THE "NAVY" DISPUTE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVII, Issue 3692, 31 December 1872, Page 2

THE "NAVY" DISPUTE.

TO THE EDIT6R OF THE INDEPENDENT; Sißy-r-In disputes Rasters : and workmen, when thnre is no principle involved, it is generally beat to leave, the parties interested to settle their differences without outside comment ;- but in the dispute now existing between MessrsBrogden and their laborers, there are questions involved which seem to lift it - out of the category of ordinary strikes,, and make it matter of grave public interest.. . . ..... Ist. As it affects the working man gen-' , erally. — Except, I believe, in some partsof the Province of Auckland, eight houra is the general length of the New Zealand l , working day, but Mr Brogden seems to* have made up his mind to change that,, and to make a day's work consist of nine hours, at the same time reducing the pay in many cases to 5s a day. The men« finding this a longer day, and smaller pay than are common in the colony, have struck work, and the issues raised areShall eight hours or nine hours be the " day's work, and 5s or 6s the day's pay ? questions which affect many besides themselves, and will probably so far. as the length of the working day is concerned, affect mechanics as well, since as carpenters, &c., are wanted in the construction of railways and bridges, though their pay may be higher than that of the laborers, their working hours will probably be the same ; and if the Messrs Brogden get men to work nine houra a day, other employers will certainly follow or attempt to follow in the same direction, and once begun, where or with whom will it end ? 2nd. As it affects other coniMc/ors.—r There are many large contractors, especi» . ally in Otagd and Canterbury j \mo; ?hay|r^* hitherto paid current wages for &$&$&&£: work of eight 'hours. Can they continue * * to do so and compete with' the Messjc^ ■ r ,, Brogden? They must either retu'efronxi:^ the Held, leaving these gentlemen almost: V : : a monopoly of every public work of any i extent; or, as already pointed f out, they., must unite, with them to lengthen the . hours and lower the wages of the great body of colonists who live by day labor. 3rd. As it affects immigration.— -The A . , general reduction of the working hours* at home, and th°. increase partly cons^-. quent thereon, both in steady empj^^t ment and in the rate of wages, make:|ii|^ offer of very substantial advantages necel* sary to induce working men to leave the mother country, where the masses, if w& may credit the utterances of its public men — notwithstanding the exceptionally high price of some of the necessaries of life — enjoy a degree of material prosperity. i and comfort never before known ; while,' * at the same time, on the very highest a\ithority (that of Mr Lowe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer), capital, despite thehigh wages it had to pay for labor, and notwithstanding^ that these , high wages would end in driving trade from England, • , had never yielded^ibetter and steadier returns than during the last year or two. In addition to this, America makes extraordinary bids for tHe services of the* British laborer. What is the likelihood, then, when the attractive offers of, silvertongued immigration agents resolve themselves practically into five shillings a day for nine hours' work, that able-bodied. . men in sufficient numbers will come some 14,000 miles to reap such, a reward for their labor as this when they can reach America, and the same or a better result, in less than a fortnight ; and when, even* in England, special kinds of labor — namely, coal and iron workers, a very desirable class here — earn more without*leaving home. Cheap labor is certainljfc : of great importance to the development; of our resources, and, doubtless, in tiffew years, with immigration and the natural increase of the population, labor will^ getcheaper ; but it seems, even if not a breMHT" of faith (I do not mean to insinuate that , it is, but I do not know the terms of" Messrs Brogden's agreement with the men) — it still seems impolitic and injudicious, when immigrants are apparently so hard to get, to put on the screw in this early stage of our colonizing efforts. Besides, important as cheap labor is, is it more important to us than a large, industrious, thriving, and contented population 1 And is the rate of pay offered sufficient either to attract the class of men we want or to keep them when here ? I doubt it. We want a permanent population of industrious and comparatively prosperous families, and to get that, I think there must be a higher bid than that of Messrs Brogden. 4th. As it affects the Province of Weir lington. — In appearing to lend itself to this reduction of the rate of pay in the colony, for the purpose of getting a road made, which, though very desirable is not indispensable, and which we could do very well without for a number of years yet, Wellington may have to pay a very Jaeavy . price in the end, if it tends to divert the stream of immigration to other provinces ; or to put the question in its plainest form — What portion of the stream of immigration will be likely to flow towards Wellington to work nine hours a-day for ss, when 6s can be got in Canterbury or - Otago for a day of eight hours ? From this point of view, as regards the proposed drive now at a standstill, it might be . worthy the consideration of the municipal and provincial authorities whether it not be wise to offer, so far as they are concerned, to accept eight hours as a - day's work while these men work for them. The oxtra money wiir be well spent if it place Wellington in a position to compete with. Canterbury and Ofcago for its fair share of immigrants. — I am, &c, Weli.ingtonian\ Wellington, December 30, 1872.