Our Wellington Letter

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 137, 13 May 1890, Page 2

Our Wellington Letter

(FBOM OV& OWS QOSRE6VOVDXST.) Wkllinoton, Mj»y ft, After several months of recriminftt ion between the Wellington Woollen; Coy and their employes, the struggle seems to be drawing to a close. Arbitrators, approved of by the contestants; have been 'appointed and it is now only necessary for both parties to agree to abide by the decisions of the arbitrators, when; they will set to work to sift to th« bottom the trouble that has caused this trial of strength between capital . and labour. As one watches the progress of the" cou teats that are just now taking place all over the World, between employer and employee, the fact is brought out very clearly that the day is not far distant when labour, united as it is becoming with the aid of Unions; will rule the whole universe, when capital will be compelled to surrender some of its illgotten gains; and the honeat and hard workang fneoh»n|o t and labourer, will receive their due reward, and thus be able to live contested 'happy lives: in place of the ground-down hahd-tV mouth struggle which is already becoming only too oommon even in' this« I bright colonyi '» v <. * v -..; : - : i.-.; ■■■:■*■ ■ There was great ' rejoioing, v and | mutual hand-Bhakidg in the vicinity of Ngabauranga when it became known that?tha Ooti* ot?App<9dl^laa^ decided that the eretjtion of tollgates on the Johnsonville and Ngahaurauga Toads, by the" Hu|tt County Qouncil, was illegal; and that all the' tall tal)t t , about haviug several well known people arrested for- M rioting,? ? was knocked to the four wuids v by the three noble and learned judges. The question that is now seeking an answer is "who are to pay the legal expenses, and ' labour • incurred in the erection, and re- erection of the gates ?" The policeman, too, wants to know who is to supply him with a iiew face^ 'in the place of the one reduced to .pulp during- the famous charge of Ngabauranga, echo answers who ? Whilst" passing through your sunny township some little time ago, my attention was drawn to the dangerous practice of allowing children to play on the stacks of timber near the Railway station, and the remembrance of that fact was brought back to my mmd vary yividiy,fa few days l>ac£t, I wiien so'tn.e children yw^i^e tmriisd 'beneath a lot of timber which had been stacked near one of the saw mills, pof Jiify, a^|lnr^rhipl*sevj4^ had been playing, one child was killed outright, and 'another severely injured!. In the large towns it is sometimes impossible to keep children- cooped up in a small unhealthy ya d, bu' in the country it it behoves every mother to keep the I children well within the paternal fence, .otherwise sorrow, such as 'has recently come to parents herei will be i heirs. What is this ?, Chinese labour for our .New! Zealand ? f -Ney|rj ! : it is only too true that, that is the de- ' sire of some men (save the mark) in this colony. The Sweating Coiamis sion has brought to light the- unwholesome fact that there are many of our f'Bllow creatures working from twelve to sixteen hours a day, for j miserable pittances ; verily the life of an auimal, sleep, eat, and wort from one years end to the other, and when theso unfortunates complain of their lot they are told by an anonymous writer^ (be may well bide his ugly head under a noin de plwne) that they should be exceedingly thankful; to receive, thenr 30s and £2 per: week to keep themselves, and their families on, and quotes for their instruction the disgraceful fact that; Gtrinan olerks, and others are now working in the Old Gauntry, 16 hours a day, for a salary juj?t about big enough to keep a good healthy flea upon. This noble writer, who no doubt has a kindly feeling for his fellow man, winds up his letter, which by the way, seems to have the taint of having been written in the bottomless pit, by warning the avaricious Englishman that he will yet have to give way to the Chinaman, who he believes will >o>n over-run the land, and drive all before him. The heart of every true Eaglishtnan replies^ never. [The letter referred to «ras a clever ironical writing.— Ed. As an indication of the progress of the frozen meat trade with the mother country, the Shaw Saville Company have ] ust laid on another large vessel, the " Matatua" of over 5000 tons register, whioh Bailed for London to-day with a full cargo.