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New Zealand Mail, Issue 310, 30 March 1878, Page 13

Working Men’s Clubs are becoming an institution in this country. Dunedin has had one in existence for several years, and we believe from every point of view it has been highly successful. The club established in Wellington some months ago bids fair to be a permanent success, and already it has made arrangements to procure much larger and more conveniently situated premises than those at present occupied. Everyone who takes an interest in the welfare of the working classes —the bulk of humanity —mustTbe pleased at the progress made. The club is one of those sociable institutions which do a world of good by afford-

ing a place other than the public-house where the working classes can enjoy themselves in a sober and intelligent manner. A good library is a necessary adjunct to such an institution, for mental improvement is one of the principal objects sought to be attained. Even in the smaller towns of the colony steps are being taken to establish Working Men’s Clubs, and we are pleased to notice that the townships of theWairarapa are determined not to be behindhand in affording recreation of an improving kind for the sons of toil. We trust that before long every town of any importance in the colony will succeed in having a club established. Though small communities in forming institutions of this kind labor under some disadvantage through limited population, yet in the country townships Working Men’s Clubs would relatively be productive of more good than in the large centres of population, for in the former in nine cases out of ten there are absolutely no places outside his own home, except the public-house, where a working man can enjoy himself after the labor of the day. A Working Men’s Club was opened at Auckland last week by his Excellency the Marquis of Normanby, in the presence of some five hundred people. One of the most pleasant features in connection with this movement is that what are termed the well-to-do classes are taking a warm interest in the matter. Amongst those present at the opening of the Auckland club there were, besides the Governor, Ministers of the Crown, clergymen, members of Parliament, a Judge of the Supreme Court, and many of the leading citizens of Auckland. We have not before us a description of the building, but as the Herald intovms us that the assembly room was callable of holding from 400 to 500 person, it will be easy to form an idea that the structure is of very considerable dimensions. The Governor made an excellent speech on the occasion of the opening. It was not one of those patronising speeches which are frequently addressed by men of high standing to those much their inferior in rank ; but it was a speech full of sound sense, and showed that the Marquis of Normanby possessed no mere hearsay knowledge of the industrial classes. His Excellency, after referring to the satisfaction with which he viewed the establishment of Working Men’s Clubs, stated that it had been his lot at different times to visit and reside in different countries, but he had no hesitation in saying that of all the countries “ he had visited and all the countries he had read of,” New Zealand was the one which held out the most promising hopes to working men. These words were honestly spoken, and there are few in the colony who have an intelligent knowledge of the various communities on the face of the globe, but will echo them. In rate of wages, permanency of employment, and cheapness of food, we are of opinion that there is no country in the world which offers such inducements to the working man as New Zealand. Again, his Excellency’s woi’ds will commend themselves to all who are hopeful of the fortune of this young country:— “It has a climate and a soil which can give a remunerative return to the agriculturist ; it can produce a stock of every kind, equal to any which is produced in other parts of the world. You have mineral resources which, great as we know they are, have as yet been barely prospected. I ought to say also that you have a large amount of waste lands, which it will take years to settle, and years still many to bring under cultivation. With these resources for your labor, you need be under little fear that the demand for the employment of your time and energies, and those of your children, shall diminish or cease. In this country wages are as high, if not higher, than in any other part of the world. You possess a constitution modelled upon the constitution of England, which most people will admit is the fairest and most liberal constitution in the world. You have unlimited control of your own resources. If the laws under which you live do not suit you, or are not found to be applicable to the condition of the country, you have full power to alter or amend them. You have here no real class differences or difficulties which could hinder or prevent the advancement of any laboring man.” His Excellency touched upon one subject which is of particular interest to working men, —skilled labor especially, — namely, the relations between labor and capital. Fortunately in this . country there has as yet been no serious evil wrought by the hostility of one class to another, but nevertheless it is quite possible that as we grow older, and as certain industries assume larger dimensions, there will be disagreements between the two great elements which go to build up a great and prosperous nation. New Zealand cannot hope to escape the presence of those employers who are regardless of everything but their own profit, or of agitators who for their own purposes will endeavor to create ill-will amongst the workmen towards their employers. Let us trust that in this colony the spread of enlightenment will prevent those strikes which have

been the cause of frightful misery both in England and America. His Excellency’s words on this subject are w r ell worth bearing in mind:— “ There is yet another point to which I would allude before I sit down, because I sincerely regret to see that in the mother country there appears to be considerable difficulty arising out of it. I refer to the relation between capital and labor. There is no doubt the laborer is justly entitled to a fair return for the labor he gives. Bnt it must always be remembered that capital and labor are bound inseparably together. They are, like the Siamese twins, united by a bond which, if cut, destroys the life of both. Capital cannot exist without labor—labor cannot exist without capital. I sincerely trust that those difficulties which have arisen in the mother country may soon pass away. Still there are dark clouds to be seen. We see industries in England, for which England has been long preeminent, now threatened with destruction, or perhaps passing off to other countries. Those strikes which are taking place in England have already almost destroyed some industries. God grant that they may not destroy all.” In this country we hope to build up many important industries, and it is earnestly to be desired that capital and labor will continue to exist on friendly terms, and that any efforts in the future to increase the sphere of their operations will not be stifled in their birth by those causes which have almost paralysed the industries of America, and which are nowcreating great depression in all branches of trade in the mother country.