A LABOUR PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2496, 24 June 1915, Page 7

A LABOUR PROBLEM

FARM & TOWN WHY COUNTRY IS LOSING POPULATION BETTER CONDITIONS NEEDED (Special Reporter.) Palmerston N., Juno 23. Mr. W. Fisher (Carterton) presided at the National Dairy Conference yesterday. Mr. J. (ji. Harkness read a paper by Mr. W. D. Hunt, of Lnvercargill, a member of the Board of Agriculture, oil "Farmers and the Labour l'roblem. Mr. Hunt said he believed the point was generally admitted by almost every farmer who employed labour that the question of how best to meet the labour requirements of farmers was now' a problem requiring the attention of those interested. He had had to meet it already 'himself as the head of a company doing business with fanners, ■ and being continually asked to employ labour for them. For some years t'ho question had steadily been becoming more pressing, and it must be solved if the agricultural and pastoral interests of the Dominion were to progress as they should. The Balance of Population. A proper balance between town and country population was not being maintained. With the breaking up ot large station holdings the last twentyfive years had been a period of great prosperity for country dwellers, while, also conditions of life in the country liiid improved. Roads were better, railway communication had improved, and besides all this the advent, first of the bicycle whi<ih, 25 years ago, was practically unknown in the country, and then the motor-car and motor-cycle, had made an enormous difference to country dwellers. With all this spread of settlement and improving conditions one would expect to see an increasing tendency among the people towards country pursuits, but the movement was entirely the other way. At the census of 1891, out of every hundred people living Li the Dominion, 57 resided in the country and 43 in the towns. At t'ho census of 1911 the proportions were -19.V iu the country and 50J- in the towns. If a census were taken again to-day it would almost certainly bo found that the proportions would not be less than 51 in the towns to not more than 49 in the country. Since 1891 wo had added 291,836 people to our town population and only 182,902 to the country. In other words, to get back to the 1891 proportion we had to move no fewer than 88,047 people out of the towns, and place them in the country.

Seeking a Reason. What was the reason of this state of affairs ! J Was it that in spite of tlio prosperity in the country the towns were more prosperous still? Sir. limit did not think so. The average country dweller was more prosperous than tlio average town dweller., Among tlio farmers there was an ever vnsatislicd demand for ; tale and few-lie labour. Many farmers aad had to chn..?,e their methods of farming because ihcy could not get the necessary laoou*. in tl;e towns there was an over supply (r unskilled and casual labour, audi it vas the intermittent nature of employment that was often a plea by labour leaders for higher wages awards. Often when there was unemployment in the cities the country districts were starving fcr labour. It- was necessary in the interests of the Dominion that a remedy be found. Children were being brought up in the towns, They are brought up with a knowledge of the pleasures of the town without any knowledge of l!ie pleasures of t'ie country. When e.r turn comes to sees emplovment, r'-ev will prefer to yet it in (V • surroundings to which they uave been accustomoa in their youth. They would find, when they come to get into the country, that in all country matters the countrybred person seemed to understand a>. if b,v instinct things they know nothing of, and that in such matters tliuv h;i</ to take second |>!acs with country- 1 red people. Thev did not like tnis aim returned to the surroundings to which they had been accustomed, even though it meant casual employment. Catering for Married Couples. "I am quite satisfied that the cause of the whole trouble," said Mr. Hunt, "is the entire absence of accommodation ior married employees 011 the great majority of our farms. (Applause.) There is a demand 011 farms fur marrie 1 couples, where liio husband will work on the farm and die wife 100k, but most pftcn this demand is eoup'ed with a condition that 'here 11111.-1 nut be any «n----sumbrances, i.e., there must be no children. What I mean by accommodation for married employees is cottages in which married employees can live and where the •vifc i.as nothing to d'j but attend to her houso and children. The result of '.his wi.it <r. acri nimodaticii is that the .vor.ige smgio fhrm employee, if he ivishes to gel married, cannot see vnicli prospect of d'i:i,j . : o if he remains a far:n empi yee. 'I I is man and his w.fe and lamil;. ate t1.113 j-.-s-li to the o.Ki'tr} and liM-rnm permanently added 10 the ihiiks of tov. n dwellers. Proba'ily tl,«,- would have preferred to have roi.iai'ied in the rv.iiMry, but their ■ lilv .-tance of (!< nig 1 hitl dor present oi-ni'ii; 111s '*'< nil !io -o nut. off their marriage until tho man had saved sufficient money lo acquire a bit of la 11 '1 and start fanning in a small iv.i.y 011 his otui account. " an early ma'rriago is desired., the drift, to the towns, is necessary in order u> gei aclommodation." Mr. Hunt on to. Baj that qj

