IRISH FREE STATE.

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18855, 27 January 1933, Page 3

IRISH FREE STATE.

THE RAILWAY CRISIS. LOW WAGES FOR FARM WORKERS (From a Correspondent.) DUBLIN, Dec. 18. The railway companies have issued a statement of their case. Apart 'altogether from the validity of the Award, } the arguments for wage reductions arc I overwhelming. After the new 10 per ! cent, cut lias been made wages will j still he, 131 per cent, over pre-war | standard as compared will* 53 per [ cent, rise in the cost of living. } Tlie.se figures have not been chalI lenged by the unions, hut it is asserted that they convey a wrong impression of the position. They state that a large number of men are now receiving less than £2 a week, that owing lo drastic do-grading there has been a general loss of status, and that dismissals have been harsh and wholesale. 1 am told on good authority that ibe’.'c- will be no stoppage, but it is difficult lo see how a strike on the Ureal Northern system can be avoided if the Northern Government persists in its refusal to come into line with the Free Stale and subsidise the cut. Tiie whole dispute is a palpable example of tiie difficulties and dangers of partition, and points to the sadly lacking need for constant close and friendly intercourse between the two Governmlnts. Evils of Partition. Transport is essentially a service, where like conditions should prevail on each side of the Border, and yet the Northern Government may havo never been consulted about, or even seen, the Transport Bill which is to passed into law as soon as the Dail reassembles. Business men on both sides of the Boeder agree that partition is a misfortune. It clogs trade and foments jealousy, but it is difficult to see how closer union can be brought about in the present temper of the people. Apart from tlags and anthems, which seem irreconcilable, the Customs barrier lias set up vested Interests on this side which no Government would have the cou~age to assail. This is a sad disappointment to many. It is well known that the late Kevin o’lliggins, a man of vision, made strenuous efforts to lay the foundation stone of unity. Some go so far as to say that his sympathies in this direction led lo his undoing. Ills plan, it is generally believed, was one of common ■allegiance lo the King in his capacity as sovereign of a united Ireland.

What sympathy Mr O’Higgins received across (lie Border is doubtful, but, had he lived, his persistence and force of character might have accomplished much. The late Government honed lo narrow and even bridge Hie gulf by the attraction and force of good example, by making the. state an envy lo our neighbours. For a time this held some hope of success, but now, alas! the gulf is wider than it lias ever been, and we seem fated to pursue mutually exclusive, beggar-my-neighbour lines of policy. Labourers’ Hard Lot. When a senator in the course of a debate on the Wheat Subsidy Bill interrupted a speaker and said agricultural wages in Wexford were not 15s a week 1 doubted iiis accuracy. Next day, however, I met a large farmer from that country, who assured me that such is Hie case. He himself is paying 18s a week to six-day men and 21s a week to seven-day men, without perquisites or extras, and lias no difficulty in getting men at these rates. Smaller farmers arc paying 15s to six-day men and 8s lo boarded men. This illustrates how the depression is bearing on the unsheltered occupations, and makes even more unreasonable the attitude of railway workers. Cruel as the figures appear, they compare with pre-war rates of 8s and 10s in the- same county, and are about pre-war standard. Sugar beet alone has saved many farmers from collapse, and, being under subsidy, growers of this crop have been able to reap the hen ell t of an exceptionally good season. Tiie now proved position of sugar beet should be a warning lo those who always see danger in anything new. Eight years ago .when tiie project was launched, it was said that, owing to lack of sun, beet would never a**" quire ail adequate sugar content. This year ttio average- sugar content has been 18 per cent., about i per cent, higher than the average on the Continent, and some growers have secured over 20 per cent.

Land Annuity Test Case. After some delay the AttorneyGeneral has decided lo issue the flat which will enable Hie legality of the I whole Annuily payments to be tested jin the Courts. The action will be j brought against Hie- Minister of Finance, and if will seek to establish | that Hie Annuities cannot be legally j cidleeled unless lhcy are paid to I lie j Land Purchase Fund as the law I directs. It is possible- that even beI fore Hie case is Ivied Hie Government ] may take steps lo rectify their posiI lion by means of legislation. This can I hardly he a money Bill, and so the i Senate will have to decide whether to j support default or burden the tax | payer—a most unpleasant choice. D. J is not surprising that Hie more reckless patriots want lo abolish the I Second Chamber. The Minister of Finance must be chastened by his experience over the mol nr duties, intent on building bodies at home, he placed a heavy duly oil imporled bodies. Finding linns would not Install Hie costly machinery necessary for this work and that ears were not being imporled he lias swung over, and, by reducing the duly on unassembled parts, he is now Irving lo encourage home assembly. The motor trade, already bewildered. is in consternation, because it holds large- stocks of duty-paid parts which must lie written down to Hie level of the cheaper imports. Meantime certain firms have begun In make parts, in the belief that I lie- higher rale of duly would continue and they are loud in complaints at Hie prospect, of unemployment. It is a real mess, and Ihe Senate lias passed a veeommendalion which will at leastallow the Minister and the trade time lo come together and try lo mitigate Hie inevitable hardship and injustice.