CONCILIATION BOARD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9213, 16 April 1908, Page 3

CONCILIATION BOARD.

FARM LABOURERS' DISPUTE, The hearing of the farm labourers' dispute by the Conciliation Board was continued this morning, all the members being present. Malcolm Macfarlane gave further rebutting evidence in connection with the evidence of J. Grice, who declared that the men on the witness' farm were kept on a starvation diet. He produced Mrs Macfarlane's diary, showing the delivery to the cook of quantities of sugar, tomatoes and plums. The men were supplied with as much sauce and jam as they liked to ask for. To Mr Thorn : Witness had had eight cooks in a year, hut one cook had stayed with him three or four years.

John O'Halloraiij pastoralist at Glentui, Bennetts, said he occupied about 5000 acres, and had been in New Zealand since 1862. He had first worked as a station hand, and became manager of the Glentui Station in 1877. There was a scale of wages on that station, and just before 1895 the head shepherd received about 25s a week. Before that his wages were 30s, and in 1895 they were at the lowest. The times were very bad, and he had instructions to reduce the wages of all permanent hands to 17s 6d, and of casuals to 15s a week. He was allowed to keep the wages of the head shepherd at 22s 6d. At present Tvitness had only one shepherd, a very old servant, who was paid £1 a week. He understood that the regular wage for permanent shepherds in the surrounding district was £70 a year; he himself did not employ such shepherds, as his place was not a station. His men were supposed to report to him for instructions at 7.30 a.m., and they stopped work at 5.30 p.m., with an hour for lunch, and two fifteen minutes intervals., which were not authorised, but were not objected to. He knew of no dissatisfaction until the first note was sounded to him by Mr Kennedy, whom he found speaking to one of his"men. Witness told Mr Kennedy that if he would call a meeting for the purpose of addressing the men, he would let the men go. There was not the slightest trouble to any employee in New Zealand in emerging from tho employed into the employing class; it was simply a matter of persistence and avoiding the publichouse ; and there were hundreds of examples about. In regard to the shepherding, he stated that the men used to leave the camp at 6 a.m., and after mustering as fast as possible, would try to be back to the yards by dinnertime. The packers had plenty of spare time m the day, at Glentui, at all events. What they did with it was none of witness' business, so long as the work was done ; it was usually best to leave the men alone.

To Mr Jones : Ho had found among swaggers some of the finest workers he had known; their weakness was inability to keep their money, and some of them were capable of taking any position He was quite prepared to find that all the prominent men in New Zealand had been swaggers at some time. He employed eighteen or twenty men on his farm now; but if the minimum wage was raised to the degree asked for he would probably not employ more than four. He did not think 'a fixed minimum wage would be advisable in farm work if it operated as in a recent case he had heard of. An incompetent carpenter, desirous of obtaining work, and offered work at 7s a day, was not allowed by the Union to accept a penny under Bs, and he had, therefore,, to go without work. Witness did not like the idea of that sort of thing happening in the country. He did not want the dominion to suffer through any nonsense on the part of those who had nothing to do with producing the money to keep it going. He did not think a permit system could be applied to farm work without difficulty. He estimated that the decrease in the price of wool meant that farmers would have £2,500,000 less to distribute, while the depreciation in pelts represented £7 °0.°00, consequently the wages fund or the dominion was very largely diminished for the present year. In his own case it would be diminished by £700 or £800, and though he would not drop the amount he would pay in wages by that figure, it would be dropped at least £300. An award on. the lines of the Union's demands would diminish production. Every amount he spent on clearing land was expended with the view of increasing the productive area. The reduction of that area would hit the labourer. Many fanners had entered into heavy responsibilities with mercantile houses on the basis" of present labour conditions ; others who had taken up land were just on the balance between being employers or employees, and a very slight disturbance or conditions would send them back to the ranks of the employees. In his district it would pay to suspend ploughing operations from the middle of May to the middle of August. He did not think that the Union was serious in. its demands regarding holidays. The industry could not stand any reduction of the hours of labour or increase in wages. The only preference he recognised was that which a man carried with him in his appearance, his abilities ! and his character. The protest he had made on behalf of the Oxford farmers before* the Board had been unanimously and cordially supported by the Oxford I branch of the Farmers' Union. He had been told of the case of a widow with eight children who was rearing them creditably on 100 acres under recent j conditions, but who could not do so if ahe were brought under an award. Far- | mers generally did not desire to have their control of their families interfered with by any city organisation. ' To Mr Kennedy : The widow he toferred to was not an imaginary person. He could rely on the statement of the trustee in the estate who had given him the information regarding her. Witness paid his permanent ploughmen £1 per week and found, and temporary ploughmen. 25s per week and found; casual labourers ne paid 15s per .'veekj and some 20s per week.