HEROINES OF OUR COUNTRY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1446, 22 May 1912, Page 11

HEROINES OF OUR COUNTRY.

THEIR NEED OF HELP. (By Jenny \Yp,kn.). It is an old, old story thai is poured into one's ears on every hand, that-of the scarcity of domestic help for the women ot this colony, i'rom the furthermost end of tho North Island to that of the South, tho distressed cry for help is continually rising, and .what do wo hear of anything being done to meet the imperative need for assistance? To Uio appeals that have boon made to the Government at various times, evasive answers have been returned, or pise promises lo do something another day—promises that have never yet been fulfilled, and if it oanie to that were never expected to be by tlioso who made then: and tho.-o who listened. Tho working man of the Dominion has only to become a member of a'union, and, with his fellows, make any outrageous demand that may'enter his head, and all is conceded. Is New Zealand not tho working man's paradise, with a Government that tenderly cherishes -him ? But what nbouS the women'} When it all conies to be sifted, where would the country be but for its women? And is it not timo that they met with, something of the Teward dua to them? Long years ago, in the early days of tii-3 colony's history, tile women came out with their husbands, brothers, fathers, and bore their full share of burden—bore it nobly, too, facing all the dangers, and working side by side with tho men till caaier days came. Some had help and some had not—many had not—and just beenu«o, being the people that they were, they faced what lay before them with courage and strength, one who, till recently, was a Minister -of the Crown thought it quite right anil reasonable that the same state of things should endure. It did not strike him that the women of to-day are iu a measure paying for what their mothers and grandmothers took out of themselves by what they did. And life lias become an infinitely more strenuous affair, both for the country people and the townspeople, and necessarily everything has to keep pace with it, even in our homes.

And so tlio old condition of things goes on. Because it existed then, it is quite proper that it should exist now, and because those who are at the head of the Government to-da.v cannot realise, cannot sec, the burden that is crushing so large (i proportion of the women of the colony, bearing and reaving children, and work- ! in? far beyond their strength, they shuffle/ procrastinate, and evade meeting the difficulty. It is not the women in the towns that suffer so much—tliay can obtain help of a kind—but it is the women ill tlio Kick-blocks, the up-country farms, the heroines of this country, who are being sacrificed upon the altar of unionism, all because of our irresolute politicians. In nearly every case, where domestics have been brought out from Home, it has been done by private enterprise, not by the Government, whose right it was to help the womanhood of the country. Not so very long ago, when Mr. Sedgwick was out with liis squad of boys from England, lie sug?estedHhe bringing out of girls for domestic service—a proceeding in which he anticipated but little difficulty. According to his statements, there were maiiv of the lower middle-class families at Home in which the girls were kent for some time helping in their homes till tho iinie came when it was necessary for them tq earn their living. The factc-ries were the principal opening for ttyeni, and many did not- eare for tlm prospect. _ Mr, Sedgwick told the Ministers that, if their passages were paid, they would not hesitate to come out, many of them, arid they were of the stamp that would bo 'most useful in the Dominion. And what lias happened? Nothing, of course. Not so very long ago, coloured labour from some neighbouring islands was imported to a northern district, and the scheme was a success. The natives were indented for a number of years,' care being taken that they were sent to homes in which they would bo comfortable and be well treated. The Workers' Union in Auckland—or one of t.lie million unions with which this country is burdened— stepped in, on the plea that such conduct was the thin edge of tho system of slavery, and made itself exceedingly disagreeable and tiresome. Strange tluit its humanitarian instincts should display themselves in that direction only.

Almost anything raiuld be better than that the lieavily taxed country woman and the. woman that is tlio mother of a large family and the possessor of but moderate means, should be sacrificed to this monstrous fetish, Unionism. In the end the stamina of our people must suffer. If those of the young women of thi : s country will not- do the work for which the are fitted, both by physical and mental endowment, then one would think tho remedy lav in bringing others into the country who will do. it—canably, too. With an immigration policy that induces workers to come to the colony, particularly in the way of domestic help, one, at any rate, of our lalmur difficulties would vanish. No one cpuld afford to disdain to work then. \