LABOUR CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Mail, 15 February 1900, Page 45

LABOUR CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND.

The Ven Archdeacon Langley, who visited this colony towards the end of last year for the purpose of reporting on our labour conditions to the Unemployed Advisory Board of New South Wales, has written a lengthy report on the subject. Archdeacon Langley appears to have been most favourably impressed with New Zealand, and his first impression was that the colony comprised a population “among whom, there appears to be no real want—where for every ablebodied man there appears to be"plenty of employment, and where the people seem exceptionally happy and well satisfied.” A eloser investigation and more intimate acquaintance, with the people, however,' showed that, in . spite of appearances, there was poverty which had to .lie dealt with, and that there were large nails upon the charity. of the community. But, so far as the unemployed are concerned, his earliest- impressions remained. New Zealand, he declares, has “practically no unemployed problem to solve,” although ne was assured that in the past; unemployed agitations were frequent. Careful inquiries led him to the conclusion that this satisfactory position was attributable , partly to certain things peculiar to New Zealand, and partly to legislation. With regard to the first, the colony is capable of supporting a large population in the cultivation of the soil, and occupations upon the land. Men, he states, can take up small areas of land, and by judicious cultivation make a good living. Then, in the North Island, the kauri-gum fields are a source of employment, always open, and where men can obtain sufficient to keep them from pauperism. Then, again, the town population is not congested into one large city, like Sydney or Melbourne, and this, he thinks, tends to improve the condition of the country and to provide more employment for the people. NEW ZEALAND AN OBJECT LESSON. In the matter of special legislation for the working classes, he says, New Zealand is certainly an. object lesson. Whether such legislation prove effective or otherwise, the legislators of this colony have, shown a courage that is remarkable. fl) “They have,” he remarks, “dealt with problems upon which we have only theorised, and the political student has there* a field for observation and inquiry of the most intensely interesting character.”

LABOUR INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. Archdeacon Langley had the opportunity of seeing something of the working of the Labour Bureau in several of the large towns, and it appeared to him that the system had much to do with the prosperity. of the workers. It has no less than 200 agencies at work throughout the col-

°ny. By this means full information of the labour condition of every. distract is kept before the officials, and workers are shifted from congested districts places' where there is a demand for labour, and he adds that- it appeared to kini that there was among' the officers . of the Bureau a. very earnest sympathy - with the workers, and a distinct- sense of their responsibility. He has a good word to say of the “Journal of the Department of Labour,” but remarks that the usefulness of the department is considerably impeded by the comparatively small number of employers of labour who avail themseives of its aid. This, doubtless, Archdeacon Langley goes on to say, is due to the fact that many employers have their own agents, who in the past have supplied their wants, and whose services they do not care to dispense with; but he thinks it is also largely due to the bitterness of party spirit. Tlie wealthy classes generally resent a good deal of the recent labour legislation, and as a consequence will have nothing to do with any of the machinery that it lias provided; but he thinks that confidence in the Bureau is growing. and that m a few years much of the prejudice against it will pass away.

CO-OPERATIVE WORKS. Whatever, says the writer, may be the advantage or disadvantage of cooperative works, there can be no doubt • 1° them the colony is mainly indebted for its condition in the matter of the employment, of the workers: He sums up the arguments of those in favour of the system and of those opposed to it, and arrives at the conclusion that certain facts respecting it are beyond question. These "are : (1) It- absorbs the unemployed, and explains to a large extent the fact that since the adoption of the system eight years ago, there has been no unemployed agitation in New Zealand. (2) It- encourages the settlement of men and their families away from the great centres of population. (3) In every case where it is impossible or undesirable to remove the frunilvj each workman signs an authority for’ the officers of the department to pay oneY half of his wages to his wife and family during his absence. By this means care is taken that those ‘ dependent upon the employees shall be dulv provided for.

LEVIN STATE FARM. . Archdeacon Langley thinks, under the circumstances, th e Levin State Farm, ot which he gives full details, may be pronounced a success. He suggests, however, that, had a small sawmill plant been erected!, the timber might have become a valuable asset. Again, a flax-dressing plant might have been obtained as soon as the flax could be grown, and thus employment found for some of the people on the estate during the winter. Some other industries might also have been set to work to provide for a larger population to consume the produce, and thus considerably increase the income, but he thinks it is probable that this latter suggestion may be contemplated by Mr Mackay, who has the establishment under his control. He thinks, further that it would have greatly saved expenditure if there had been from the first a system by which the men were paid a daily or weekly wage, with board and lodging, and that a store should have been kept, where the men could purchase whatever they required at a reasonable rate, they being allowed credit up to the amount of their earnings. He believes that if some such plan had been adopted, the £2OOO of apparent loss would have been saved.

OTHER AIDS TO PROSPERITY. Another means, says tlie writer, by which the Legislature of New Zealand has endeavoured to prevent the colony from being over-run by paupers is by their regulations which prevent such persons from landing at any of the ports, and he thinks that is a valuable experiment which, with some modifications, might be usefully adopted by New South Wales. Another important means by which struggling mep are assisted to improve their position, and to escape from that state of helplessness uito which so many of “our people” fall, is the splendid opportunity offered by the land policy of New Zealand, of which he deals with some special features. Among them is the system of allotments for workmen’s homes, which he describes in detail. But it is by the number of persons that each year are taking up land throughout the colony that the efficiency of the land system is being proved. Throughout New Zealand a large and industrious population is settling on the land, and appears generally to be prospering. The effect of the land system is, lie says, certainly to settle a large number of people on the soil, but he is inclined to think that m years to come, under political agitation, the Legislature of the colony will in some way change the perpetual lease system, and enable the settlers to secure the fee-simple of their properties. With regard to the quantity of land allowed to be held by one applicant, he does not think that there is any good reason for allowing its increase.

In conclusion, Archdeacon Langley thanks the Right Hon R. J. Seddon, Premier of New Zealand, and the officers of his Government, for the 'courtesy and consideration he received.