THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Thursday, March 31, 1910. "ENCUMBERED" IMMIGRANTS.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12756, 31 March 1910, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Thursday, March 31, 1910. "ENCUMBERED" IMMIGRANTS.

Thh statement published by "The Times" the other day from its Sydney correspondent, .citing instances of i married immigrants being denied employment because they were encumbered wr^h children, is -certain to have a very serious effect in retarding the flow of emigration,, whicli means so much to the development of Australia, and it is certain; to. prejudice emigration to New Zealand as much as to the States of the Commonwealth, unless if unfounded, the allegation is promptly .authoritatively denied in 'a cori'vinciiig; manner, i Although ; similar statements have been ; frequently made, of late iii Australia, we do not recollect anything of the. sort in this Dominion, aiid there is no rear sonr.to suppose that any .deep-seated objection on -the part of -farmers' and statiQii; owners to married employees with families exists.' i.s far as New South Wales is concerned, • very definite information would .be necessary to justify the allegation, that "until the farmers, .and; squatters mend- their, ways it' is cruelty to send immigrants with ..J-owig childrth, or married couples not. past child T bearing, to Australia." In consequence j c>f statements which were appearing in. the ; press alleging ,> th.at station owners would not employ men with families, _the 'secretary .of the: New, South Wales Pastoralists' Uiiion rer : cently .. made an effort to get at the facts of the matter by asking a number of members of the TJhioii what their practice was in this direction, aM received replies from 106 : of them/ H6 communicated the result pf-.liis investigation to the . • -Sydney Morning llerald" last month: ll appears that .the ' repjh'es represent all classes of stations," from small' to largo; ' -aM cover all parts of the. State, and they disclose tho following facts:— On 22 stations no married men are employed at tlie present time; The remaining 84- stations each employ from one to eighteen married men, whose wives and families live with them on the stations. The total -number. of children in these families is 953, or an average of over three in." each' family. In addition to their wages, married ir.en get free rations for. themselves and family, free housing, and, in the majority of cases', cows to milk, land for gardening, poultry and pigs, and run for a horse. The impression that has got abroad" regarding the non-employ-ment of married men by stationowners is due to' the fact that where "married couples" are employed, it is generally stipulated that they shall bo without children, and the term, 'married couple" is often popularly confused 'with the term "married man." In the- case of "married couples," both man and wife are employed and paid, the wife being generally engaged as a domestic, and holding a similar position to that held by domestic servants in town homes, who are also usually required without- encumbrances; Where the men only are employed, however, the objection to children does not arise, as is shown by the above facts; indeed, many -station holders prefer employing men- with families because they are, as a rule, more reliable and permanent than single men.