PIONEERING DAYS.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17424, 9 June 1928, Page 9

PIONEERING DAYS.

COLONIAL WORKERS. TREATMENT OF A LENIENT BOSS. MR ISAAC COATES’ EXPERIENCE. In my last I spoke of some of the men that had been sent to hoe the eight acres of tobacco grown for a part of the mixture for the hip for scab, and that instead of the six men as told, four,of them got into a hole and played cards; only my old mate and myself did any weed-hoeing that afternoon,- which gave me a dislike to the colonial ways. I was even more disgusted at the sheep-dipping. In the early morning the head shepherd got into”the yards as many sheep as we could put through in one day. I found that Mr Maddock always got up early and had the ingredients mixed before the men came to work. As soon as I saw 'the work that' the poor -man had to do before, 8 a.m., I also got up early, got an early breakfast and- got to the dipping sheds as soon as Mr Maddock. We then were always ready to start the dipping when the men arrived. What vexed me most, however, was that as soon as the cook hoisted the llag at 5 p.m. every one of the men left, even if they had a sheep in hand, and poor Mr Maddock and myself had to get tiie rest of the sheep through the dip. Sometimes there would he 50 or over to put through, and sometimes only a few, hut there were always some. The men leaving, the boss before the pens were all empty seemed to me to be an unheard of performance. Tiie men never said anything to me for not going with them, hut probably did amongst themselves. That kind of work would not have lasted long on the farms in Yorkshire, and needless to say I did not like to see the men so punishing such a good man and master. lor a better master no one could desire. In later years, from 1874' to J 910, I have been a very large employer of labour—by far thfe largest in the Waikato for drainage work alone. 1 have done drainage contracts, includ£3s,ooo, besides railway contracts' to the extent of £50,000, all in about 30 years, and I never had any such trouble with any of my men, which makes me think that there must have been cause for the way the men treated their master at Slarborough and which greatly disappointed me. In addition to what I have already written I have actually seen the old man whose duty it was to keep Uie shearers’ pens full going to get the sheep in for next forenoon's shearing. lie and his dog had just got to the sheep near V lop of the paddock when the 5 p.m. flag went up, and the man at once turned back and left, the sheep, and Mr Maddock had to bring the sheep in after lie had his Lea. Surely there must have been something wrong when men did deeds like that. J sometimes think that Air Maddock was to blame, lie being by far 100 lenient with the men.