THOSE FACTORY GIRLS.

Observer, Volume XVIII, Issue 1017, 25 June 1898, Page 3

THOSE FACTORY GIRLS.

Slandered and Vindicated,

Sister Francia, of the Door of Hope Eescne Home, is not the most discreet of women. There can be no justification for her Bworn statement before the Police Commission that there were many girl prostitutes who worked in factories daring the day. It places at once a disgraceful stigma upon tiie entire body of Auckland factory girls, who, according to the Labour Inspector, number 2030. Not even the most rabid prude in the ranks of the Social Gimlet Brigade will dare to assert that a large proportion of these girls are of vicion3 character or lead immoral lives. And, on the other hand, most people will be disposed to admit that there may be some of them' who would rather not have their private life too closely scrutinised. But why, in the name of all that's fair and reasonable, brand with infamy the whole body on account of the pecadilloes of the black sheep in the flock ? Sister Francis's statement was in very bad taste, and, in her subsequent explanation in the daily papers, she utterly fails to excuse or pal' liate her action. It was her duty either to be explicit and sheet her charges home to the individuals whose improper conduct she was cognisant of or to say nothing. There is no, justification for the sweeping condemnation Bhe passed upon the fac tory girls, who, as a class, will doubtless bear comparison with other-sections of the community. But what shall we say of the testimony given before the Police Commission by the Hon. W. Jennings and Mr Ferguson (Labour Inspector) in refutation of Sister Francis's statement ? Mr Jennings may possess a vast amount of privileged information about the factory girls of Auckland, but he is a remarkably bold man to step forward and vouch for the chastity of 1 the seven hundred or so girls who were employed in the factories ox which he had cognisance.' Can he vouch for the chastity of even a score of them ? If so, he must have them under the strictest surveillance. But it is a particularly steep contract for any man to keep 700 girls nnder such complete espionage that he can answer absolutely for their propriety of conduct. Yet this is what Mr Jennings has done, and the Police Commission in a gush of gratitude has thanked him for his evidence. We conclude, therefore, that the Commissioners are quite convinced of the Honourable William's 700-power omniscience. What a treasure -he would be to a travelling show in want of a Mahatma or professional thought-reader I The Honourable William has been neglecting his occult gifts. If taken np and floated into a limited liability company by a syndicate there are millions of money to be made out of him. Still the Honourable William Jennings must hide a diminished head in the presence of that more wonderful phenomenon — Labour Inspector Ferguson. He is not content with vouching for the entire respectability of 700 factory girls. On the contrary, he spreads himself over the whole job, and answers for every one of the 2030 girls employed in the factories of Auckland. He has rushed before the Police Commission to vindicate the entire body of them, and he has pledged his sworn word to his abßolate certainty that no Auckland factories employ girl 3 of immoral character. Even omniscience can no farther go.

perfectly aware what they are doing every hour of the night and day, there can be no room for wonder at anything he tells us. What a pity that Inspector Ferguson and the Hon. William- Jennings have waited so long to make us acquainted with their preternatural gifts and faculties. That is, if we believe them ao implicity as the Police Commission appears to have done.

— That the survey of the proposed line of railway between Gisborne and Napier is a sure sign of an approaching general election. The old story of the tempting carrots again. — That Mr Lawry was quite the ladies ' man at the Eden Terrace meeting, and the male electors were not in it barring Jeckell, and even he was stamped down and ' sat apon.' The New Woman waved her handkerchief at the honorable member for Farnell with perfect frankness.

Inspector Ferguson therefore knows every one of those 2.030 girls most intimately, and their most private actions are under the sleepless observation of his everpresent eyes. Argns of the hundred eyes was as blind as a bat compared with this perfectly marvellous' inspector. No wonder he was able to say he was always out at night. He would require to be up, all night as well! In fact, he must be a perfect slave to duty and be able to do without sleep at all. And he must also require to ibe in rather more than 2,000 different places at one and the same time.

Surely the Labour Bureau cannot be aware that they possess a man of such miraculous attributes, or they would recognise the fact that Inspector Ferguson is able to look after the whole colony, and would remunerate him accordingly ,and save money by getting rid of their army of officials. . That is, if they accept him at his own valuation. If the Inspector had not so positively vouched for the absolute respectability of the 2,030 factory girls in Auckland, we might have felt Borne.surprise at his professed ability to recognise factory gills at sight, and to tell at a glance whether the females he sees in the streets during his nightly rambles belong to factories or not. Bat, as he knows every one of those 2,030 girls bo intimately as to be