TRADE COMMISSION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1686, 28 February 1913, Page 6

TRADE COMMISSION.

DOMESTIC SERVANTS WANTED,

OUR LIMITED COAL RESOURCES. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Dunedin, February 27. 0 Tlio Dominions Royal Commission cons tinued its sittings in Dunedin to-day. Lady M'Lean and Mrs. Lindo Ferguson, appearing to givo evidence us to thedemand for domestic servants, presented a s written paper. It ran thus:—"Tho need for an increased supply of domestic servants in the Dominion has been very !■ marked for some years, aud is at present a exceedingly acuto. Tlw suggestion that g the shortage in domestic servants was duo to greater attraction of factory worka does not explain tho position, as the •t factories cannot obtain sufficient hands, -* fnd tlio difficulty is that there aro not sufficient women in rcho Dominion to 1 meet tho requirements of tho community, it llio results of immigration are to lessen a the stress, but tho numbers who eniit grated are totally inadequate to meet 15 tho demand. The shortago of domestic > servants is having a serious effect on tho 3 ['i ll 1 a ? 4 well-being of tlio women of L - tho Dominion, and it is recognised that l " it has a restraining effect on tho birth l * rate. Thero is a considerablo demand for ° fP eo !?'; s<xl servants, such as aro said to 11 be difficult to procure at Home, and ofti late years attempts havo been made to a secure this class of domestic by syndicates v S? rkm g 1,1 association with tlio British 11 Uomeiis Emigration Association. Tho results aro stated to havo beep vsry satisa factory in llawkoV Bay and Canterbury. 0 I? 11 , 1 ' syndicate has not been estabe listed long enough for us to • havo re- . material benefit, and our prospects - „ .doing so aro'not encouraging, as tho >, British Wonien|s Emigration Association dovote their energies mostly to 1 Canada, and do not see their way to ■0 6end us r tho number wo require. ' The r iP°T? f servant most widely useful in tho Dominion is tho cook-general, but ? there is a largo opening for country-bred d girls who would adapt themselves to country life. If it is impossible I'or us ■ to get trained servants, it may b-i pos- • siblo to organise a 6cheme whereby un- -- K 0 al «f£'i f l ' I l? rt '. r t 7' aiuod ' 6'rfs. should be fitted for duties here; if girls can be sent out between the ages of 15 to 19, and can havo six months' training -in , colonial ways, there would bo no. diffio °} llt y w finding work for them. (This , class of girl would probably remain in j 1 domestic servico for five' or six f years before .. marrying, and - thus n j.i '. Hie labour market than the importation of a similar n number of girls at tho ago of 25, who j pel naps would marry after two years' ser--0 vice. A schemo of this sort would inyoive the establishment of a ccntraltrain- [. ni «. institution for tho Dominion, from which girls would bo drafted out after 1 novitiate, to various centres. Tho 0 institution could lie made largely self-sup-i'ort!nß V laundry work. Supervision 0 ot girls alter leaving, could be delegated to sub-comnnttees in tho various 'centres. e J-f our Government saw its way to give increased facilities for nomination, it 'is n desirable that they should bo brought u prominently before the notice of settlers, there are throughout tho Dominion many Irish aiid Scotch settlers who should be able to influence tho class of country-bred girl eminently suited to adapt herself to the needs of the Dominion, . Each prootugo and Southland, Canterbury, u r-.stland, Nelson, and Marlborough in the. South Island, and Wellington, Hawke's 1 Plymouth, and Auckland in i the North Island could absorb, say,-dur-ing tho year 3000 women workers—soo to s each of the largo centres, say, at tho rate - ol 125 every ttiiico months.'' ;• In ■ answer jo _ questions, tho witnesses > said by "specialised servants" they meant a trained cooks, parlour maids, and bo'on. 3 J'ho wages obtainablo in New Zealand 3 would bo from 15s. to 20s. The Govern- 1 > ment should more freely advertise tho con- "■ cations of nominated immigration; tho • terms might be improved, so as to make New Zealand, as attractive as Australia. Considerable dissatisfaction was 'expressed with the arrangements on shipboard in regard to tho carrying of tlio girls. It would