FARM LABOURERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13335, 11 July 1907, Page 7

FARM LABOURERS.

SHOULD THE ARBITRATION ACT APPLY?

The following leading article was published on Monday iii'tbo Wellington "livening Post" :

Upon what ground of principle can the agricultural labourer b'o from the benefits of the Industrial Conciliation and ; Arbitration Act? Whether the Act' is good or bad in its'effects upon labourand industry is a question which admits of reasonable argument, bub we are quite unable to sea that it can be reasonably argued that the Act is good for the town, but bad for the country. Such, however, is the formal purport of tils resolution which was adopttd with a single dissentient-, by the Fanners' Union Conference last week, viz., "That- agricultural in-; dustriss be exempted from the working of: the Arbitration Act." 'A gathering' of fur.-! mers might justify sucli a partial attack upon the Act, on the ground that 'tlio town industries are no concern of theirs, but 'tis cie:\r that Parliament, .which alone lias the power *° g' ve to the resolution, could only do so by a deliberate assertion that the system , was good for the towns but bad for the country. . A universal condemnation of tlie system, would require a- total repeal of the Act, instead of the mere limitation of its scope, and the arguments advanced at tho conference went- to this full length although the resolution halted half way. " Sooner or later the . arbitration business will break down," remarked one delegate, "and the sooner tlie better." The- rate at which wages were going, tip all round was, in the opinion of this delegate, more than the colony could stand. Speaking specificially from me fanners' point of. view, another delegate declared that " there would • have to be a hardening up between the country members of Parliament' and' employers. or else we will find ourselves wound up." Ha " blamed the apathy of the coam try members for the coming of this objectionable Act, for if- country members had not believed that the Act would not affect country interests, tliey could 1 have killed the measure." Perhaps we should be thankful that it is notnow claimed for the country members that they have the power to destroy the Act wholesale, - after allowing it to reach the statute book. It is comforting that tie demaiid is limited to the exemption of agricultural industries from the Act, and that this illogical limitation must, in the absence of any attempt to give reasons for differential" treatment, defeat its own end ! . .

If the Arbitrataion Act is a good thing for our urban population, as in the absence of any complaint from tlis Farmers' Union or any other body -Parliament must assums it to be, why : is it to be regarded as injurious to the country?If the city worker needs and profits by its protection, why deny the .same privilege to the agricultural labourer? If the latter is underpaid—we do not assert that he is—he is, like the sweated children of, the dairy, -simply adding to the-already inflated value of the land on which he works, t[ When Parliament does its duty by the country children, whose future is at present being sacrificed on the altar of the " great god Cow," and insists upon their having time enough and rest enough to enable them to acquire, the education necessary for good citizenship, the rent of. the ground landlord ..will correspondingly diminish. Similarly, if the adult agricultural worker is now underpaid, any increased wage which the Arbitration Act may bring him will fall upon the land. What then? If these wrongs exist, are they to be perpetuated in order that the present values of land' may be maintained? or is it best that justice should be done, and the price of land fall?. For most people fair pay for the man, and humane treatment for the children,, will appear higher objects ■ than maintaining the price of land, and! we do not suggest that the members' of the Farmers' Union are fairly chargeable with cherishing a lower standard of justice and humanity. But they 100 kat the matter from the standpoint of those who have to make a living out of the land, to whom the interference of the Arbitration Court is an impertinence and a ijuisance, and who in many cases would doubtless have person ally to bear the! burden of an . award without being able to pass any of it on. individual hardships of this kind must always arise in the case of any general readjustment; yet, unless the Fanners' Union is prepared to maintain either that the Arbitration Court is usually the dispenser of injustice, or that the agricultural employer at present enjoys, an advantage over his employees to which he is not justly entitled, how can it maintain as a universal proposition, or even as a general rule, that the operation of the Act will, mean the ruin of the farming interests? The farmers must either declare for the total repeal of the Act, or submit to its general application ; they can not ba allowed to blow hot and cold (To the Editor of the Tiuiaru Hvrald.) Sir, —Tliere has been considerable discussion and interest taken in this subject lately. The farm labourers' friends —.-<> called —are endeavouring to show thai the labourers ■ are not getting their fair share of profits. Xow take the actual results of wheat growing for a period of three years: Rent of land per acre 20s; skim-plough-ing 5s ; discing Is 6d ; ploughing 6d ; discing twice 3s; harrowing twice 2s j seed 6s ; drilling Is 6d : rolling-' Is 6d ; harvesting 12s 6d; threshing 7s 6d ; delivering 5s ; total £3 12s. Average ykld 25 bushels per acre at.

3s 3d per bushel. £4 l:s acl-i net profit. 9s 3d per uciv on 100 acres, ±Jh6 sn. Xow tsi lie sheep and turnips :—l'Uiugliing 6s 6 ; d ; discing twice 3s; luirrou-ing twice 2s: rolling Is 6d; drilling If 6d; seed 6d ; manure ss; tot ill 2Cs. Hciil2Cp: total £2 per acre. Result--Fattened 14 sheep per acre :it- 5s 2d each, net prolu. £1 10a ; on 100 acres £l5O. My actual' experience- is thai graingrowing requires three t-imes as much labour as sheep, while the profits are about one-third. tf> will be at once- apparentthat should the demands of the Farm Labourers'. Union become excessive the far-, ill era can do bet-ter with one-third til** mount' of 1 lie labourers, and there will b« no lack of f-trin hands. And instead of demanding 25s to -30s per wrek (liero will be plenty of good men idle, for tlier. 1 will be a superabundance of labour. I am, etc.. FARMER. —iwiniMsiuaHMaiu——aw