Employment at Hand.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6310, 7 August 1888, Page 2

Employment at Hand.

That silver lining, the vrorerbial {heritage of every cloud>, appear* to gleam at several points on out previously darkened horizon. Wheat " shovre a str-wg tone "—we believe that is the cc ff rect expression in the strange dialect of which merchants have the monopoly,— wool ia "buoyant" (a good thing surely for underwriters), and frozen mutton, as if Belfast had not done ita work already, i 8 "hardening" Btill. T^e eommarcial people's -barometer, and with theirs that of our Tittle world at larga, i 8 on the rise. Fortfre labouring man there is promfee of a sop in the pan m the Sumner Tramway Lin«, snd a steady meal in the Midland "JAailway. With regard to these latter works a few worda seem called for. Both of them offer some relief to the irafimpioyed. The former, however, is a were nothing and temporary, the other more grand and last- "-£•, M» Alan Scott' 6 communication which we published yesterday, holds out hopes of employment at four different points before the year is out. The magnitude of the Company's operations, and the length of time, the works must nece6«arily be in progress, gives tbe best secuxi.ty for steady employment lasting over a long period. But -even these great works, aa means of absorbing c, certain number of labourers alone, will not solve the jrroblem of the unemployed. Directly the 'flomp&ny ceaseß ita constructive works, the difficulty of finding the men employment begins again. Great Government works have begun and ceased ere this, and the pick and shovel men employed upon them are &till drifting abont tha Colony. The result will be the came again if they do not take care to anohor themselves. And thiß time they have the most Bplendid chance of doing so. Herein the Midland Eailway works differ from all otter werks of a similar natnre that have been undertaken in the Colony. The Company besides being a great) employer of labour, is also a great land agent. In partnership, ap it were, witfa Government, it will hold millions of acres along the line. Both have the interests of settlement at heart, amrj the terms to be made with the. Company are likely ti> ,be of the easiest. At all events the Government land regulations are now of such a. character that any m&n receiving good, steady wages is enabled to acquire a few acres. Between.the advantages offered by the Company and the Government it will surely be the workman's fanlt if "he does not manage, by the time through tickets are issued from Chrutohurcb. to Nelson, to have secured some* sort o£ a home for himself. It is an exjveriraent of the village settlement nature. We shall watch it with the greatest interest. We hope, too, that Government will hold out every reasonable inducement to workmen to settle along the line. They will thus help them to avoid drifting back into the ranks of the unemployed every time a period of depression — which is a period certain to be recurrent in ou* history— broods over New Zealand. That will be far better than creating relief work* for them every few yearß.