Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1896. The Truck Act.

Manawatu Herald, 30 July 1896, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1896. The Truck Act.

The Truck Act 1891 is anything but a perfect! measure, and, as we pointed out at the time Parliament was considering it, the greatost objection consisted in it presupposing that evei'y employer of labour was dishonest and that the labourer could not be so. To unbiassed persons it was clear this was an erroneous view, as all are likely to err, both, the rich and the poor. In the full blast of the labour upheaval the ruling power feared to suggest, even in an Act of Parliament, that such a thing as a workman being dishonest was possible, and thorefore the Truck Act of 1891 was passed, and remains on the Statutes as a monument of the bias that existed in the colony in the year 1891 against those, who by industry, had acquired more than their less industrious neighbours. Clause 7of this Act recites that " no employer shall have or be entitled to maintain any aotion in any Court against any workman for or. in respect of any goods sold, delivered, or supplied to any such workman by any such employer whilst in his employment as or on account of his wages, or for or in respect of any goods sold, delivered, or supplied to such workman at any shop, store, house, or premises kept by or belonging to such employer, or in the profits of which such employer Bhall have any share or interest." We need not now repeat the very* many ways this clause works against the very best interest of the worker,- as another point has arises which deserves to be made as public as possible, so that the stain of bias thus marring our Acts may be wiped out. It cannot be contradicted, that, since the workers have grapsed the position this Act placed them in they have not failed to take advantage of ik Mr Fielder of Wellington, publiely advertised how he had been made to suffer in pocket, and in the Report of the Department of Labour we find the fol lowing paragraps : — " During the past year there have been two or three notorious cases in which rasoally workmen have been guilty of defrauding their employers by obtaining goods from the establishments in which they worked and then repudiating the debt on account of the provisions of the Act. . . . Both these cases were disgraceful prostitutions of the Truck Act." There was, quite lately, a case at Palmerston North in which an employee obtained goods from a firm and by pleading this Act, the firm were unable to recover the value of them. It appears now that one of the Liberal Party has had hi3 eyes opened to the unfairness of this Act and has taken steps to rectity the i evil, but owing to a personal disagreement between him and the Premier, is being opposed in every way in getting his amending Bill passed. We hold that Mr Pirani by introduo- 1 ing the Truck Act 1891 Amendment

Bill has done good service to his Party by giving them an opportunity to right a wrong and so in a way to apologise to the employers of the colony. • The Bill simply provides that the matter in respect of which any of the provisions of the Act has been contravened was a matter of mutual agreement between the employer and the workmen, without coercion of the employer, and for the benefit or advantage of the workman the Court may, if it think fit, give judgment in such proceeding according to equity and good conscience, without regard to the provisions of the Act. The Department of Labour "though acknowledging the disgraceful use this Act can be put to does not recommend this amendment, and the Minister will be found side by side with the Premier, opposing it, simply because Mr Pirani has introduced the Bill. To this pass has the law-making of the colony come to ; people may suffer because the Government dislikes suggestions from those who decline to be dumb tools in their hands. This is a matter very gravely affecting the welfare of the colony, and should be made a note of by every elector, more especially the welU disposed of the workers, whose good name suffers, whilst the law is retained as it is by a Government who never cease to pretend to have their best interests at heart.