INDUSTRIAL POSITION IN ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1529, 27 August 1912, Page 4

INDUSTRIAL POSITION IN ENGLAND

VIEWS OF BISHOP AVEEILL. IBy Telegraph.—Bpeolal Correspondent.! Auckland, August 26. "Hopelessness is written on tho faces of tho people living in tho poor quarters of tho great cities in England. The workers arc struggling along without, hope of improving their hard conditions of work. There is a .great deal of poverty in tho big cities, industrial unrest prevails, and thousands of peoplo are leaving Great Britain. In fact, I think there is trouble waiting ahead for tho Old Country." Thus tho Anglican Bishop of Waiapu (Dr. Avcrill). summed up his impressions of Great Britain, ia conversation with a reporter. "Visits I,paid to different manufacturing centres revealed tho unsatisfactory conditions under which the women and men worked, and showed the absence of homo life amongst tho workers," said Bishop Averill. "Numbers of married women are employed in factories. Tho home and (he children are neglected, and consequently there is terrible mortality amongst young children. lam afraid there is not much chance of stopping this, but public opinion is against, it, and I think that before very long it will be stopped to some extent." He said that thousands of city dwellers appeared to be devoid of ambition, ond a general air of hopelessness surrounded them. Workers wcro employed for long hours for very small pajWn many industries the weekly wage was only equivalent to a day's pay in New Zealand. There was much suffering amongst women and children, poverty was frequently met with, and tho difference in tho physique of Englnjul's city children and tho poling folk of New Zealand was very marked. "I was struck by tho alisenco of young people in the villages in England,' remarked tho Bishop. "Life in tho villages appeared to be stagnant, and tho pleasant rural atmosphere,' which once surrounded tho villages, is not there now. The majority of the inhabitants were old people, tho young folks having gone away. _ In most cases they have gone to tho cities. I observed a growing disposition amongst young men not to become or to go in for any fixed trade, but preferring to take odd jobs. Now this will prort very detrimental to England, for appren- ' tices are dying out as it were, and consequently cnlv small numbers of framed artisans are entering the industrial world. Youths prefer to take up ono kind of work, (hen change to other employment, and so on, until oventuallv they swell the great army of unemployed. Tho result, of this changing employment is disastrous, and the disappearance n[ the apprentice is to bo deprecated. Then when one romomueitf (hat thousands of workers aro leaving Great Britain fer the colonies it is evident that (he ranks of tho workers aro being considerably weakened. Now, it is very geod for lis to see people coining nut fo New Zealand, for there is room here for a large increase in population, but most people overlook tho fact (hat while Canada, Australia, and Now Zealand are liononting by (his emigration, Great Britain in suffering. Frew what I havo see.n, I think thore is troublo ahead for tho Old Country."