2

T.—9a.

MBS. T. BLACK.

6. You cannot suggest any system by which these girls could be given a day ofi each week? —No. I have looked round, but it would only mean thai the girl would have to do the two flats, and she would work from 7 in the morning till II at nighi to gel finished, because it would mean that two girls' work would have to be done by one. 1 know thej could not do it. In the jase of the kitchen 1 could not make any arrangement, unless ! went into the kitchen myself. I should have to employ another hand. In fact, 1 would have, as 1 say, to employ four more hands to carry it through. 7. Would that be for their whole time?— Yes, because I could doI gel a person that would come in and cook to-day and do a housemaid's work to-morrow ami a waitress's another day. No one would come. 8. You would have to board those extra hands' —Yes, or if I have nor room I have to pay tor them out. 9. Would that reduce the number of boarders yon can take? Yes. 10. Did you take that into consideration in making your estimate? —My estimate allowed for the boarding-out, because I could not put them up. I have allowed .">s. a week each all round for boarding-out. As it is I board thirteen in the house. They oecupj six of the rooms as it is. 11. You say your hands are quite satisfied? — Yes, as that document that I produced will prove. Ido my best for them and they do their best for me. and 1 never have any trouble. Thej all work amicably together. 12. They lire not asking for this amendment/—No, they do not want it; in fact, one of them asked me, "If I sign twice will it be of any use.' " That shows how much they are in favour of it. Not one of the hands is in favour of it. from t lie rook down to the porter. 13. Mr. Veilck.] You made the statement that this amendment would be (if no use to the staff. Would you be good enough to explain how it is that it would not benefit the staff in an\ wav ? If it is going to cost you ,£2S." a year, eurely it must benefit somebody? No. because they are off every afternoon and every Sunday afternoon excepting one. and every Sunday evening from 7 o'clock, and they could not get off like that if they had a whole day. They do not want it. They are quite satisfied to have the half-day as at present. One housemaid is on every afternoon and one every night. One girl said to me, " 1 have nowhere to go. If I had a day's holiday I would have to stay in my bedroom. I would much rather have my afternoons off as at present." Is it not better, too, for a girl to have so many half-days off than one day off a week? It is an absolutely ridiculous Hill. We try to keep as good a house as we possibly can by running it nicely, and we give the public the benefit of it by charging a small tariff; and this is what we are going to get. As I say. in the end the public will have to suffer; it will have to come back on to the public. 14. What rent do you pay?— Nearly .£2O a week. My wages bill — l pay £1.170 a year in wages, and with the increase of £283 on to that you. see where I would be. 15. Mr. Ant/erson.] Do your employees get a day off in the week or half a day.' As I explained to you, one of my maids —there are four of them and four waitresses lakes it to-day, and another one to-morrow, and another one the next day. They really only come on duty every fifth day; and one is on every Sunday, so that they only really come on once every four Sundays. 16. You reckon that it would take ?—Four more hands to run it, to work in the hours. 17. You would have to put up your tariff? —It would be impossible to get it, I think. As I say, we have quite enough trouble to get what we are asking now. 'there is scarcely a person comes but that, if he is going to stay any length of time, he asks, " How much do you charge if I stay a week? " and if it is a month, " How much reduction will you give if I stay a month .' The public will not pay it, and, as I say, why should the public be made to pay more? 18. How many hours a day do your girls work?— They work fifty-two hours one week and fifty another. 19. Mr. Wilkinson.] You pay £20 a week rent. How long is your lease for? —Six years. 20. If this Hill became operative , and you had to pay the extra amount annually, you would be in no worse position -than other people in the same line of business; they would have to pay in the same way?— They would all have to close, because they could not do it. One private-hotel keeper bere whom I rang up said, " It means that I shall have to close my place down as a private hotel and run it as apartments, because I cannot make ends meet now. and 1 certainly could not then." 21. What is your ordinary tariff?— Six shillings a day for casuals. Tt ranges from 225. 6d. up for permanents. 22. How many boarders have you generally, approximately?—We have about forty permanents. 23. And then the casuals?— They vary. 24. Mr. Davey.] 1 understood you to say that y.our girls work fifty-two hours one week ami fifty the next?— That is so. 25. That is really considerably less than they would be asked to work under the clauses of the Bill? —That is what I say, it is not going to be of any advantage , to them. 26. Then it cannot be a disadvantage to you, can it, under the circumstances? —It will. 21. The Bill provides that the hands can work so-many hours more than that per week? — You are going to allow fifty-two under the Bill. 28. Fifty-eight, is it not ?—lt is fifty-two, I think, in the Bill. 29. Are all your employees members of the union? —That I could not say. As long as they do their work I am quite satisfied, whether they belong to the union or not. I never trouble about that.