THE PRICE OF LABOUR.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 118, 6 February 1873, Page 3

THE PRICE OF LABOUR .

The Tunwu Jln-ald says :—": — " Tho shoe is x\w beginning to pinch, and farmers find that tho scarcity of labour this ■ouon is affecting their intcrctts most materially, and although there arc promises of a high grim market, jet tho profits Itherebj ordinarily aiming to the farmer will be lost to him to go into tho j.o lets of tho labourer. Now v. i- 1.-\rc na desire whatever to attempt to hurt in any way the interests of the lattor— -» fair wage for a fair day's work is theoest of maxims, but when through scarcity of hands the wipes given aro reilly so extreme as to bo detrimental to th» interests of the employer, then to draw attention to £h» nutftor becomes our duty. In past seasons labour has fceen icarce enough in tho district at harvest time, and firmer* have tuffered in consequence of their crops spoiling in the field through, undue exposure to weather ; but we hare reason to behev* that though scarce in past years llabour now is itill more icarco, judging from prices which wo know to have been given by farmers "\york and s*la,ve as he will, the farmer who lias to seek for labour to get in his cropi is placed unfortunately between two horns iv a dilemma— either he is forced to give Mich apneofor cutting, tying, &.c , ns will cut atvpy all his legitimate profito, or lie must le:ne Ins crop to rot on the ground The man vrho his hundreds of acres is placed at considerable advantage over his neighbour, whose aeivngo is only reckoned by two figures, ns the reaper or tyer will of course vastly prefer " doing ' the big job to the smaller one, and moreover the contract for the former will bo taken at a considerably less figure than the latter. But still both the large and small farmer alike hayj good reajnn to com) If n of the price now ruling for labour in the harvest field. There is but one remedy for thi«, and one that wrtl not come readily and in a Immigration can oily euro the evil, and that by direct vessels to Timaru, and not by the infiltration process ,through Christ church as npw carried an. We fear that our demand for increased immigration into tho district will be viewed as extremely heterodox by the " working man," tending, as he will think, to lower his value in the market, Jtmt we would point out what has beon proved time after time, that an immigration limited to the wants of a community does not low it wage 3 below a fiir and reasonable limit ; on tho contrary, its tendency is more to raise Hhan to lower, as the fact of the presence of labour induces .capital to come m."

Mr Henry Lumsley, in * letter dated froai Jeruaalcin, states that an ancient engraved stone, which measures 36 inches by 18 inches on the surfaces, has ju*t tjeen dis,co,vered amongst the nuns of the city of Medeba, which is seven miles south of Heabod, ,fi#eeu nnles north of Dibon, and about forty-five miles due east of Jerusalem. The six lines of written characters ou It are almost identical in form with the Sinaitic letters, and have been translated as follows • "Wo drove tlicm away— the peopk of Ap-Moab at the Marsh ground ; there they' made a thank-offering to G/jd their iKing, and Jeshurun rejoiced, as also Mosei their leader " Mr Lumlev says if these words are compared with Num xxi. J. 3 —15 and 21—33 : Deut xi. ; and Josh", xvi. 9, 15, 16, a remarkable coincidence of narrative wdl be seen. He funks dins stone may be of more powerful interest than the M »' Jte •tone, ns it possesses all iilie appearance of ant'qu ty, and may be a memento of the conquest of Moab by I rael. — Christian World. Why one should take a Turkish Bath. — Note : Subsequent experience shows me that Turkish baths are generally taken for the following reasons :— lst. Because it passes a couple of hours away easily. 2nd. Because it gives you an appetite for dinner. 3r<> . Because the taker has felt a little " chippy " (aa Budd calls it) all day, and thinks it will set him right. 4th. Because you have not taken one before, and want to know what it's like. sth. Because you took cne a long time ago, and forgot whether you liked it or not. fith. Because the one you had a year .Since didn't agree with you, but you rather think it was your fault, so your going to give it another chance. 7th Because the one you had the other day didn't do any good, and you were told it's the second which is really btneticial. yßbli. Because the fir*t Turkish bath you had agreed with you wonderfully. 