BLACK BOYS AND SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1205, 14 August 1911, Page 11

BLACK BOYS AND SERVICE.

(By Jexny Wtien.)

'WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE.

Mrs. O'Rafferty was exceedingly busy— her hands and her thoughts intent' on slaughter, and her heart full of anger. Her cherished lettuces, that had presented such a beautiful appearance only two days ago, were now a ruin of shredded, tattered, melancholy-looking leaves, all tho work of tho snails. Small wonder that Mrs. O'Kaffcrty breathed vengeance deep and diro, and that palpable evidences of it lay all around her. Not ye-t was it slaked. A click of tie gate roused her, and ?ha looked up to see Bridget Moriarty advancing in a great state of excitement. "Mary, Mary, this is no counthry for us at all, at all. Evil indade v;as the day whin wo caiue to it. Acouuthry where yo cannot do a single thins—not even breathe—widout some murtherin union comin' atweea ye and yer work. Och, I'm sick ov it! I ajn indado, an' th' faints alone know whin I can shake tJi' dust ov it from the. soles ov me fate-" "What is the matter wid the woman?" asked Mrs. O'Kalferty, her own troubles forgotten. "Shure! It's so angry lam that I hardly know where to begin," said Bridget, her fingers tearing open a letter that she had in her hand, "jfe see. It's this way. I had a letther from me cousin this morniu', her that's livin' away up north in the last place ivir made, an' has eight childcr to iuin,' an' all the work ra do, for tho simple rayson that she couldn't get anyone t'help her, up till late. Well, thin, she heard oi black bhoys that come from some place, with a haythenish nnmo —if I renumbers right Niue—an' says she, '111 git some bhoys, too.' She did, though, it weren't aisy, an' they were t' shtay wid her for three years, an' che pays their parentsj; not .-thirn. Things thin became jus , glorius, an'.' from bein' a dilicate womin wid all the work to do an' the childer to min, she became a foiiie, shtrappin' womin again, like sho used to be, an' the house was as happy as a oontinudus party." Bridget Moriarty stopped in the midst of her tale to viciously prod at an ail-too-inquiring puppy that was investigating a basket that sho had dropped upon the ground. The puppy fled with lamentation and sorrow, and was pursued by a larger dog eager to hurry his progress. "What thin?" asked Mrs. O'Rafferty with evident eagerness. "Thin I recaivo a letther from her this morniu' to. say that the Servants' Union are takin' th' matther up, having got a fright an' they want t' put an' end to this state o' bliss. Says they: 'It's the dark evil dhays o , slavery back agin, an'' says they, 'we won(t have it. It mus' bo sthopped in th' interests o' nutnauity. It's base croolty, an' yo must not tear tliim from their happy homes or we'll petition Parliament.'" "They're mighty philanthropic all at wanst," broke in Mrs. O'liafferty. "What about the poor hard-workin' winimin that slave, an' slave, an slave all day an' all night nearly on the farms an' out stations, an' wear thimsolves t' death. Befcase th' girrils won't go there for love or money are they to suffer, an' th' counthry an' th' nation to suffer? Shnre, no one. who hasn't thried it knows just what it is t' live out back. Somethin' mus! go, an' if we don't get help thin wo can't have tho population, that's all. Look at all the wimmin who have to work whin it's just killin' thiin day afther day an' year afther year!" "That's just what I'm Eayin', if ye'd not bo in such a hurry, Mary," broke in Bridget tartly. "These girrils won't go to tho places, an' then, bokase th' only thing that is left to he done—gettin' help from where it kin bo got—is done, thin they cry out, dogrin-the-manger-like. It's choosin' between th' wives an' the mothers an' th' contrairiness o' girrils v;ho of tun don't appreciate a good plaico an' a thoughtful jiiisthr&ss. If. they won't worruk, thin they ought not to'be listened to in their protcstiu' agin' this matther. The wondher is that black bhoys have not been got long ago by thoso who could afford it. Now' it seems as though the good lnisthresscs get the bad girrils who won't stay, an' the gcod girrils sometimes get the bad misthresses, an' things is in a bad mix-up. Annyway, the girrils don't ssem to care, and yet they want to keep the others out ov.it, an' are goin' to beseech Parliament about it."

"What can yc expect in a counthry like this?" said Mrs. Moriarty. "It's unions that are runnin' everything, unions an' awards. Soon they'll rule what we'll eat, how long we'll sleep, what we wear, an' what ho think even. It's gottin' to that now. annyway." "Yes, an' they'll ax Bavvey M'Laxen to make th' laws for such things," said Mary- "He's a great malm for th' unions." Despondently Bridget walked to the gate, stopped there a moment, and, turning round, called oiit to Mrs. O'Rafferty: "Don't ye bo surprised if yo hear o' mo headin' a deputation to Parliament House to sind over for a larger ordher o' black bhoys. I'll b?.ard innyone for that, even tire gintle an' soft-spoken gintkmin from Motueka. Good-bye."

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