FARM LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1652, 20 January 1913, Page 10

FARM LABOUR.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. , the ciroular issued by the New Zealand, Fanners' Union, asking, on behalf of 'the Government, for some particulars from farmers as to their labour requirements, Mr. Lambie, of the Taranaki Farmers' Union, remarked that this question was ono of .tile most important, that could be discussed,; as it affected the welfare; of tho whole Dominion, There was only a little over a million people in the. Dominion, but how many of that number were actually producers ho could not say, but probably not more than 250,000, omitting women and children, and those people who hang about tho streets doing nothing. How theso people who did not work made a living ho did not know. If the. population had increased in proportion to the country's indebtedness he would say 'that .the Dominion would bo in, a good position, but the population had not grown with the indebtedness of the country. The producers doing their very . utmost to keep the Dominion, but unless'the Dominion'could inoreaso'its' production, , then it wa3 going to have a very rough time. ' -Lately there had been good prices'for the exports, and it was the exports .which wero keeping the country going; bit'' tho, farmers had to depend upon the products exjx>rted to' pay their interest. The population should be doubled, not with lunatics, criminals, and other undesirables; butwith .workers. . . Every ' good worker was worth J!2oo'to tho Dominion, and if.: Mr. ; Sedgwick's scheme , had been given more encouragement by the late Government tho Dominion would have had more than ono batch of young workers out from England. Most of; tho farmers wero employing as little labour as possible, and getting tho best labour-saving - appliances. Why? Because they wero forced to, as tho necessary labour was not available. Had it not been for the introduction of tho milking machines ho would not like to say what tho position of the dairy industry, would have been in to-day. He did'not think a million more workers would do tho country any harm, but would do good-if they cawo here. Ho had been reading that in England farm labourers were receiving 12s. and lis. a week, and they could do better here. They would have a good country to live in. Ho hoped that the executive would be' ablo to assist tho Government in promoting a better system of immigration of suitable workers to tho Dominion. No doubt tho executive would huvo thn unions on top of it, but he did not care if not a singlo tailor or a bootmaker came out to the Dominion; ho only wanted to see producers brought to tho country.