Sweating the Working Man

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 91, 30 January 1892, Page 3

Sweating the Working Man

The Taranaki Herald gives a few facts from the last census returns, which show the utter failure of the protective tariff which has fallen so heavily on the wage earner, with no corresponding benefit to him. Our contemporary finds that where there were formerly four chair and washboard factories employing 11 hands, there is now one factory employing three hands. There were 11 clothing factories employing 1269 hands, and producing £237,781 worth of goods. There are now 18 factories with 1290 hands, producing £166,579. There were 20 fruit preserving and jam factories with 216 hands and a produce valued at £32,292. There are now 19 factories with 117 hands, the produce being' worth " £27,255. There were 11 confectionary works with 110 hands, the produce being £17,130; there are now 12 factories with 53 hands, produce £17,248. The candle factories have added five hands in five years, and yet for this the whole population have to. pay perlb extra for their candles. For the years 1889 and 1890 the extra duty paid on imported candles amounted to an average of £2384 per annum. This is at the rate of £478 16s 8d each for those five hands, who, however, earn an average of only. £lo2 7s 3d. contemporary concludes by remarking " protection " is the policy of the present Government, but a policy which makes the poor man pay more for the necessaries of life cannot in all . conscience be called a 11 liberal " one.