In Search of Work.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6729, 20 July 1893, Page 4

In Search of Work.

Tite following letter from a swagger ap pe-.u-od in the Wairarap i Daily Tunes :- I and mate started from Mnsterton a fort ni"ht ago in search of work, and my object at present is to give you an idea of thu hardships wo experienced, and the utter impossibility of finding any employment VVe reached the Taueru the brat niaht, and found twenty mon encamped in a cottage ki-pt for swaggers on a similar expedition. Not having room to Bleep there we proceeded as far as Mr Boetham's woolshed, and to our surprise there were ten more travellers there, and we ascertained that there were six or eight more at the homestead. Thanks to the kindness of Mr Boetham, we wore treated in a most liberal manner, and the Bwagcer would do well if ho found every station as hospitable as Brancepath. After partaking of a good breakfast we started for Blairlogie, some nineteen miles distant. We arrived there about 5 p.m., aud found six more travellers encamped there. Next morning we proceeded to Langdale and from there to lea. In rotation wo visited the following stations : Maunsell's, Cashpoint, Mataikuna Aohanga, etc. We asked for work at all these places and could not obtain any, although our feet were sore from travelling and sometimes we tasted no food for 24 S hours, sometimes longer. VVe were able to do work of any description, such as bush-felling, firewood cutting, poisoning, or any general station work. It is fair to mention that tho managers of stations cannot find work for the number of men now seeking employment. Some of tho men we met told us they walked all the way from Napier and did not get one hour's work, went sometimes two days without food, and very often had to sleep out. A good few stations are blocked, that is, they give no food to swaggers, and won't allow them to remain for the night. Others again will give shelter but no food, and furthermore the food given in some cases simply consists of a biscuit or two. I can safely assert that in the Wairarapa alone there are some hundreds of able-bodied men travelling the country looking for work who cannot find any, yet we are told in Masterton and other towns of the colony "go up country" and you will find plenty of work. Now, let those who give this advice try the experience themselves, and then they can form an opinion of the hardships and misery their follow -men encounter in travelling the country in search of work. Fancy the state " a poor swagger " is in after walking 150 or 200 miles, the boots worn off his feet, starvation ia most instances his companion, and scanty clothing, although he is willing to work for a miserable pittance, yet hif cannot find any. I would caution Wellington and Christchurch men and others not to be under the false impression thift they can find work up country in this district. Hundreds of men can relate the above facts as I have stated. Wow what is the ctuse of this glut in the labour market? Truly we have some visitors from Australia, but the arrivals should not overstock the market as it is. We are also told to go to the Labour Bureau in Wellington and they will send us up country to work. They have se nt a few, but the majority are left totally unprovided for. I have known that several married men applied ab the Labour Department in Wellington and they were told to go up country and you will find plenty of work. lam ten years in New Zealand, and have travelled a good deal, and I never before saw such a number of men out of employment. It is simply appalling, aud I consider it a disgrace to the Manager of the Nesv Zealand Exchequer. Tho working men who are travelling about the country in search of work should now be in a position to know their truest friends. I Bay emphatically and without fear of contradiction, that the truest friend of the swagger at least, is the squatter, who, in most cases, supplies him with food and a night's shelter. As far as my experience goes, the condition of the laborer, was far better under the Atkinson Ministry than at the present time. The Atkiuson Ministry found work for the majority, while the present Ministry only finds work for a few. I think when the next election comes on the working man should ticudy more carefully his own interest and the interest of the men who are his best friends, and I can safely assert that he won't find his truest friends in the present Ministry. I have penned these few lines for the benefit of my fellow men, and more especially my mates on the road, hoping the condition of the laborer will receive a turn for the better, and that they will exercise the benefits conferred by the Franchise at the next election in the right direction.