bo better if single* girls camo out separately, if not on a ship of their own, they should bo kept separate ■ from married people. Life on board had somo effect in unsettling girls for colonial > life. 1 Mrs. Mcnzies, who was the Mother , Country for over seven years arranging ; for women to come to New Zealand, also 3 gavo evidence, in the course of which she t said that more knowledge of New Zealand . should 1 bo diffused throughout the Home- . land. . . • ! • i The Coal Supply, : Professor Pt\rk volunteers, a statement s as to tho necessity for reserving coal areas, i not only in New Zealand, but also in [ Australia. This : question was of, vital • iiuportanco to the . defence of the Empire, , as a supply for the Navy, as steam must • continue for a time at least to bo the ) source of motive power for mon-of-war. I Tho popular idea that coal was'abundant l in New Zealand was a fallacy; it was i found in many places, but the total • amount was small. He' had personally 1 examined every coal-field in the Dominion, i and estimated that of brown coal wo liad 520 million tons, of pitch coal 306 million ; tons, and of' bituminous ooals (confined to : Westiport and Greymouth districts) 254 ■ million tons. Tho British output last . year was 270 million tons. There was ■ small chance of- big discoveries in tho I future. The amount of available coal • should be accurately ascertained, and in i ■each stato, certain reservations should i bo mado. Our coal was at presont being ■used with prodigal waste. We cannot re-, • produce coal, and waste was a serious ; matter, in view 'of the possible; require--1 ments by the Admiralty. Wasto in worki ing was inherent to industry, but waste. ; in New Zealand was enormous, equalling ■ .50 per cent. This could be, to some extent, i reduced. Mr. G. Joachim, managing director of the Westport Coal Company, submitted a quantity of information as to tho working of his company's mines. Tlio output was 020,000 tons per annum, they employed 920 men underground and 250 above, and the average output was 530 tonspcr ; annum per man; He thought New Zealand would lifvo to go more and more to Newcastle for coal. There were IG7 coalmines in the Dominion, but only 20 of these employed more than 20 men each, and ho knew of only four mines that woro paying dividends. This was owing to physical conditions and cost' ofi labour. Westport, hewers averaged Its. Od. to 17s. per shift. ■ • ■ Mr. Loudon read and expounded a remit from thci Chamber of Commerce, advocating the formation of a national reference development bureau, with headquarters in London, and branches in various parts of the .Empire. What tho chamber wanted was really an Empire Board of Trade; tlioy knew what the Imperial Instituto was doing. Mr. Walter Gow added that' the very size and scope of t.ho Imperial Instituto rendered it to some extent ineffective for purposes which tho chamber really had in view, namely, to extend our known commercial possibilities. The chairman remarked, in the oourso of discussion, that ho did not think they could ask tho Government to examine the facts and vouch for tho accuracy of ; company prospectuses. Farm Labour. II ugh Micliell (secretary of tho Otago : Provincial Council of tho Now Zealand i Farmers' Union) said that for years< tho ( Farmers' Union had been trying to copo i with tho shortago of farm labour, which c was becoming, moro acute cach year, i Consequently tho farmers woro compelled t to reduce tlio cropping areas nnd prose- 'J cuto a class of farming which could bo 1: dono with tho limited labour available, c 110 advocated the resumption of tho . schemo inaugurated l by Mr. Sedgewick c for bringing out boys from Britain for o farm work. This schemo had worked 1 satisfactorily, but the Government ivould n not allow anything moro to bo dono for 12 months until tho success of tlio iirst t experiment had been tested. Since that p period expired a chongo of Government n had taken place, and no further lads had i been 6ent from England. The union was S now asking for legislation, which it was c hoped would l reliovo in somo inoasuro tlio 6 shortage of farm labour. Ho thought lads should bq brought out and trained li for farm work. Numbers of immigrants I of the wrong sort camo to tho towns, e: English town boys had proved satisfactory p workers on tho land her* i