The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1890. THE SWEATING SYSTEM.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2011, 22 February 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1890. THE SWEATING SYSTEM.

Iheiie lias been a Royal Commission set up in England to inquire into the sweating system. Similar inquiries have frequently been made before without any good result. In this colony the Royal Commission on sweating is at present holding its sittings in Dunedin, and doubtless its report will be laid before the next session of Parliament. "We do not anticipate that any great results will come from it. We have not favored it from the beginning, and can onlyregard it as useless. The fact is that the whole country—and for that matter the whole world—is more or less addicted to sweating. The man who goes to a tailor, or a shoemaker, or any tradesman, and cuts him down in his prices, is a sweater. He sweats the tailor, and the tailor must sweat hia workmen. 'The man who lets a contract to the lowest tenderer, who i probably cannot make balf-a-crown a week at it, is a sweater, and so on. the honest fact is, we are all sweaters, more or less, and, if called upon to do j

o, we do not think that there is one anongst us in a position to throw the Irst stone. Sweating is incidental to lompetition. If people must have iheap goods, they must have cheap abor; and if one man lowers prices and vages, the man who is competing with lim must do so. If A. sells goods ive per cent, cheaper than 8., the greatest anti-sweater in the colony will buy from A., although he may have cut down the wages of his employes. It is, therefore, no use to rail at individuals because they get work done for them as,cheap as possible. That is the quintessence of competition, and the man who does not observe this rule will be left behind in the competition race. It is, therefore, the system that is wrong, and not the people. There can be no doubt but that there are some employers more unfeeling and unsympathetic than others. These take advantage of the necessities of their fellow-beings, and screw down wages beyond endurance. These are the worst type of sweaters, but they are only a degree worse than the general run of the people. So long, therefore, as existing conditions last there will be sweating. Law may in many instances mitigate the evil, but there will always be a large number of persons whom it will never reach. Law can regulate factories and places where there are many employed together, but it never can reach all. In all this, as gloomy as the outlook appears, we observe signs which lead us to hope for better times. Competitionisbeing carried to extreme at present; it is really de moralising every avenue of industry : the world is heartily sick of it, and, it we mistake not, it will not tolerate ii much longer. This indicates to us thdt we are approaching a change, bul doubtless we have a great deal to gc through before the alteration takes place. LEPROSY. The news that leprosy has broken oul at both ends of the colony simul taneously is certainly very serious Leprosy is a loathsome disease whicl has existed from time immemorial It is a debated question as to whethei it is cantagieus or hereditary, but ic the cases reported in this colony it is probably the latter. Some hold tba* it is both contagious and hereditary it would seem that though ac quainted with it from the earliest periods of history medical science it still at fault with regard to it. It it known that it is hardly ever curable and that neither climate, food, noi locality has any effect on it. Ii flourishes in the cold climate ol Norway as well as in tropica India, but for some reason ii is peculiar to some countries more than others. In Norway it h pretty well confined to a comparatively limited area by a high and thinly populated chain of mountains. Being thinly populated should therefore favor this colony, and though ihe matter is important we do not see any grounds for being alarmed. The two cases reported would denote that they are of a hereditary nature: one being a Chinaman and the other a Portuguese, In China and Portugal leprosy hat existed from the earliest times, and it is more than likely that those unfortunates who suffer from it in this colony have inherited it. The question as to whac will he done with the lepers is of course serious. The probabilities are that it is a contagious disease, and whatever medical authorities may say on the subject the fact that Father Damien contracted the malady seems to us to go a long way to prove it. It is also a recognised rule in every country to isolate persons afflicted with it, and of coarse similar precautions must be adopted here. We gather from the news received from Dunedin that the question of making some provision foi the St. Clair leper came before the Benevolent Society of that city, and that they referred the matter to the Board of Health. The leper is unattended, and the person who hitherto looked after him says he will die if not taken care of at once. Our charitable institutions are beeomino remarkable for their want of charity. Notwithstanding the pressing necessity of the case the Benevolent Society only played the game of sending the fool further. The Benevolent Society of Otago corresponds to the Charitable Aid Board of South Canterbury, and it is a remarkable fact that the charitable instincts of both bodies seem to be about equally developed. It appears to us that the administration of charity is about the greatest blot on our fair fame, and all because the men who are elected on these bodies set before themselves the task of “ saving the ratepayers’ money ” instead of dispensing charity. VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS. Time brings its revenges. The Auckland Herald was amongst Jvir Ballance’s bitterest of opponents three years ago,_ when he was almost impeached for settling people on the land. This is what the Herald says now J “Nono of the vifigo settlements were of keener or more unfavorable jriliemm than that of Hem Id no. The settlers wore rc-peatediy reported as atarvng, and tho who'e thing was looked upon ss a certain failure. It waa therefore ■ oub y gratifying so publish yosterdav the or our correspondent describing (he nativities with which they celebrated their h.rc uamversary. Plenty, in the snap. ■t refreshments, -«ema to nave marked ihe ocasioo, aud guests ware attracted or iivited iron; b!1 tho districts no greatest satisfaction was felt, and a I

confident hope expressed, Uni the next anniversary would find them making still more progress. ‘ Dmcing was kept up till daylight,’ and with blithe hearts the once commiserated so l lterh of ELcn-kino prepared for the labor* of the year to come. May it answer their highest expectations, and may they be able to show what Auckland can do for strong hands-and willing hearts, however small the capital which they have to back them.’'

These are the people whom Mr Ballanca swept from the streets of Auckland, These are the people who were not fit to be "put on the laud', and this is the settlement where there was nothing for them but to starve. They have not had the advantage of Mr Ballanee’s kindly care, arid Mr Richardson has done his best to render them unsuccessful; Tet in spite of Mr Richardson they are evidently prosperous and happy, 'When will the people of this colony realise the; difference between Conservatism rind : Liberalism P Only for Mr Balhtnce ■ these people would probably have been ■ living on charitable aid since, and the 1 settlement from which they now draw: their sustenance would have been ai barren, waste. WHO PAYS THE DUTY? The Toronto Q-lobe says that notwithstanding the protective duties put on, Chicago meat is being sold in Canada at the same price. as Canadian meat. A correspondent asks, Who j in that case pays the duty ? American meat cannot be taken into Canada without paying heavy duty, yet it pays the duty arid then competes with the local products/ Who in that case pays the duty ? This is j ust a question which Freetraders ought to study, as it would help them to see that high duties do not always mean dear goods, A fact which they might’consider in, connection with this matter is that it' is not the amount of the duty but thei local competition which -'.regulatest prices. Twelve years ago we had net" half the Customhouse duty to pay that we have at present, yet almost every article one wanted was nearly! double the price at which it can be bought at present. What has brought down _ prices ? Simply competition, and it will always do the same. People need not be afraid of protecting their own labor from competition with the result of the starvation wages paid in foreign countries. It will not make goods appreciably dearer, arid it will provide more work for the people^