Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1894. Too Much Caution.

Manawatu Herald, 8 May 1894, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1894. Too Much Caution.

•■— — -** — -=-— The Government wifch the desire to secure labour payment of its Wages has managed afc the same time to cripple men wifch small means from undertaking contracts. In one Act lit is made .imperative fchat, unless special arrangements are made fco fche contrary,. labour musfc be paid at the end of each week ih cash, or open cheque, under the liability of a •heavy penalty. In the' Contractors' and Workmen's Lien Act 18£I2 ifc is imperative thafc the contractor or sub -contractor should be a man of means, as it is- expressly stipulated that the lien of a workman in respect of one contract does not exceed thirty days' earnings. If fche Acfc is considered afc all ifc is a direction to the workmen fco give their employers no longer credit than the thirty days mentioned as they.can get no security against them for a larger amount* An employer is mercifully; permitted to advance fco the contractor during the progress of the work payments up to three fourths of the contract sum, always provided no official notice of a claim under this Acfc has been lodged. The contractor with a small amounfc of capital would be able to work fairly well up fco fchis point, if he put his own labour aside, but after fchafc, without money he is lost, as the balance due on his contract must nofc be paid fco him " until the expiration of thirfcy-one days after the completion of the work." Contractors are not generally sp successful as to make twentyfive per cent profit on a job, and ifc can be seen at a glance how inconvenient such a stipulation is to the small contractor. No employer is likely to run the risk of paying up for any contract until fche time mentioned by the Act has expired, as " in^defaulfc of such j-efcention he shall, '■ I subject fco. the provisions herein contained, be personally liable to pay to the claimant the amount of his claim, not exceeding the amount Ke should have retained, in the same manner and to the same extent as if tho claimant had been employed by hiui personally,''; If the contract is for bush felling or ofcher work on land innumerable cases can easily be conceived where the. workmen, would be desirous of leaving at "once. The contractor has therefore to finance the one-fourth value of the contract for afc anyrafce fchirfcy-one days. And all this is enacted under the idea that a labourer is unable to take care of himself. The Act instead of assisting him -is doing the reverse, as it bouys him up with a false feeling of security as to the matter bf a lietipt'rtere'by ' "prompting" him to give credit- for Jiis labour, -and by imposing such restrictions on his employers requires them to find more capital th^n to mkii^'it^is'poyEitble* to find. To show how far-fetched the Act is we may ■'■ mention that the Whole paraphernalia, :is ; in - force should one . owner ' employ one . "man as a contractor and! he y. employs one, man. The question of wages seems to be similar to that of trade in the matter of credit, and that a simple' law that every Workma l, b: m-fisV^be paid weekly in cash, and ■ beyond which he could nofc recover by law,' would more .; .;■■ satisfactorily "secure labour ifcs wages than the'-three ' Acts passed the lasfc three years.