CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 118, 26 August 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

WORKERS AND LOAFERS. | If you concede that a slight depression) affects the spirits of business men and: makes them visit their troubles on work-1 ing men, you pardon the business man,' because he will cheer up when "times are i better." Mr. Davil Goldie, president of I the Auckland Employers' Federation, lately made some pessimistic remarks I about industry in _ this Dominion, andj they were mainly' by way of showing' that the employer was not getting a "fair < deal" from the men toe employed. This,' however, ihas not handicapped Mr. Goldie' and many other employers from achiev- 1 ing competencies. Mr. Goldie mentioned j that employees were endeavoring to re- j strict the output in New Zealand, that men of grit add determination were told to "go slow" (by their comrades, and that a great many men did not give a fair day's 'work for a fair day's pay. We know very well that conditions between master and man in New Zealand are not perfect, and that there are loafers in every workshop or elsewhere, but not that "men of grit and determination" will cease having: these qualities because their mates tell them to. Any business man knows that aMlity and desire to work are part and parcel of many men and that no circumstances can deter them frdm doing their best. We do not believe that unionism can rob a man of grit or determination or skill, although the minimum wage theory and the preference to unionists lunacy try hard to do it. The idea of making it impossible for a skilled non-unionist to get a job, while an unskilled unionist may annex it, is revolting to a sense of fair-play. Mr. Goldie's notion that the Arbitration Act should be amended by way of classifying workers is wholly sound. There are not two men in any profession or trade whose capacities do not vary. It is as ridiculous to assert that the painter of '"potboilers" should get as much for one as a Royal Academician should get for this masterpiece, as to assert that every carpenter, or blacksmith, or plumber, or butcher should get the same wage as every other butcher, plumber, carpenter or blacksmith. On the principle of the minimum wage and preference to compelled unionists, there would be no specialists. If the principle were carried into wide use, no one would ever pull out of the ruck. We do not believe that the labor trouble ,is attributable to the mass of workers in New Zealand, or that there is an organised effort to do as little as possible. We believe that the loafer will loaf and the worker will work what ever happens, but the condition that gives the loafer the same wage as the worker is rotten to the core.

IN "BLAiCK AiND WHITE." A case of some interest to landlords and tenants was heard locally on Tuesday. No doubt every tenant perused it care-, fully. Many people (and every lawyer) will agree, that verbal agreements are very unsatisfactory. You will offend any man if 3'ou tell him that his word is riot his bond, but if every man's word were his bond there would be absolutely no need for legal agreements of any sort, the work of the Courts and the Bench would be reduced bo one-half, and certainly lawyers would not buy typewriters. Two friends may make a verbal agreement, and both at the time it is made may really and truly mean to ; keep it. But if there is a "consideration" in such an agreement, it often possible that circumstances may occur that alter the relations of the parties. If you get an agreement drawn iby a skilful lawyer, you will notice that it is apparently unnecessary verbose and t hat it provides for almost any contingency from destruction <by earthquake to the death of one or both parties. The lawyer knows by well established precedent that although in the flush of a good bargain both parties to it look upon black and white agreements as quite unnecessary that much of their work results from ultimate disagreements. The old saying that "the man who is -his own lawyer has a fool for his client" is probably true, and certainly the man who agrees on any commercial transaction for a monetary consideration is not doing himself justice if he does not insist on a document.' •Among primal people who have no system of caligraphy, verbal agreements are binding simply because the memory of all unlettered people is phenomenal, and their ways of dealing with a breach of agreement sudden and painful. Modern methods of transaction and trasfer are necessary, as people have lost their memories. The verbosity of a modern legal document—and an ancient one for that matter—is necessary, ibecause parties are likely to change their minds during the interval. If modern methods were absolutely above reproach and modern memories were quite good, there would 'be no necessity for ordinary receipts for payment of monies, 'but everyone knows that it is sometimes an excellent thing to show a creditor's signature when a demand for money paid arrives. The moral is that it is better to spend ten shillings (or more) for a Iblaclk and white agreement, drawn with all the flourish and circumstance found in any book of precedents, than to pay the costs of an ultimate I action against a dear friend. For it is amazing how frequently our dearest friends forget their affection where there are "considerations."