good three-roomed cottage could be erected for £200 to £250, and a fourroomer for, say, £300. The money could easily be arranged for. It would not all be additional outlay because the farmer at present had to accommodate his single employees. Including a fair rent for tlio cottage tlio cost to the farmer of the married employee would not be greater than that of a single employee. Mr. Hunt proceeded- to supply illustrations from experiences of what he had stated. Farmers who 'had tried the experiment of erecting cottages had found the experiment pay them very well indeed, and were continuing and extending the scheme. A continual supply of labour was assured all tho year round. Having married employees enable the farmer's wife, often very much over-worked, to obtain assistance and relief, and tlio children of the employees were brought up in rural surroundings and grow to love the country. The nature of their environment jjilso gavo them a superior physique and more vigorous mental equipment. It was said that amongst t'he married men of Wall Street, Now York, 75 . per cent were oountry-brcd boys. What the Conference Thought. Tlio experience of the company with ivhich ho was connected was that the country-bred boys went further than the average city-bred boy, and that a larger proportion rose to responsible positions. They seemed to have tho qualities necessary "to got there." Some people said &e Government should assist, but Mr. Hunt rather, thought tho farmers could supply the remedy themselves. Mr. J. Marx_ (Mankatoki) said that the accommodation question was a verv real one, and the lack of proper conditions was a weak spot in the rural system. He had found tho cottagos idea work out excellently. Even iif a farmer could not put up those oottapjes by any other means, he might do without a motor-car awhile, and thus permit his finances to bear the expense of the dwellings. (Applause.) Mr. Ross considered that country wages compared ill with town wages, and whether the farmers liked it or not tliey would have to improve the pay of the farm labourer. Mr. Moss (Eketahuna) said that education facilities must he improved before people would remain in the country when their children were of school age. On the subject of farm wages, ho disagreed with Mr. Ross. Ho thought one trouble was that politicians favoured tho place where most votes lay—tho towns —and tho farmers must pull together against' that. The chairman (Mr. Fisher) deemed it a disgrace to the farming community that_in almost all advertisements for married couples for farms "no encumbrance" should bo stipulated. (Hear, hear.) The conference passed Mr. Hunt a voto of thanks for. his paper..

WELLINGTON RUGBY UNION MATCH AGAINST TAIUNAKI. Air. D. D. Weir presided at last night's mooting of the Wellington l'ugby Union's Executive ,and there were also present: Messrs. JO. Little. A. 15. Wilson, H. Buck, G. Howe, W. Donovan, A .Griffiths, G. Luoni, and Lieutenant Christopher. Gifts of footballs were approved for tho public schools at Johnsonville and Tavva Flat. In connection witli the Melrose Football Club's suggestion that tho Union should take over the club's gymnasium liability, it was resolved to advise the club that tho union could take 110 action in the matter, but to urge that an effort be made to retain the property as the position of sport might show a marked improvement after the nexttwelve months. lu reply to the Taranaki Union, it was decided to wire that it would be impossible for' a Trelitham team to visit Hawera next week, Arrangements will be made, however, for a Wellington representative team to play at Hawera 011 the opeuing day of the show (June 30). The proceeds of the match are being devoted to tlie Patriotic Funds. Se- ; lection of the team will bo made on Saturday next. At tlie request of the Petone Football Club the Oriental-Petone fixture set down for decision' at Petone next Saturday was postponed until a date to be fiyed. The "Dally M" Football and Hockey Boot, vsry light, with patent steel spring; black __and white chrome. Price, 16s. (id. and 17fi. Gd. Laws and Manning, holders Patent Rights for N.Z., Wellngton.—Advt.