9lh Bec^se you've been saying you'll take pno for the" l»st two years, and havn't had time. 10th. Because you like it. lith. Because you don't like it, but think it will do jou good. 12th. Because another fellow takes it j-egularly, and wants you to go with him. 13th. Because your doctor thinks it's a capital thing 14th. Because your doctor says it's the worit thing pass be, and you wait to show him he's wrong. 15th Because it's a wet day, and you might as well be in a Turkish bath as anywhere else — better. l£th. Because it's a fine day, just the day for a £ath. 17th. Because it's a hot day, and you want to got fool. 18th. Because it's a cool day, and you want to get hot. Briiiiaxt Convkrsatio>'.— Tho secretary resumes an explanation, which my appearance had interrupted, as how U> a certain yerandah had been put up in two weeks — a feat apparently unequalled in jJie of building, painting, rtnd decorating, and which they'd never done without him, Lhc secretary, ■v.Va kept 'cm at it. We congratulate him on the verandah Budd observes that it " gives quite a " find finishes the sentence with a flourish of his stick to which Ihe secretary replies, •' Yes, doesn't it?" anl Joslyn, who has never set eyes on the place before, remarks that ghat's ju^t what ho wanted- I utjd, ." Yes, decidedly ;" ard to show that I have interested mysrif in this matter, turn to the secretary and inquire, "Only a fortnight?" To •which he returns, "Only a fortnight," whereupon I say " Indeed/ aad we aH itand stock still, and having nothing Jbetter to do, stare at the verandah for about three minutes. Then Budd observes decisively, that " it's a groat improyoment," and the secretary, jeally pleased, says, ."Yes, isn't it 9 Pnly a fortnight'" To which Joslvn, by way of variation, 1 returns, " But, I suppose you made 'em stick to it." This cauiei the secretary to «hake his heal knowmjlv, as muc' 1 flg to »ay, " Didn't "I' I should rather say I did," whpn Bi 4 1 throws in, as if skilled in these matters, " Sharp work, a fortnight," nnd noda fiercely. The secretary answers interrogatively, " Yes, wasn't it? 1 ' And I (feeling bound to join in, pr he might think I differed with him, nnd wasn't p'eased with his efforts) answer positively, and m summing up the whole ense, " Yes, it was " The danger of extempore prayer, says a writer in Belgravia, is, that it may decenerate in the ludicrous Take, for example, the case of the elder who was invited to pray on the day after a battle, and who said, " 0 Lord, " I never fee juch a day as it was yesterday, and I don't believe you ever did !" Or take the ca.*c of the minister gifng praise at barvMttime. "We thank thee.Q Lord, for thj gre&fc bounty,' Mid he ;" we tbank th*e for fine weather ; we thank thee for the bountiful harvest, and that thou hast enabled us to gather in the wheat throughout all tins di-trict — with the exception of Farmer Mills' Lttle three-cornered patch down p the hollow, not worth noticing." Dean Eamsey, if I remember rightly — tells a yet better story of the same kind. A Highland minister having been requested by his flqok to pray for better weather, being at the tame t j» » warned to be cautious in presenting his petition, because the last time he had prayed for better weather, it had become worse, thus expressed himself . — " An noo, Lord, I hae a petition to pre■ent, but I mean to be unco wary o' the wording o't. Ye ken' Lord, the kittle state the craps are in. Just send us a •loughin', southern, dree.in' bree.ze, an 'U save the itrae, and jrinna harm the heed ; for if you send a tearin', reevin', thunder in' storm, as ye did the last time I proved for gude weather, yell pay the very mischief with the tho aits, and fairly apil a-" The Argus contains the following description of a sheepRearing machine shown by Mr Darcy, an American, at the Exhibition in Melbourne : — Tl « motive Jp->wer used is compressed air, produced by means of a small rotary pump, pomjrosed of two cylindrical wheels, which work into each j pthcr, and which are set m motion by the turning of q crank. The rflr ft drawn through a hole fn the bottom of tho pump, and forced through a flexible rubber hose to the shearer, in which is another small rotary engine, by wliioh the knives of the shearer are worked. The knives are rarv small, and move backwards and forwards at a quick rate over a stationdry comb, which prevents the animal operated on being cut by the knives. This shearer is moved up and down tho sheep's back until the operation is ended. The advantages plaimed for the invention