SERVANTS HOLIDAYS.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 12 November 1872, Page 3

SERVANTS HOLIDAYS.

Thk demonstration,. strike, or trade union movement, or T*™*' nt station among the domestic* of Dunay be called, seems to point to the present as a favourable opportunity for Baying something about the leave of absence and leisure which Should be accorded to domestic servants no less Ann any other employees. The maxim re errine to the tendency which an unbroken application to labour h*'g to Stultify the intelligence of "Jack" may be equally supposed to apply to'«Jilland who shall say that «ome of the lbatanoes which point to her as a very dull girl may not havo their origin in a disregard to the warning ' n provero? The very term maid-of-all-Work rti U8 that a maid-of-all-work had no play is not likely to turn out an especially bright genius ; and without goin'g all the way with the sentiments expressed at the demonstration at Dundee, setting my face in fact against all fcoercivements, I do think that scarcely enough latitude is £iven to our servants' private movements. This thre&telied Strike in the north is not at all unlikely in some of its phases spread south ; indeed, it has already done so among the malo domestics at Leamington, and I suppose that tlie lnconvenienca Which such an occurrence would entail m this metropolis would even exooed that involved by the strike of cab-drivers. It seems to me, however, that the prevention of sueh a possibility lies almost in the mistresses' hands. They deed fear i \o combination prejudicial to their interests if they but deal as* wisely And fliirly in fiho matter of holidays as the majority i>f them are inclined to do on most other point*. A lair amount leisure is absclutely requisite to every huiiian being, and the' .housewife with any power of organisation' should be able to afford periodical holidays to her maids, without in the least JrttfrTCriAg with the perfect working of the machinery of her ho'asehold. With female ssrvants oi what is called a " certain age," little or no thought need bo .had to the use to which they put their exeats. Rcspecable *omen of this same certain igo are riot more lilcel'y to get into mischtef at one hpur than another, and therefore it is a mere question of mutual convenience as to whether they go out evenings or Sunday mornings, on Eastor Monday or aoy other Monday; but I ettweeivtf iii thtf cake of youtig girls, tShdt it behoves a mistress to consult something, beside her own convenience, when settling the time she shall give her maid a holiday. I believe" there is no ono practice so fraught with danger to that Which is called lf the Sunday evening out." Unless the girl is positively known to spend the time in the company of respectable friends the privilege never ought to be graWte'd. Make suclv arrangements as will alio# her to go to church in the morning or aftornoon, but not in the eveniilgy especially in short days, for it is well known to all acquainted with the subject that although she may go-strictly and regularly to a place of worship, it is too often made a place of assignation, and it is impossible to lay sufficient stress on the temptations to which she may be subjected fcetweeri the time service is over aTi'd the time she' is due at homo. Hotter a thousand times, if you have any real regard for the welfare of your young servant, that you should give her a whole day's holiday oriee a fortnight, on a working day, than even her " Sunday evening out." It may seem anomalous to some, but I venture to say you may let your Bervatit go in company with respectable friends any number 6f times on any weet-day evening to the theatre with greater safety than once alone to a crowded metropolitan church on a Sunday evening. Further than this, unless you are in the habit of attending ovening service yourself, what guarantee Cart you possibly have that she will go to church at all ? whereas in the morning or afternoon you can usually ensure her attendance by personal observation. Of course it is well to knotf who i girl's friends are, find where sho goes on occasions of a whole holiday ; and it is of Course not advisable that a country girl without any friends in the neighbourhood or town where she is living, should be cast adrift just to go out and amuse herself By wanderirig abotft the streets and stairbig into the shops by way of a holiday. Nothing could be much worse than this, but where a thoughtful and kindly mistress hsir such a case as this to deal with, she may easily contrivc some plan for periodically giving a deserving servant a little treat, rind Will not make her forlorn and friendless condition an exclise for denying lier all recreation. In most houses where more than ono srrvant is kept, there Aro sure to arise opportunities for combining forces, alnd managing, under tho charge of an elder servant, sotae little " cutting " for tho younger. iJftt again, as in all arrangements of a household, it is impossible on this subject to lay down anything like absolute rules. The varying habitd of Various families prevent it; but I imagine that, broadly speaking, a whole day once a month, and a half-day now slnd then, is a fairly liberal allowance of leisure'. In this, as in all other matters, a kindly regard on both sides to mutual convenience is the surest way of reaching what is desirable. If family arrangements hafppert to be a little irregular, it is perhaps the only way; for unless a household is quite unvarying in its daily routine', it will be impossible to fix certain days for holidays —they must to Some ox'ent bo movcablo festivals. As a rule, I fancy it would be better to avoid such periods as Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas week, for unless it chances, as of course it cfiay, that the servant's friend whom she theA desires to meet arc then also en fete, sho can havo nothing in eommon with tho roystcring Greenwich, Hampton Court, or Crystal Palace excursions so prominent at thoso seasons.

