TESTIMONIAL TO MR BRADSHAW FOR HIS FACTORY BILL.

Evening Star, Issue 3333, 25 October 1873, Page 2

TESTIMONIAL TO MR BRADSHAW FOR HIS FACTORY BILL.

A presentation was made to day to Mr Bradshaw, M.H. R,, in recognition of bi s Factory Bill and the boon it conferred on ladies employed in factories, &c. The pre. sentation took the form of a candelabrum, &c., anil an address, and was made by the Mayor at the Council Chamber in the presence of a largo number of ladies ; a few of the sterner sex, who had got an inkling of what was going on, being present. His Woiisni!" said the ladies had deputed him to convey to Mr Bradshaw their thanks for reducing their hours of labor, so that they could enjoy themselves in a way they had not hitherto done. He hoped the Bill might be made to give the same freedom to the gentlemen as to the ladies, and that the day was not far distant when a Bill would be passed bringing the early-closing movement into force hero again. The Bill must have beep not only a source of great gratification to the ladies, but to their parents and sweethearts • (laughter); but lie had no doubt they would find more time now to enjoy tboiiisrlvca. While the ladies would always remember with the utipost gratitude Mr Bradshaw’s service in their behalf, he Imped their present would be a remembrance to that gentleman that he had been the means of giving them the Saturday afternoon holiday. Ho hoped the employers would give their assistance to the movement, and not act stingily, but give the full pay to which the girls and women were entitled. His Worship then read the following address : To Air James Bonn Bradshaw, M.H.B. Sir, We, tile undersigned young women employed in Dunedin in the making of articles of general use, bog to tender you our most sincere and grateful thanks for your exertions -happily crow ned with success- to secure for us and nil similarly situated with ourselves throughout the Colony, a diminution of the hours of work. Thanks to yon, sir, we are now no longer obliged to work for more than eight hours daily, while tin; Saturday half-holiday and several whole holidays during the year are also secured to us. We fool sure that those boons cannot fail to benefit not only ourselves but the community at large. Through your strenuous and well-directed exertions, moi cover, New Zealand has in this respect been enabled to set to the Mother Country and tin; ad jacent Colonies an example which, in the interest of humanity, wo hope Hi!,*y speedily bo followed there. Wo trust tlij.t you will kindly accept the acconqianyingcaiidekilii'am, in; it, and llowerstand, as a slight token of our gratitude to you for your chivalrous espousal of the cause of the Weak; and we hope that the sight of it may in the future in some measure reward you for your oH'orte on onr behalf, and encourage you to persevere in the noble work of endeavouring to benefit your fellow .creatures,

Wiih every good, wish for your happiness and welfare, « remain, sir, Mr Bradshaw sincerely thanked the ladies for their handsomp present. He was not in the habit of addressing ladies, and this was, perhaps, the first occasion on which he had been called upon to address ladies or any other persons for having done, what he considered to be a public duty. However, he thanked them sincerely, and hoped always to do bis very best in the direcUon in which his Hill went. M hen he introduced the Bill he did not expect that he would receive a testimonial like this; he simply expected the community would approve of the measure, and he considered that ample reward for a public man. He had received thanks in every direction in the town—from the hichest* to the lowest-for his Bill Ihe Legislature was also entitled to great thanks, because, had it not been that it was so unanimous, he ■would not have been able to have carried the Bill through this session. It was on the Order Paper for six or seven weeks, and it required careful watching during the whole of that time ; for had it slip .ed through Or a day, it could not have been brought on again. He felt convinced, from what he knew now, that if that had happened those interested in getting as much work as they could out of their employes would have endeavored to p otcct themselves next session, to th;t his task would have been much more difficult". Next year he intended to get the measure to boj'S in flax factories. H staled bis opinion that the Bill applied to even private persons who took in piece work, and so converted their houses into workrooms. The testimonial consists of a silver-plated piece, forming a candelabrum, flower stand, and fruit dish combined. It stands ah uit twenty-seven inches high, and is of a tasteful dedgn. At the base are three gilt dragons rampant; nearer the top of the stem branch out three candle holders, suspended from each being a glass cup for flowers ; while the summit is a handsome glass dish for fruit. The address, which is handsomely illuminated, is the work of Mr George, cngraver ; the candelabrum, &c M obtained from Mr Hislop, jeweller, Princes street.