LABOUR FOR FARMS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143674, 19 December 1911, Page 8

LABOUR FOR FARMS.

DISCUSSED BY FARMERS’ UNION. At tho meeting of the executive of the Taranaki Farmer.*’ Union on Thursday a letter was received from the Canterbury provinci.il secretary, forwarding a copy of a leuer addressed to him by the secretary of the .Canterbury Agricultural and I’astoral Labourera’ Union, stating that the only wages offered in Taranaki wore 2s 6d per week for the first year and 10s for the second. The secretary of the Labourers’ Union appeared to have taken umbrage at the action of the executive in regard to its having approved of a scheme to get lads from Homo. Mr. Sim (provincial secretary) stated that he had replied to the letter to the effect that ho was not aware of any boys or men who had been brought to’New Zealand under any assisted immigration scheme 'of recent years having come to Taranaki. The statement in the letter of the secretary' of the Canterbury Agricultural ‘and Pastoral Labourers’ Union about the Taranaki Executive having a scheme for immigration was not quite correct. The executive had, however, during the last throe years passed two resolutions in reference to schemes for immigration; (1) That the Dominion Executive be informed that there was a good demand in Taranaki for farm labourers and domestic servants at good wages; (2) that the Government bo asked to encourage some scheme, such as Mr. Sedgwick’s, whereby suitable youths could bo helped to come from Great Britain to New Zealand. The president, in moving that the secretary’s action in replying to the letter be endorsed, said the Taranaki Executive had supported Mr. Sedgwick’s scheme, not because we wished to get cheap labour, but because wo wished to got suitable labour. There was a great dearth of labour in Taranaki, which was shown by the fact that as much as £2 5s was being advertised as the pay for farm labourers. Directly, when the hay season commenced, farmers would be unable to get labour to assist them in their operations. Ho claimed'that, the men in Taranaki wore earning good money, and that some of them, in addition to this, were receiving a fair proportion of the profits made on the farm. The farmers had never tried to boat the men down in their wages. The men, with a very few exceptions, ■were satisfied with what they were getting and were working amicably with the farmers, and the farmers wore doing the same by the men.—-(Hear, hear.) The men in Taranaki were as a rule industrious, end saved enough money out of their waires to enable thorn subsequently to either go sharemilking or got together a small herd for themselves. The executive _ had approved a scheme whereby suitable boys could bo brought out, for the reason mainly that the beet men were now going on their own. And there must of necessity be a steady filling up to enable the work of the farms to be, carried on. The boys in Taranaki were not taking to the land sufficiently to allow of the supply of labour being kept going, and for this reason the executive had approved of a scheme to stay this dearth of labour. In consequence of the want of labour there must be thousands of pounds of stuff wasting because it could never be handled. Taranaki had never brought down the wages, nor had it ever done anything to harass the working men in the district. Mr. Dunn seconded the motion. He thought the president might have added that there was plenty of work going in Taranaki. In supporting the resolution, Mr. Lamhie said there was one point which was overlooked by the labour unions, aW that was that there was a surplus of labour in the Old Country, and there were many young men there who wished to come to New Zealand, and if there were any grit in these young fellows it was hot long before they made their mark here, and in a few years would be able, to go on their own. He criticised the actions of the labour unions as inhuman in trying to prevent their follow men in the over-populated portions of the world from earning a living in a new country, where labour was so much needed. The resolution was carried.