are, that a considerable saving of time and expense is effected, that the flrece is clean cut, and that tho sheep farmers need not be dependent on a chance supply of labour Novel Eoo Hatching Apparvtcs. — A gentleman in Melbourne has invented an artificial incubator, possessing some new features as to the way the heat lg applied, and of such a simple nnd portable character as to make it as much an a t cle of farm furniture as a churn, or a cheese-press. It assumes the appearance of a square cedar case, standing on a basis like ordinary table legs, and occupying no more room than the small work-tablo at which ladie* ordinarily sit und work. In the lower part of this case is placed a small kero»ono lamp, and abovp jt a corrugated iron tank with a flue connected with it, which effectually equalises the heat. It is the thorough equalisation Qf heat, and tho easy way of, at tin 1 lamo time, procuring the lower temperatures necessary, w ithout variation in any part of the incubator, that form the excellence of tho little machine under notice. In tho middle part of the case, above tho tank and below the hatching table, is a compartment into which the chickens are put after they rome from the shell, and this leads on to a platform strewn with sand. If tho weather U cold outside, the chickens can be kept here for twenty-four or forty-ctght hours, as may be notwary. The machine requires no. watching, and any ■dairymaid, by visiting it oncu in the morning to attend to the lamp and give to the eggs the neccisary daily cooling, may hatch over 100 chickens within the usual number of day*. At Gifford and Clowes' large farm, in Otagp, they use a Btx-furrowed plough, drawn by ten oxen. It turns over 25 acres per week, at an expenso in labour of only 2a 6d per m*re. The London Telegraph says that the late Sir David Baxter ha-» bequeathed the euormous aunt of five hundred thousand pouudi ty the iv" « Church of Scotland, and fifty thousand poiinds to the Cm versify of Edinburgh

A conference on the subject of international arbitration was held on 11th December in the Temperance Hall, Birmingham. Mr diaries Sturgo presided, and addresses in favour of the establishment of a regular tribunal for tlio settlement, of international disputes wero delivorcd by Mr Henry Richard, M P , Archdeacon Sand ford, Mr Alderman \ Hawkes, Mr J". S. Wright, and it was resolved, on the motion of Miss Sturgo, seconded by Mrs Auhford, to form an International Arbitration Union in the midland counties Among the letters of sympathy with the movement received was one from Mr Winterbothani, who wrote : " The noble example set recently by the Umtod States of America and our country will not, Xam suro, be without good result. It will only be by repeated experience that we can hope to form thnt habit of arbitration which is the only system I think possible i To win the hearty assont of mankind to the pract'ee, you must take your stand, I .im sure, on something higher than eeonoinicJlconsideration, howerer inipoi't'nt 'h<se mny w> Appeals to self-intercut will juJLlv foil, an.', t'.e lest nistmcts of men will refuse to uive up tlic ourijv, t 'to flip enthusiasm pf war, unless voti Ilinl riie-e nob!>r . '•'■nonta of life in the pnetices of justice -md c nnt\ tnwirds men which ljavc their voot m Gi.l " S r Cli irles -Iddi'rlov wr ite expressing some dnibt as to the practicability of pre\entiiig war by arbitration Tiro German gentlemen, said to be well-known in the oitjof London, recently quirrel led abiut a laiy, and, it is alleged, their feelings towards eich other were so bittor that they coulrt not be appeased without resort to a hostile meeting. Seconds and a medical man were nfwdmgly engaged, an 1 the duel was to twice place in Fmsbury Park The eonbvt was not, however, permitted to tntko place, apt I the belligerents were compelled to proceed some distance farther, to a spot wljero they were screened from the observation of chance spectators by a high hedge. It is asserted that tury fought with dagger-knives, having b'ades seven inches in longth ; th it the distance they stood apart was at arm's length, and the position toe to toe. The eyes of each combatant were protected bv a vuard, and two of the fingers nnl the thumb were protected by the guard of the knives. Hostilities commenced about seven o'clock, ami in the first few passes the slighter totagouist wounded his adver-ary twice in the right arm. The wounds, however, were not of a character — in the opinion of the bystanders — to cause an end of the duel to be