LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1189, 26 July 1911, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

FREEHOLDER R. M'NAB. Sir,—Our leasehold Government boil facilitated Dip sale of Hint rich estate liiunvii as the Mokait. Jieforo tbo present owners hnil possession, it passed Mirougli several.hands. jNVw wo find Mr. J). M'Nab, dofpfitod Minister nf the C.'rnwn, leaseholder, is chairinau of directors of the body 01 men lucky enough to own the estate. Is it not. disgusting to think that a Government, capable of such conduct 13 allowed to remain in office a second longer with the power still to pet asido tho law and permit the sale of any other big Native estate they feel disposed to? It makes my blood boil. A leasehold Government selling tho freehold, for that is what, it amounts to; a professing leaseholder chairman of directors of the company now selling the freehold. Why is Mr. It. M'Nab chairman of directors of the company when he is a leaseholder? Did ho not nail his colours to the leass- , hold mast when a member of tho Government ? True he dragged them down again, but what is he thinking about in having anything whatever to do with the freehold? Was all his talk about the lease* hold so much stuff and nonsense, and his famous Land Bill—which was hung up— what of that? Does ho not believe in the advantages of tho leasehold ho advocated so strongly? What arc the public to think? Here, is a man who has raved about tho advantages of tho leasehold chairman of directors of a body ■ who acquired the freehold of the 'famous Mokau Estate. Bah! It seems to me it's tho leasehold for the other fellow all the lime, and tho freehold when it is for themselves to traffic with.—l am, etc., NAUSEATED, THE FURNITURE TRADE.

Sir,—ln one of your recent issues von published an account of a meeting that took place, between Ml. Moriarty and the Conciliation Commissioner, in which Mr. Moriarty got the worst of the argument. It seems difficult; to understand the atlitudo of this man, who claims to be. a furniture worker. What is the bcneGt to he gained from all this strife? Take the furniture trade as it is to-day, nud what is it? Ninety-five per cent, of the operatives do not know their business; ther are poor, ill-instructed mechanics. If this be so with tho workers, how much more so must it bo with their products? Look at tho quantity of the shoddv furni. lure that is turned out in this country. Cheap, nailed-toßether stuff, which gets a smear of what is called stain, and a, lick of oil, etc., and then placed on the market as furniture. Shoddy work 'can - never stand. Cabinelmaking 'is becoming a lest art in this country. There is a great quantity of furniture imported which is not much better. Go through any of the furniture establishments and you will find ninety per cent, of the articles bear the impress of nails and putty. Ihp idea of claiming an advance 111 wages is put forward on account of the cost of living. Can shoddy work, produced on high wages, decrease (lie cost of living?, No. . The Furniture Trades I;mon has done nothing to increase tho efficiency and knowledgo and skill of their members. As a general rule the cabinetmaker or upholsterer can give you nothing new. They havo been so 'used to plagiarising tho ideas of others that they c aul )°t mako any advance in their craft. With all these salient obstacles in tho way of satisfactory work, how can (hey claim consideration? The fact is people are paying too much for their furniture. It is produced under disadvantageous conditions, and what else can they expect? J. lie worker is oftentimes tho most ungra eful man en earth. Ho expects the highest pay, and gives the poorest; result. Ihe manufacturer is hedged in with countless restrictions which impede and block his progress, consequently the business languishes, and dies for tho want of stamina. If Mr. Moriarty wishes to do something of benefit to tho community, then let him do something of a tangible nature. Let him establish guilds, or institutions of a like nature, whereby the efficiency and skill of the members of Ins union, may bo advanced. Instead of using his overplus funds in prosecuting employers, and bringing abortive Court cases against them, let him turn them to belter account in the direction indicated. If tho furniture, rrado operatives had a good status, and were capable cf advancing the true interests ol their trade in craftsmanship, design, and tho true principles of construction, this coupled wilh method and stamina in manufacture would undoubtedly commend itself to all true minds. Let this condition obtain in tho ranks of the union, then there mil bono difficulty in advancing other interests which are of far less importance. Again, sir, this idea of a minimum wage, which is far above the skill of tho man, hampers tho progress and capability of any industry. I do not bclicvo m sweating, or using tho individual as a tool for the accumulation of cupital iii the hands of individual capitalists. The worker should bo paid according to his skill and capacity, which is only just to him. I have been in the furniture trade all my life, and therefore can hear personal witness to tho unjust conditions which prevail. Where a number of journeymen are employed there is always in the majority the man who does not' earn Ins money. I havn often watched tho men working, and thought to myself how unjust is; the system under which we are ivoi-KiiiK. There is that man doing Iwico as much work, as so-and-so, and yet we arc forced to pay them all tho" same money, because we must pay tho duffer and the sl,hw man twenty per cent, more than he is worth. This is the evil , of tho pit'sent system of a minimum wage, which kills and blights enterprise. Let Mr. Moriarly, if his wishes to improve the trade and its .conditions, take a wider view than just to-day, look to to-morrow, and mako us capable of meeting it. This continual advance in the cost of production will.ruin this country, and eventually bring poverty and unhappiness. Hoping that, our trade may be improved and greater efficiency and harmony prevail on tho part of the worker, which' is most needed in New Zealand.—l am, etc , CRAFT.