity; call upon the Crovernment to aid them. To yield to their demand now would be to create a dangerous precedent, and, worse-still, it would encourago the formation of a " pauper-class," than which few greater misfortunes could ovortakc the colony. When the real workers, after exhausting every other means of finding em ployment, turn to the Government

for aid, their claims will, we venture to assert, hot be denied. . Until; that oomes about — and we hope it will be many years yet before New Zealand is at so low an ebb— it would be the reverse, of, wisdom for the Government to 'yield. We should be heartily glad to see. again a large demand for labor, but not at the cost of increasing the publio indebtedness by forcing on railways or other public works before the country is so far settled as to make them remunerative. For. some little time to come all olasses must, be content to suffer somewhat from the scarcity of money. It tells not only on the artisan or laborer, but still more heavily on the trader, and from the es- ' tensive merchant to the small retail dealer all feel its effect. To attempt to press on public works with undue rapidty, simply to make employment abundant, would be to discount the prosperity of the future. It may be reasonably hoped that a few months at furthest will see us past the worst of the depression, for the great abundance of money in England must in the end react upon the colonies. Until then let all seek to be self-helpful', and lot ua not, before absolute necessity arises, hear a pitiful cry to tho Government for public money to relieve our private wants.