declared. Tho contest proceeded, and the thrusts and parries followi d each other m fierce succession. Tho combatant who had gained the earlier sucee=i» seemed to lmvo lost n3rve, for, after twenty romutea se\erc fig'iting, he lost his guard, and received an ugly gash from tho corner of the mouth to the end of the ear. The physician and s^nds I'ere iuterpoaod, a»d hostilities were suspended. The dangerously wounded man was conveyed in his carriage to the German hospital. He was speechless when removed, and all communication with him involving the use of speech has been forbidden. The "Claimant" is still attracting no small share of attraction. The trial i* fixed to come off -or rather come on, for its end no one can discern — on the fifth d*y of next Easter Term. This is. of course, a comfort in fie memtime, but +lie terrors of the trial will sadly mar the pleasures of the coming spring. He has been hoi 'ing meetings in various parts of the country, and taking .idvantage of the Cattle Show now being held, he called meetings at St. James Hall -for last night and tonight. A strange revelation attended this. An application was made in court for the purpose of preventing Sir Charles DmiglMy Tichborne attending any such meeting. The application was based on the fact that the "Claimant" had entered into an engagement with one Mr Nugent, a tobacconjjt at the East-end of London, not to attend any meetings save those organised by the said Mr Nugent. The consideration for this being that the tobacconist paid to the credit of the defence fund £60 per week, anil to tbe "Claimant" £20 per week. From this it may be presumed that Mr Nugent has " farmed " tie " Claimant pretty much in the same fashion as ordinary show people do. The application in court proved a capital advertisement, for last night St. James's Hail was full, and to-night a crush is expected. Lady Doughty — the mother of Mrs Radcliffe, whose evidence will be remembered— is in a critical state of health, and her evidence has been retaken at her bedside. It is said to be entirely adverse to the pretentions of the " Claimant " — Home News, Mr Frouclo has, says the Nation, been undergoing in Boston a somewhat ludicrous experience of the difficulties of the mission wh'ch ho imposed upon himself of bringing Americans ti a right understanding of the nature and causes of Irish discontent. The Irish servants of the gentleman at whoso house he was staying refuse I to remain if Mr Froude remained, nnd the host was still further threatened with a combination of tho "intelligence offices" against him which would leave him permanently destitute of "help " Under fhese outward circumstances tho unhappy Saxon had to beat a retreat and leave the eorvanl-girls mistresses of the position. The more Mr Froude leotures, too, the more excited do the Irish Americans bpcomo. He is, the Nation believes, surprised and disappointed at th.) small amount of support he receives from the native American press and society, and he must bo naturally chagrined to find how much he has done to feed the flames of Irish Anglophobia and what a large part he has played in giving Father Burke his crowded and enthusiastic audiences, and in obtaining for that eloquent and poetic gentleman the 1 0 >Qiir, in the eyes of liia countrymen, of being a real histor a*i engaged in exposing a pretender. If Mr Froude, before announcing this subject hnd taken the precaution to make even a very cnrso»y examination of the state of American opinion about Ireland , nnd of the conditions of social life in the United State?, the Nation is suro he would have chosen n different one, and repeats its opinion that tho longer he persists m treatinz it, the more he will do to def at his own ob|ect nnd to give Fenianism and other Irish follies a much needed stimulus. Met^stasio — The Bo'ognese poet, Meiastasio, discovered an extrairdinarv prediction for life"i*nre, nnd for poetry in partienlar, at a very earl y age, so f liit!le wmild ma\o ver*e* extempore on nm* given subject, le'bio he wns to i years old This singular talent lie used to exercise uflcr school hours at his father's shop, where grent crowds used to assemble in the streets in the rymin^ io 1 ca 1 him sing alt' improvista, admiring not only tho harmony of his numbers, but the melody of Ins voic. Dunn/ one of tM«c \oHin'r..'» exercises, the learned civilian G-ravna, having accidentally pa«ed that wav, was struck with the .sweetness of the child's voice, and still more with his vevses, which he soon found were extempore, formed