MANGAHAO ELECTRIC SCHEME.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 7 March 1919, Page 4

MANGAHAO ELECTRIC SCHEME.

LABOtJIt DIFFICULTY. Sir William Fraser's remarks or the question of tire labour- difficulty ia comnertion with the Mangahao olcetrio scheme we.rc highly intejeatiug. He said tha,t he co'olA not understand those, who stated, that labpnr was- plentiful, It w"a,s riot to bo foun.d in a bun dancer-he '«waa sure of that. Wherever he had gone he had been impressed Avith' tlib shortage of labour. His own figure's, too, were evidence of that shortage. In the year 1913-14 the Public Works Department employed 46!>9 men, and the figures .for the next two years were 5574 and 5207. In the year 191(>-17 there was a greater re-. Auction—to 2832—and 1917-8 the number employed went down to 2232. This year the average was 2254, and included 150 Jugo-Slavs, who, by the way, had caused him a little trouble.. Anyhow, it would be. seen that the Department was about 3000 men short. It had been stated that the Department could secure more men if it paid higher wages. He supposed he could secure all the men he wanted if he was proi pared to pay £1 -per day, but it was not for him to compete with the primary industries for labour, and he was not going to .do that by paying enhanced rates. There were industries in iVew Zealand which were much more important than those controlled by him. It would not be good policy for him to compete with local bodies for labour, or fur local'bodies to compete with one another, for that would result in endless confusion. He reminded his audience that he had raised wages by 2s a

day since the Avar, and Is before that, until they now stood at 12s per day. Hi- believed in a uniform rate throughout Xew, Zealand, but fur special work lie was prepared to pay special wages. .As lie had slated in Auckland, he bfflieved that the secret of the solution of the labour difficulty in the Dominion was the inauguration of a comprehensive system of immigration. Xew Zealand had a population of one million, whereas it should have two, three, four, or even five millions. There was room for millions more, for New Zealand wa,s

a country with grt'at possibilities, the like of which were never fully realised. In answer to an interjection as to whether the contract system would be introduced in connection with the development of Mangahao, Sir William stated that his experience with contracts had not been a very happy one. He did not favour the contract plan, but he was open to conviction in other directions.