A BETTER LAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 88, 30 August 1912, Page 4

A BETTER LAND.

Tjie Wanganui Herald has been making comparisons between living conditions in New Zealand and in' England. it points out that wages are infinitely higher in New Zealand and other colonies; the cost of living, though greatly in excess of what it is in England, nevertheless does not nearly absorb the extra money gained; and employment is more regular in the colonies. In New Zealand, for instance, the general laborer gets from 8s to 10s per day as against 18s to 24s :per' week in Great Britain; carpenters here earn, from 10s to 12s per day—at Home 28s to 33s per week; blacksmiths, 9s to 10s per day here—at Home 28s to 32s per week; cabinetmakers, from 9s to 12s per day, as against 26s to 32s per week; painters and plumbers, from 8s 6d to lis 4d—at Home 25s to 37s 6d; bricklayers, plasterers and masons, 12s to 14s per day, compared with 25s to 40s in the Old Land; and in many other trades'and callings the same disproportion exists. As to the cost of living, beef is nearly double the price at Home that it is here—2d to 10d per lb fn New Zealand, 4d to Is 4d per lb at Home; mutton, 3d to 0y 3 d and 4d to'Bd; butter, lOd to Is 3d and Is to Is 4d; cheese, 7d to Is U and 6d to Is 3d; ham, 7d to lOd and o'/ 3 d to Is 2d; tea and sugar, about the same price; eggs are dearer in the Dominion, !>d to,ls 2d a dozen, at 'Home 6d to Is 6d; potatoes are also dearer here, Is 2d to Is Od per stone, at Home 7<l to Is; and, strange as it may seem, New Zealand rabbits can be bought cheaper at Home than in the Dominion, the prices being respectively Is 8d per pair here, an from Is at Home. Rent is very much cheaper in the Old Country, a four-roomed house ranging from Gs to 8s per week, as against 14s here; while coal can be purchased at from 12s (id'to Ms a ton at Home, as against 22s to 27s y 2 d in the Dominion. Clothes and boots are certainly dearer in New Zealand. For example, one would probably pay £1 more for a suit of clothes and 10s more for a pair of Doots. But suits and boots are occasional things. It is therefore obvious, concludes our; contemporary, that the New Zealand tradesman is in an infinitely better condition than his confrere in Britain, butit is not argued that New Zealand should open its arms to all and sundry. Tiie. immigration of. artisans while absolutely necessary for industrial development, as proved before the Cost of Living Commission, must necessarily be kept in hand, lest tho market be Hooded and unemployment created. In the "Britain, but it is not argued that New Zealand Government to educate the people in Great Britain up to the advantages offered, so that the more ambitious may escape from its narrow business confines and too densely populated areas and assist in the development of this rich and happy Dominion.