either on persons who stood near him, or on some playful subjects which they had suggested Gnvina was si astonished and pleased at the precoc'ty of the little bard's talents, that he instantly conceived a wish to adopt him, for the pleasure of cultivating a soil which nature had rendered so fertile, that even the spontaneous flowers and fruits it produced were of a superior kind. The parents consented, and under the pat-onage of Gravina, Mctastasio's education was advanced and nis genius expanded, so that at the age of fourteen he produced his tragedy of Giu9tino. At the ago of eighteen he sung aJV improvista at Naples, forty octavo stanzas, a sujbect proposed to him by one of the audience, which was " the magnificence of princes," and he was heard with rapture and astonishment bv all the learned present. Masonic Costume. — The Otatjo Daily Times is responsible for the following — The intense curiosity felt by women to become acquainted with the mysteries of Freemasonry is known to everybody. When, however, they are permitted to behold some of the adjuncts, they are not always thankful for the favour. An instance of this occurred at the late Masonic ball in Dunedin, where a worthy Maeon received a rather sharp criticism upon his attire from his better-half He was arrayed in all tho dignity of a Knight Templar, having on him a long white cloak with a crimson cross upon it, a sword in his hand, and a velvet skull cap, with earpieces on his head Gazing at him with unfeigned disgust, the lady exclaimed in rich Doric — " If I had kenned ye were gaun to dress yonsel 1 that way, I wadna' hae been here." Then looking particularly at the obnoxious «ku'l-cap, •ho added in a stage whisper — " Tak that afF— tak t'mt nfF! " Fortunately the trial to her feelines was not long ••istained, as the opening ceremony shortly afterwards took pla^e, after which the good knight wan nble to obey the command of his spou«e to " take afF" the insi<?ma of hi* Masonic rank Printers' errors, says a contemporary, fire inevitable in journalism, and the writing and ignorance of «o«nc telegraphists in all parts of the world are a new nd litionnl source of error, sometimes *prious, sometimes perplexing. Some time ago we were amuged by seeing in the telegraphic correspondence that Signor "Gorilla" has acceded to power in Spain. If Signor Zonlla is like tho overage of Spanish statesmen, it is " our poor African relation" who has cnuseof complaint Recently we read the drath of " the prisone, Stephen Henty," tho said " prisoner" being the Honblo Stephen Henty, who earned a foremost name ns an Australian " pioneer " A printer's error in a Dunedin paper of some months since is especially good After recording the death rf a venerable elder came the words, " Fiends' will plcaso accept this intimation." Poor old gentleman ' The Straits of Magellan — Jn the course of a month or two there will be placed a line of very largo and vory powerful steam-tugs at both entrances of tho Strait* of Magellan, for tho purpose of tow Ing sailing vessels bound to and from the west coast of South America through the Straits, thus doing away with the difficult and oftentimes dangerous voyage round Cape Horn. It is believed that the services of this now steam company will meet with tho patronngc which tho venture deserves, and that in future the dina-itcrs to vessels making the passnge'round Cape Horn will be few mid fnr between, ns the cost of towing a vessel through the Straits will, it U estimated, be not more than £200 to ,C 250 Giflard once wrote a leading artic'o in tho Standard with which the Duko of Newcastle was so gratified that he sent him a cheque for £1,200. " This, no doubt" observed tho reviewer in the London Quarterly ," is the largest fee ever paid for an editorial." Wo should think it was. From a Competitive Exnm — Q. Give what you know about Papyrus 9 A. He was a king of Egypt, who established a paper currency instead of sheep's heads which hnd up till that time beon passing for manov. This was issued bv the Nile Bank, and on the reverse side were the words Ex Nilo. When are gardeners quito dissipatod characters? When they both owe (hoe) and rake. When do you consider your wife a deurcrealure? "When her milliner's bill tomes in, of uouroc.

iSimu 1 P.Y^li>*UKR — "Lojkbcrc! You clulu't give mo tV r.^lit e\ange juit now!" Ulerk: "Too Into sir, jou should have spoken w'len you took your ticket!" Passengor. "Should I? All right, its of no conacque nco to nao ; but you gave iud holf-a-»overeign tpo much ! Good-bye " Exit