Closely allied with holiday-making is errand-going. The Servant who has a liberal allowance of " days out " will be less likely to davvdlo on her errands, and so time on the vHiolo will bo' saved. She will set about her worJt, whatever it bo, with the greater alacrity, from having had a little recreation. Tlio same objection which applies to evening holidays, will hold godd also with regard to the sending young girls on errands after dark. With the middle aged, as I havo hinted, those tilings aro of but little consequence; bit, except in unforsecn emergencies, the organization of the household should make shopping after 2 or 3 o'clock unneto66 try.

If, however, an orrand has to be done aftor the lamps are lighted, it should be the dldesrt, arid riot, as is too frequently tlio case, tho youngest servant who is deputed to do it. In quiet neighbourhoods even there may be much that it is objectionable for a young girl to see and overhear at night, particularly iri the vicinity of the adjacent public-house; but when the errand takes her into a large and crowded thoroughfare the sights and sound there are so obviously demoralising that it cart oiily be sheer thoughtlessness or indifference which would lead a mistress to subject a servant to them. To a certain extent, the really judicious and kindly housewife will have as much consideration for her domestics on all such points as sfie would have for her own daughters. The days of feudalism aro over we know, and retainers will riot consult our wishes as to the way they fill up their leisure, or whdt tbtfy do wheW out of sight; but this need be no teasori why we should not remove to the utmost of our power all temptations to wrong-doing. And a wise administration in " the holiday department" may hare a very great influence in this respcct upon the future of many a yourie ■froitfan.—The Queen.

Extßaordtn'ary Cruelty.—At the Lewes Petty Sessioris, Mrs Mary Elizabeth Chantrell has been charged, at the instigation of the Royal Society fer the Pretention of Cruelty Animals, with having subjected 42 cats and 32 dogs to a state of the utmost misery at her residence at Bottingdean. The defendant, it appeared, had formed a large collection of do'gs; cats, and the like. Mr Harris appeared for the prosecution ; Mr Besley for the defence. Elizabeth Pettinger, a domestic in the defendant's service, now deposed that in May last there were forty-three cats and thirty dogs, with puppies, kept in a loffc. The defendant went to London at that time, leaving the animals to the care of two servant girls. When witness saw them, at the end of June, they *e*e worn to skeletons, and otherwise iri a dreSdfill state. The girls had no money with which to buy the animals food, and the tradesmen had stopped the supplies. Mr W. Pritchard, a veterinary surgeon to the prosecuting society, said that on the 20th June, he went to the defendant's house and found the stench so fearful, that at first,- until he had taken a stimulant, he could not enter. When lie did so he found cats find dogs roaming in a starving and ravenous condition about the place, their bones almost protruding through the skin. One cat lay dead upon a table, and ari° other so . emaciated thsit it was unaible to jisd. In the back yard he saw about twenty dogs so thin that he could count their ribs easily, and a large number of cats there were in a like condition. In the whole course of a lengthened professional career, he never saw animals suffering so badly from Actus! starvation; Mr Andrews, the chief Constable cf the society,- gave corroborative testimony. Henry Taylor, an officer of the society, said he wrote two letters to the defendant dgstiribiiig to her the condition of her animals, but she took ltd riotitfe' of them. Phoebe S-edworth arid Jane Mansfield, the ttfo servants who were left in charge of the house, both said that when the defendant went away she left them no money vHth \tfrieh to get" food either for themselves or the animals, and they wrote to tell her the state they were in. 7Jhe dogs had eaten the fowls, and the dogs and cats had eaten each otheri Mr Besley contended that the Bench had no jurisdiction, because a person could not be held responsible for that which ocourred when he was 50 miles away. The however, held that they had jurisdiction. Several tradesmen were called for the defence, but all admitted that not having received their money, they had for a time stopped the supplies. The magistrates fined the defendant m and tests, £15 19s 6d, and told her if she came up again on such a charge, she tvould be sent to prison. When she left the court the defendant was surrounded by a large crowd, who followed her with hootings to the railway sUtidfl. The committee of the Midland Hospital for Women elected Mrs Louisa Atkins, who has recently taken the degree of M.D., at Zurich, after five years study at the University, to be the resident medical officer and secretary. This is a fitting appointment; a woman on the staff is surely in place at a woman's hospital.