DOMESTICS FOR NEW ZEALAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 5824, 1 June 1909, Page 4

DOMESTICS FOR NEW ZEALAND.

WHAT THE SALVATION ARMY; THINK*

“ THOUSANDS WILLING TO GO.;' TLo komlan correspondent of the Dunedin Star writes on April iOili This week 1 had aa iutcuviow with the head of the emigration department of tins Salvation Army apropos of the movement started by a number ot Christeluuxh ladies lor a system of tree immigration of domestic servants from the Old Country to New Zealand., At tiie meeting of ladies in Christchurch it was stated by several speakers that large numbers of id 1 ’ I s in England would be willing to go to New Zealand if their fares were paid. I asked the Salvation Army expert if this was the ease. “Yes," he said. “There are thousands of women and juris in this country who see no prospects at all here, and whose horizon is naturally limited by the social conditions of this country, who would not hesitate to accept the oiler of situations in New Zealand under reasonable conditions, if facilities for getting out there were provided. They would require be trained for domestic service. That could bo done cither before leaving England or on the way out. A kitchen could be lilted up on board for the long journey out, and proper trai in<r (nivcu. by someone accustouicu colonial conditions. In the work of our own emigration department wo always have more girls ready to go out to the colonies than we have money to send. Those that wo do send go chiefly to Canada, but it is mainly a question of cost. If the passage were paid

tlicrowould bo no ditliculty iu getting plenty of decent girls to go to Now Zealand —girls who would never be domestic- servants hero, but who would willingly enter service in the colonics. From my own experience in emigration work 1 know that there are thousands of girls in this country who arc well educated and intelligent, with, perhaps, a little income of their own, and who have been brought up with the idea of becoming lady helps and companions. That typo of girl would never tackle domestic service in this country, but she would not hesitate to do so iu any of the colonies. The reason is, of course, that here she w ould be unbiassed by becoming a domestic servant ; in the colonies she would not. You see exactly the same sort of tiling amongst the men. A young man who would not willingly take to manual labour here will take oil his coat and tackle the Jirsi job that comes to hand i when ho goes to the colonics. “Suppose that the girls, when they

reach New Zealand, find that there am other openings iu life there more attractive than domestic sendee, its the New Zealand girls appear to have done. What is to prevent them abandoning domestic service in that ease 1 ''Nothing. H just comes to this :

that the mistress must be prepared to recognise the fact that her house is a matrimonial bureau, That is what happens in this country, and it is perfectly natural. The average domestic servant here in Jihisfiand trees into ser\ieu at sixteen years of ape or thereabouts. IS he tries two or three situations, remainintr in one of them for perhaps three or four years. J hen,, wlem she is twenty-four or twenty-live -he -rets married. It is inconvenient for tin- mistress, but as the supply of domestics is plentiful here, site presently eels suited attain. ■ Amt that is what will happen with trirls sent out to the colonies. We scud them with the idea that they shall net married ami start homos of eheir own. It is not their mission in life to bo domestic servants and in semline them out it is not our mission merely to supply well-to-do ladies with servants. W’e want the id ids to have a decent chance in life — a chance to yet married ami have homes of their own. It is not their that, and to the colonies’ need of population, as our primary objects in 'M'lnline pills overseas. W’e certainly do not want to condemn them to a lifetime of domestic service. As 1 said, the mistresses must be content to realise that their houses are matrimonial bureaus.’" I also ashed the lliph Commissioner

his opinion of the Christchurch ladies' proposal. He was very doubtful as to the possibility of free passages lieine c ran ted. If ladies in New Zealand rai l'd to pay the passages of domes! ie sen aids from Kiudand, plenty of suit able ejrls ci,aid be had in this conn trv, but they Could not be bound to remain in the situations they were sent out to till. In the eimmistam'i's ludoubted whether anvthine- would emnr of the proposal. IMeanw Idle 1m is sendin--- out monthly a pood number <*f domestics, who each pay CHI toward-' tli-ur passage money, the tloverum-'iit payiu-r the balance. Kina'llv I ashed (he opinion of an

- - 111 en- on one of the direct steamer.-rep-ardinp- the servant problem- “Wr lahe mil a pood many domestics ir-un Mn-.dand to New Zealand.” ho said : ‘ but I am ipli(e sine (hat what they mi nut there for is uni ilmn- stle s,■ r \ i-'e. but mairunnny. Why, most of tlmm ar-- --iipape-1 (o be married by (h-> tilin' ill-' -hip reaches New Zealand.”