AFTER FORTY YEARS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 156, 19 November 1912, Page 2

AFTER FORTY YEARS.

A NEW ZEALANDISR IN ENGLAND. PARM LABOR. Christehurch, November 14. ! Mr. John Wolf, a well-known resident of Lincoln and a prominent member of the local bodies in that district, has returned to New Zealand after a visit to the Homeland. Relating his experiences to a representative of the Press, Mr. Wolf said he had visited his native village in Warwickshire, which he had left forty years before. It was quite a difficult job to get decent butter, eggs and milk in the country- for the big centres absorbed it all. "When I left the village," ho went on to say, •"butter was 9(1 per lb, and eggs Gd per dozen or less; but at my last visit butter was Is 3d per lb, and veryf inferior at that, and eggs almost unobtainable. While at Home I took the opportunity of giving a few lectures on New Zealand, and these talks scejned to be highly appreciated. I touched upon the frozen meat and dairying industries, described the methods of farming and stock-raising here, and also told, them all about the labor laws and labor matters generally. I found that the most comical ignorance prevailed about New Zealand, and most of the countrypeople had very hazy notions as to, whether it was a division of Australia or an island bv itself.

"From what I saw of the conditions ot farm labor in Warwickshire in saying that there are thousands of fine ablebodied and experienced men, married or single, who are read}- and willing and eager to come out "to New Zealand. j Many of them asked me how to get out I here, and I told them about the dovernj ment's assisted passages. I said they could get out here easily for £lO. 'Ten pounds!' they would exclaim; 'why we j haven't got 10s to get to London, much ) less £lo.' And this was a fact. Incredible as it seems to as in New Zealand, these men are living from hand-to-mouth all their lives, and they would be only too glad to emigrate if they <>rjt half a chance. I made some enquiries regarding the wages they were getting, and found that elderly men got 2s a day,' •the 'day' being from 6 a.n'7. to G p.m.! with an hour and a-half off for dinner. Young men were worth 2s fid, and in exceptional cases 3s per day, and. or course, had to find themselves. When I told them of the wages farmhands and , teamsters got here, and the hours, they would hardly believe me. I consider there is an almost inexhaustible supply of really good experienced farm labor available for New Zealand if funds are available to bring it out here, but it would be very important to have someone at Home to select the men who was thoroughly competent to do it. From what I saw of the emigrants on the ship I came back in, I judged that a large proportion of them were townsmen pure } and simple, and I doubt whether they are the class to do much good on the land."