LABOUR BUREAU.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4573, 18 February 1893, Page 4

LABOUR BUREAU.

The object of the Labour Bureau, the Hon A. J. Cad man stated in a recent address, was to afford a registry office, where men might inquire where work was to be found, and where employers could find the necessary labour. The amount of v money voted last year towards this purpose wsb J62615, including the salaries of officers who managed the Department; and the number of men who received assistance was 6572, of whom fully two-thirds had gone into private employment. A noteworthy fact was that almost two-thirds of the men had come from the South Island, where the depression was greatest. Something like double this number had come to the Department to seek information, and, as they did not return, it was fair to conclude that: they had obtained employment; so that something like 20,000 men had been assisted by the Bureau. In some cases the ' men had to be assisted to get to their work. Some had been carried by the Hinemoa, some on the railways, and others by the Union Company's steamers, but the total amount of fares .paid had been only JB2OOO, of which nearly £1600 had been paid on the Government railways, which was simply, taking the money out of one pocket and putting it into the other; Added to this .£SOO had been refunded by the men, so that 6n the whole the country had not lost shy cash in the transaction. The Union Company had also assisted the Government by allowing 20 per cent reduction on the amount of passage money, and the Manawatu Railway Company had allowed a reduction of the fare over its line from Wellington to Longburn, whilst the Railway Commissioners had declined to allow anything at all, excepting in one case, where they had returned one-half the fare. The Bureau claimed that it had assisted altogether some twenty thousand men. THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM. Addressing his' constituents at Thames the other day, the Hon A. J. Cadman, referred to the co-operative system of public works, the credit for which he said was due to the Hon Mr Seddon, as it was entirely his proposal. When the present Ministry •took office, men were leaving the Colony in shoals, their plea being that they could get no work in the Colony, whilst at the same time the country papers were advertising largely for workmen. It was then that it was decided to start the system of co-opera-tive works and the Labour Bureau. The Government was accused by the Conservative Press, whom the speaker referred to as prophets of evil, of pandering to the working olasßes, and of desiring to raise their j wagea to 15s or 20s per day. The Ministry \ was also told that the works would cost 50 per cent more than hitherto; and many other things. Many people said it was no crime for a contractor to make ten or fifteen thousand pounds out of a contract, but it was a crime to allow the same money to go into the hands of the workingman. The system had now had a fair trial of eighteen months, and it was found after careful examination that the works 'had not cost one farthing 1 more than the . estimated price. They found that all the imeahad a f^ir chance of work, and were paid • according ' to their; ability. It was ' ■found also that the men got- their money regularly and in cash, and that the store.keepers were regularly paid. Sub-contraotß tand the sweating system were abolished, .And the truck system superseded, while grog shanties were much fewer. The number of contracts let throughout the Polony totalled 392, whilst the number of men employed had been over 800; and this, he claimed, had to some extent stopped the exodus from the Colony. The same system was in vogue in the Lands Department.