The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1878.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 576, 7 March 1878, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1878.

It has come to our knowledge that certain of the rr.ilway ofiici-ds are lamentably underpaid. As mi instance of what wi assert, guards- receive !.'.» -Is. per month, and art- expected to work upon an average 12 hours per dicic.—which is considered their ordinary day".* work—and overtime, for which they arc paid nothing extra. We are unite slice to the wisdom of working our railways economically in order that they may he made to pay as nearly as pos.-ibl? the interest on the amount that has been expended in their construction : but this desideratum should not be accomplished at the expense of the underlines employed on our railways. Sixpence per hour is little enongh for an ! irresponsible boy. to say nothing of a; man who is considered to possess sutH-j cient intelligence to hold the responsible I position of a railway guard. There is j some one in the Rathvay Department—j we would like to mention his name—who' is decidedly a Jo.va.ii, and acts as a clog; on the whytii of iU machinery. The

last idea is a " Doomsday Book," in which each employe solemnly vows by his sign-manual to attend at all times, on Sundays or week days, to the beck and call of those in authority over him. In the event of a special train being expected, he most be in ati<n r •'<-••, probably two or three hours before its an iv->. ! : - d in the case of Oamaru, even b..ouiu r k • weather be inclement, it is considereu to be his duty to keep a strict watch, which can only be done effectually by pacing the platform whose roof is the heavens ; and this for sixpenee per hour. We write not only in the interest of the railway cmployfx, hut of the public ; for what may be reasonably expected to reside from such parsimony, but tin* retirement from the service of all useful, reliable men, and thf; employment of others of a very different stamp in their stead. Up to the present time we have been able to assert with truth that fewer accidents occur on our lines than on any other in the world : but if this systematic grinding-down. which is far too near]}- allied to the slavery that Britons abhor, is permitted to continue, we shall not much longer be able to boast of such an immunity from railway disaster. It is generally acknowledged that the position of guard on a railway is a responsible one, and that safety to human life frequently de- ■ pends upon the care with which lie performs the duties of his office, and yet 12 hours' labour a day and ; overtime in all weathers, with this weight of responsibility, is supposed t > be requited by the pittance of L!) 4s. per month, or about Gd. an hour. Britishers generally believe in a fair day's pay for • a fair day's work, and if more liberality i 3 not ext'-nded to rail'.v::y i,.-)phi>i,'.<. reliable men will doubtless be compelled to seek other employment, and their places will be filled by adventurers and inebriates.