DOMINION COMMISSION.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume III, Issue 73, 10 March 1913, Page 3

DOMINION COMMISSION.

SI.GRTALE Cl’ LAiIOUF. DEARTH OF DIIES-E.IAKLRS. Wellington, March 10. Giving evidence befc-re the Trad2 Commission to-day, Mr. Sydney Kirkcaldie, head of the firm >:-t Messrs Khkcsldie and Stain*, said L.e had found it alrncst impossible to get an adequate supply of dressmakers, milliuci-s and tailoresscs. At present under the factory law a girl of 13 y. e;-s of age had to be paid a : LiiEngs a week, rising iii successive years by annual i..crcasvs of :Lr; e shillings a year. The remit w 1; that much of the wo;k had to be imported. He suggest; ■’ that dresi-mnki-rs, milliners, ard tailoresscs who had learned then? business at Homo should be given assisted passages or brought out as immig, a. t-. He wouh- i.e pre pan d to employ 30 such persons to-day. and their -.rages would range fre.a 30 - to 'ls'- pe;- week for competent Land;. Hon. Air. Rowring: I am afra; 1 you would find it difficult to get such labour in .'England. There are factories to-day suffering from lack of such labour as you refer to. Vv itness, in reply to another question. said he believed 1.5u0 oi- 1,6C0 competent dressmakers, milliners and tailoresscs could be aborbed in *N ew Zealand per year. ;'l; L . Campbell: Do you attribute the shuiage to the operation c f factory legislation. Wi'.mss: No. Air. Campbel] : Is it on account cf v nc-'-s <r (ondifions of trade! Witness: I should say wages are ad'qi-ate and conditions first-class T'-’( re is a ti ’idcne\ to drift into offices and become typistes. Mr. Lomas, secretary of the I al. i i- De-i.-ii tnr i.t. speaking of the fJedgwiek boys who were brought out to New Zealand, said only seven b-’.d turned out unsatisfactory. The. others had been quite a success. The chairman : Has the success of the experiment been such that you would advocate bringing out another batch ? Witrnss: Ye«, but selection would have to be carefully made. Mr. Collins, chief clerk of the Labour Department, gave evidence of the scarcity of labour in New Zealand. He said his inquiries h-<! i-.nti to believe 500 boys, could bo absorbed in each centre.