DOMESTIC SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1198, 5 August 1911, Page 11

DOMESTIC SERVICE.

VIEWS OF A LEGISLATOR. The domestio servant problem was dealt with at some length by the Hon. J. Bnrr, M.L.C., during a speech on tho Addrcss-in-Reply yesterday. Mr. ' Ibrr said lie noticed that a union had just been formed in Auckland, and the newspaper report stated that tliero were some hundreds out of employment, and that Bins who were willing to work could not pet it. He could not say anything of Auckland, as ho knew little about that P kut if the same statement referred to Chnstchtirch, Wellington, or Dimedin he would- say it was ridiculous nonsense. Ihoy were peculiar people in Auckland, and he was not, therefore, going to refer to them—(hear, hear)—but. biking the places ho knew, ho thought tho report was stretching tho thing too far. Some "awful" places in which domestic servants, slept were referred to in the report in question. In the south tho mistresses were, allowed to keep these places free for themselves, becaaso the girls simply left and went to a better place. He knew there was.room for girls in New Zealand, and. he thought they might be encouraged.

Hon. 'J. E. Jenkinson: How are you going to keep them ,in domestic service, when you get them . heTe? Mr. Barr said he was not concerned about that in the meantime. However, there was work for them, and if they did not like it, but drifted into other work, that was still good for tiie country. He did not submit that bringing girls in would solve tlie domestic servant problem. That must begin in the .schools. The trouble very often was owing to the incompetency of tho mistress of a house. He knew that there were many demands for domestic labour, from women' who were well able to do their own work, but who in doing it would .have to devote less time to alternoon teas and to aping thoso m a higher social scale. Ho took it that we wanted our women to be useful and not all ornamental, but unfortunately there '.rere many who were more ornamental'than useful.,. As to the matter of assisting girls to uome out to the Dominion, tho last return showed that 831 domestic workers came from England last ■year, and these each cost 10s. at the other" end for passage money. This was a 6mall number, and we could do with twice as many.' (Hear, hear.) Tho weak point

in the scheme for assisting domestic servants was that there was no proper system observed. A considerable proportion of the .831 who .came in last year were not qualified domestic .helps, and there was a number, though it was not large, that were undesirable. "If we were going to spend money in assisting girls to come out we must bring suitable girls, and to do this we must have someono on the other side to look after them and accompany them to New Zealand. Tf we could not get the class of girls we wanted we Should stop the whole thing.