The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1907. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8099, 10 January 1907, Page 2

The Waikato Times, THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1907. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

Tin. :i is nt tin: present time uiil the colony n phenomenal scarcity of domestic Mjrvuiils. The Labour Deparuni ill recently received among ship loads of emigrants a laitro number of ui' the m rvant class from various parts of Kngluud. The.se twirls had lor the mosi pari come out under engagement, the majority ol them proceeding at once to llawkes Lsav. Some dissatisfaction has been expressed at the adoption of this means of dealing with the question. many asseverating that such interference is unwarranted. It has been urged that the Government should discourage the importation of servants from outside, but as a matter of fact, the demand for domestic helps has been lor many year.- far in excess of the supply, and employers all over the co'.inti'V have complained of the dinirtilty of getting girls to u>si.-t tliuiu it: '.heir household worl:. The j (iovernment, n_aiis!ii'.r the position, i has ol'fcivd special iu.lu.ct incuts in the way of rctluccd stcauici' lares u suitable girls wisiiing U> come to the colony, but it has no! Micceeded in i iJrractiug tliein in sul'icicnlly huge j numbers to afford any appreciable relief to the employers. Thedilliculty !of obtaiui ig good helps—gitls who i know something about their business, and are satisfied with u reasonable

wage —io as groat to-day as it \v;uj iu the early days of settleniciit. The ditliciilty tliat |iresents itself to New Zealand housewives is present in an even inure aeiue lorin in Australia, whore ii is stalei.l uii.-livsses luaiLi'tH the M-airiiy of doun-stu; help to i-iiu uv....;-'"l from New 'Av.ilaud. The trouhle cauw, l>e alto-o-ether due to low lei in luo.-i par;- of this oniony at any rate, , L.-VMiits Silvia rplionally well treated can colllli ai»ii iei : --'i t' ; lilt ceil shilliutrs a wee is iu addi.!-.! .. ''oarJ and loilgin-r, and a fail lUi.ou: l ef leisure, while -oiiie are ofiVreil even higher wages and greater coucobMuus, yet many of them will turn Irom 1.-ULU'C-roi-k whenever an oppurtuuify ol di,ii.'.: -j i,i, .v'i'-- itself. There is lili .i'C HHlepel'ii' i:ee a*'out ■ i-iV' lili: . the various iae'-'oie- o.H- !••■•'■ for m-aiiy \o-i:;; women the hie undoubtedly presents " *•') ■dtraeiions ahove that of domeslioservice. 'J hole whs formed s.mie lime ae'o iu Welliuigtoii a itomesiie Servants' L'ui m, which was registered under the Industrial Coue.iliatiou and Arbitration Act. iou■•!> a Union could do much by seeming a fixed ..u:-' of wages and regulation of the .hours oi tuiour, to lessen the general distaste for domestic service. A tuiifoi mscale of V:i.;.:'o< aud clearly de'ined iluties tor a '.rru-.'ii e't*ae, o! wm- has done much ';L ! !.o' braneiici oi ii ilifs'a\. i''.i.! S'.'Jiie lii'o;;/ o 1i... same soil is possio'e :■-,.■ the case of ■ ,wt.-.iic ser\aius. it is the "ba I places" thai bring household work into disrepute, and if " bad mistresses" vei'u made to understand that they .-mill uoi [::>. (In: girl., starvation wages oi drive I hem lumi ! \.cl '. end lo week's end wilhoul giving iiicu. - ) '.iii'.ie lo ihemseivcs, j the\ would Inn io end their ways. Then l here would be some .Laii'o ol domestic service taking its propei place in the industrial world. There is no reason why domestic service should not be regarded as an honourttbiu and proper occupation for women, bui at present there is no gainsaying u .... fact that various prejudices arekeep:vs the best (ji.'a'ilied women ■ tit >y- ; :'( ■ r,;ruuv;tl or '■. ; 'te-c '■; [■ ■:■ gb'y r.o I a rnallti vi ■ 'me. and a gi eatei I iympathy aiui between | mistresses and servants will suppkut I the feeling of mutual antipathy that lin many instances now esists. When

that conies to pass the necessity of importing assistance from England and Australia will cease, and there will ho no more talk of a scarcity of household labour.

NEW ZEALAND MEAT. S■• ■ ■ weeks aero a statement calculated tosorii>usl\ injure tho.reputatiou ol' New Zealand frozen mutton on the flngiish markets, was published in several London papers. The paragraph was to the effect that samples of tinned meat supplied to the Leicestei shire County Asylum had been found on analysis to lie uniii lot human cousumpti in and thai the mutton came from New Zealand. The statement was at once investigated by the Colony's oliicers at I bum', with result that ii was proved to lie nnii ue. The Chairman of the Institution .staled that there was not the slightest cause

for dissatisfaction with the New Zeala id meat supplied and the eouimiltee all expressed the highest sat isl'act ion with it. Tliey were particularly pleased to be informed of the very stringent inspection carried out by the Coveriiment of all meat slaughtered in the colony, and expressed appreciation of the interest taken by the Government and the representatives of the companies in Kmrhiiid. 11 is a mat ter for i eirrel I hat rcport.i of such a nat are should tii it 1 their way into (he licit ish press without thorough investigation. Such statements must have a very prejudicial eiiect on colonial trade with England, which it is to the hitter's interest to foster rather than hinder. The colony owes much toils representatives in England for their prompt investigation and refutation ni such slanders on our produce.