INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2388, 7 December 1899, Page 9

INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

INTERVIEW WITH MR PRESIDENT

S. BROWN.

SUGGESTED CO-OPERATION OF

DUNEDIN.

'In connection with the recent preliminary meeting held in Dunedin, with a view of forming an Industrial Association of Otago, Mr S. Brown, president of the New Zealand Industrial Corporation, , has .. been good enough to afford us an opportunity ot interviewing him in regard to matters c .nected ..mth the association, and. has placed at our-, disposal some valuable information as to the raieon d'etre of the corporation and the advantages to be gained by its extension. Mr Brown is peculiarly fitted to "speak a piece " on such subjects as come .within it's scope, in consequence of long personal and public connection with the matters dealt with. In the publio positions which he has been accustomed to fill he has had large opportunity of learning how , to .jview. proposals and principles siff edting the " well-being the • community ■with, an impartial - mind -. and well-balanced judgment, and the practicalness of his ex-serienc&-"entitles dris views- to -large- respect. - The question that naturally suggested it«elf> (after Mr Brown had_ been introduced to the least- uncbmfortable'^cKair en the -premises) was : ; : *%.*'' " WHAT DO' THESE INDTJSTBIAL ASSOCIATIONS ' 1.». - .».- ■"'•"-, ™>?"— „> -' -.;■.. i, " Their 'business^' replied Mr firpwn, : * " is ' to assist "any manufacture, or any industrial pursuit in the colony — mining, manufacturing, or farming: it provides prizes, promulgates the reading of papers on these subjects ; pays money for experiments ; endeavours to get assistance from the Government to enable manufactures to be started." This last phrase, of course, produced the immediate .and inevitable query: "FBBETBADE OB PBOTECTION? " "Wo are," said Mr Brown, "in no sense protectionists. But we try to give a struggling industry such support, as you tee, for : example, given to a newly-planted 6hrub, to ! enable it to withstand the onslaught of the j wind. Cafces have occurred where industries have been fostered by "leans of protection until they have found themselves on a safe footing ; and in some of these cases the manufacturer has subsequently intimated to the association that his .industry was no longer in need of the protective tariff. Where the association observes that some little assistance would enable an industry which would employ the youth of the colony to be established, and which oould produce an article calculated to compete in price and quality with the imported article, it considers it its duty to foster the industry in every way. "I should like to emphasiae the fact that our objects embrace all sections of the community. We affect not only those who have a, personal interest in. .the industries, but also those who, .have only a general interest in theprogress of the colony. We take a special interest in -the - EDUCATION OF THE WORKING CLASSES, in' aa muchVa.3 we consider the better educated a workman is the better workman he will make:' In Wellington we are contributing technical papers to the. School of Design and the Technical School, and we are also giving prizes in various branches in which students are being trained. We have a special committee, who go round and inspect the progress of the students. We have established five scholarships in the School of Design, called the Industrial Association Scholarships. It is also parf of our business to attend to INDUSTBIAL EXHIBITIONS, the arrangemont being that if any industrial exhibition is held in any city wherethere is an Industrial „ Association, it is held under the auspices of the National Corporation of New Zealand, which is formed of representatives of each of the existing associations. This means that any city, holding an exhibition will have the support and assistance of the associations in all the other cities. For instance, if Dunedin were, a year or two hence, to hold an exhibition under our Industrial Corporation the associations of Canterbury, Wellington, Auckland, and Invercargill would bo bound to give all the support they could to make it a success. We have had, in the interests of the whole community, to pay much attention to the LABOUII LEGISLATION of the past two or three years. One bill, which has' been seven times before the House, and as often thrown out — one which, in our opinion, is a most injurious bill, — was the Master and Apprentice Bill. If this bill had been passed as then brought forward the effect of it would have been that about 5000 persons would have been displaced throughout New Zealand. In the four centres alone there would be 4000. In tailoring, dressmaking, .and bootmaking^ alone 2200 'would be displaced. And the 17,000 boys and girls who leave the schools every, year would be prevented from learning any of the 45 trades mentioned in the schedule of the bill. Last year the Upper House ordered the bill to be printed and circulated. The London "Engineering" of the 7th April devoted four columns of a leading article on the labour laws of New Zealand, based entirely on the evidence given by me before the committee, coinciding with the views I expressed. As showing the importance of the interests involved, it may here be mentioned that the number of persons engaged in manufacturing .pursuits in New Zealand amounted last year to 81,814, they are paid wages to the value of £1,907,502 in the year, the capital involved being £5,7G6,000, and the yearly production £9,594,060. This year about 90,000 persons are engaged, and the dependent figures will be proportionately higher. With regard to the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Bill, which was recommanded to proceed after amendments had been made, we waited on the Labour Bills Committee of the House of Representatives, and gave evidence, and several amendments suggested by us wore accepted. In regard to industrial akbithation and conciliation. I maintained before the Labour Bills Committee of the House that the bill held the employer liable in all cases, and that while the employer pould be fined £500 by order of the court, there was a doubt as to whether any lalbour union in the colony could find that amount. I also mentioned that in New Zea- | land an endeavour had been made by some of the boards to arrange disputes by leaving j the employer and employees to settle certain ! •points, with a committee of two on each side with the chairman of the board as umpire." This particular period in the political calenflar suggested the natural question as to .whether the association allowed polities to be dpalt with in jany way. To this Mr Brown replied: — "No. We arc essentially a nonwolitical body. We recognise that our strength lies in ahvay.B slaving to do the greatest good

for the greatest number, and in sndeaTOuring to advance the interests of the industrial section of the community. We, however, have been compelled to enter into opposition with the Trades and Labour Councils, when the members of our association have recognised that certain legislation would be inimical to tho interests of certain -industries, and might Lave the effect of throwing a large number of deserving men out of employment. I will give you an instance of tins later on. It is in connection with the Master and Apprentices Bill, when it was pointed out to the Labour 3ills Committee of tho Legislative Council that, so far as the question of employing boys and. girls, , in co far 'as tho boot trade was concerned, 'it was a very serious matter, and that any change-as contemplated by thd act , in question would cut Auckland off from the' trade with the Tslands, enable Sydney to crush out Auckland, and cause considerable displacement of labour in , this city. But we do not allow politics to interfere with the .associa.ti.on. We. support that which we consider to the advantage of -the industries of the colony ; we oppose that which 1 we deem to be detrimental to our interests and the interests of the industries of New Zealand." Mr, Brown brought the interview to 'an interesting conclusion by a statement ■ of

BIG IMPORT TO_A TOUNG COT/NTRT.! *• The bceadth,", he* said, "of .our platform may be said'to'be this: It is our particular business to enable work to be found for two .persons -where at could only be -found* for> one before." 7 ? * " '" -