FARM LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2197, 9 July 1914, Page 8

FARM LABOUR.

THE THREATENED DEARTH,

POSITION REVIEWED

The serious dearth of farm labour which exists in the .Dominion was mentioned by .tlio Pi line Minister when he lccently addiesscd tho members of the Boa id of Agncultuie. 'I think we have reason to congratulate ourselves," he said, "upon what has taken place with regaul lo the iucieaso in cxnorts from tho diffeient parte cf New Zealand during tho last 'year or U'o. There is no doubt about that. Tho' only articles in conrcction with ■ which there has teen a lnlling-off have been cereals. Tlic'ro has been a fallmgoff thoro, and wo aie now face to faco with this'position: that it~is doubtful whether New Zealand in the futuio is toing.tb produce enough ceieals foi its own lequirements Ido not'evpect tho fanners of New Zealand to be philanthropists. 1 tiey iiiii theii business on commeicial lines, and if they cannot make wheat-grow iiig pay thsy are likely to go in for something else that will pay. If giowing wheat, barley, and oats is not going to pay as well as tho pioduction cf butter or cheese, or tlio raising of lambs for the English ot American markets, they will chop wheatr growing and'go" in for fattening lamb or for. dairying oporatioiis. That can | not be helped, and wo must accept it; still, I must say I think it will bo a sorry thing for this country, with all its fertile land and its energetic people, if it comes to depend on, say ; the Commonwealth'of Australia for its food requirements in the way of wheat and flour. Ido not know what can be done in this matter. Farnors have complained to mo.that they'are giving up wheatgrowing— v tho growing of cereals—in Otago and Southland, because they cannot get labour, and'l shall be glad to have a recommendation from tho Board l of Agricultuie upon this point I.know the- position is accentuated from tho fact that numbers of men employed in farming operations are able to. save - money, and after a few years' work they ■go into business for themselves. That is, of course, a, satisfactory state of tilings which ought to bs encouraged; but the difficulty is to replace those men, and 1 am of the opinion that they cannot be replaced by the natural increase so far as-this country is ccrccrned. If a sufficient supply of labour is to,bo obtained for our farming operations wo shall havo to look in other directions foi, what wo require. We have experienced a good deal of advert criticism 1 recently in connection witU t„g experiment* made; by the Immigration 'Department, wheq the High Commissioner was instructed, , to select a hundred boys from Britain' and Ireland to be sent out to this coun-, try. . Now, fromLwhao,! have heard and read a very satisfactory selection was made on that occasion. Nearly all those' boys-are .doing remarkably well, and are' likely to 'turn out -good farmers. , The,'.suggestion lias -been put "forward that'wo navo imported those boys'for of kwering-wages.' That is not' tho case at all.' We havo had nothing of the,sort in.view. They have been brought to. this country in first place to assist tho agricultural industry, and later, if they are sufficiently, industrious and energetic,, as I believe many of'them will be, they 'will go to increaso the number of pioducers in this country. Tho arrangement'' made in the case of the boys first brought out was that a farmer,who wanted a boy was required , to deposit £10 to go towards the payment ot tho passage money. , Then the boy; 'was to give a guarantee that lis would remain in such employment for at least one year. - Ho was to receive adequate remuneration'for'his services, not to be less than ,7s. 6d. a week, with board and lodging and clothing. I havo looked through tbe official reports of the Immigration Department and I notice with pleasuro that in almost every case tho manager or employer has' put tho wages up to 12s. 6d., 155., 17s. 6d., and in one case to £1 ss. a week. That fact shows at once the insistent demand there is for this class of immigrants, and it seems.to me tkat-wo can do more in that direction. However,, on this point I shall be glad "if the board will give tho Minister or the Department the benefit of their advice." Mr. J. G. Wilson (chaiiman of the board) said that he sure how they should regard the possibility that tlie" giowing scarcity of farm labour might make it impossible for the Dominion to produce enough" wheat to supply the local needs. '.'The Canterbury piovmce,".ho remarked, "contains tho chief wheat-growing land. Wheat is an oxhausting crop and a costly crop, and a good many ot tho farmers down there are turning their attention to something moro profitable and more certain. _ Canteibnry turns out the best lambs in tho wot Id, and if they turned! their attention to increasing' tho production of lambs I believe it would pay as well as wheat used to pay. I am not sure, then,' whether it would not pay us to import our wheat and turn our attention, so far as the wheat districts are concerned, to the fattening of lambs.. Thoso are ' the points that occurred to mo m addition to what the Minister-has referred to." ' .