The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1890. MACHINERY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2105, 30 September 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1890. MACHINERY.

Thebe can be no doubt but the labor question is one of the most difficult questions to solve, the world has had yet to grapple with. .We learn from a telegram that there are on the way out from England six coal-cutting machines, each of which; will cut as much coal as ten men. That means of course that these six machines will throw sixty miners put of employment. According to a paragraph going through the papers at present a Sheffield man .alleges that owing to the .introduction of file-cutting machines the loss in wages to the work people of Sheffield in that one branch of' indastry;alone i8;£30,000 a year. It is stated also, that owing to the use of machinery for so many purposes on board ships the number of men employed in proportion to the tonnage is 150,000 less than it was in 1849, Even Agriculture it is reckoned that on ‘ the vast, wheatfields of America the annual product of one man’s labor is equivalent to the production of 5500 bushels of wheat. A year or two ago we gave an account of a steam plough which did as much work as 60 horses, later still we noticed a steam contrivance which cuts, threshes, cleans, and bags wheat all at once, and so on. Thus almost, machinery can be got to do everything, and as improvements are being continually made in them in the direction of labor-saving, it will soon come to pass that there will scarcely he anything at all for men to do. How then is the problem to be solved P Is half the world to look on starving while the other half is working, and a few amassing immense wealth f This cannot be. Some way must be found out .of the difficulty. The natural solution of the question is to shorten the hours of labor, hut not only are the capitalists opposed to this, but some of the laborers themselves appear to look upon it with disfavor. It w;as the subject for discussion at the recent conference of trades unionists in the old country, and we learn by cable that it has led to a great deal of trouble. It is very easy to undei stand the reason why. Many of the factories have to compete with continental houses where labor is cheaper and the hours are longer, To reduce the hours of labor under such circumstances would result in crippling the home industry, and throw many out of! employment. It is, however, no use shirking the question. Something must be done, and only two ways suggest themselves to us. The British Empire is extensive ; she produces within herself all that is necessary for the comfort and convenience of civilised life. Let the British Empire protect her industries from foreign competition, shorten the hours of labor till employment is found for all, fix the same rate of wages everywhere, and then establish freetrade between all parts of the Empire. This, however, will not be done. The more likely course is that as all the trades unions of Europe are combining together and regarding each other as brothers they will eventually force the capitalists to give way, and establish shorter hours everywhere: There can be no doubt but there will be a fearful struggle over this in the old countries, and we doubt very much whether it will be settled without bloodseed. At any rate we in this colony ought tjo pray eternally for a reduction in the hours of labor at Home. It would improve our position materially in many ways. It would raise the price of many things and enable us to compete more successfully is the English markets than we do at present.

‘ ELECTION - ''SCREAMS. ■ The Christchurch Press is at present screaming town against country. It seems to have lost all hope of any , Conservative members being returned for the towns, and it is screaming to the rural constituencies to save the colony from the danger of a change.of Government. Now what do the people in rural districts owe the present Government and the Tory party that they should put themselves about, to secure their return to power. In 1885 the Stout-Yogel Government brought in a Bill to exempt from taxation £3OOO worth of agricultural implements, end agricultural improvements, under that Bill the taxation of farmers would be made very much less, but it would involve the making of the taxation of the money-rings, large land-owners, etc., a great deal heavier. The Tory party, headed by Sir Harry Atkinson threw the measure out. Are farmers now going to vote for the party that heaps all the burden on and allows large estates to escape com pa ratify free If they do they deserve to groan ana un^er their burden. The Liberal partj always tried to shift the burden of taxation from the farmers to the monopolists, the Tory party has done the very opposite. Who are the farmers friends ? In 1889 the present Government brought in a Bill to exempt machinery from taxation, but though all other machines were mentioned in it not a word was said about farming marchinery. This is one of the reasons why farmers should vote in favor of the present Government.

Then what is the use of talking of the present Government, They are

absolutely useless. Not only is the brand of corruption deeply burned into all their actions, bat they have proved themselves incredibly incapable. From the beginning they have been a one man Ministry, and now the one man is sick. What is the use of voting in favor of a Government like them. They have driven a large portion of the population out of the colony, and if they were to return to power they would ruin us, A cry is raised about the unions, but we advise farmers to remember this. The unions question will be settled before long somehow, and we shall have to live in this colony for the next ; three years subject to whatever laws Parliament will make for us. We ought to consider this and not to be influenced by nonsensical cries and bogies of this kind. No one except a mad man would do anything to hurt farmers; it is to the farmers we all mast look, and consequently we all ought to combine to make them happy and prosperous.

VICTORIA. What a stubborn colony Victoria is to be sure. For years New Zealand Tories have been predicting the ruin of Victoria. She could not possibly get on they said because she adopted a policy of protecting her industries, but she does get on, and now we find her railways paying better than ever they did before. They have paid better even than they did m the year of the exhibition. Now, why is it that Victoria is so prosperous, and continues to grow more So every year? Simply because Victoria did long ago what we must do in this colony some day or other, She determined on legislating for the good of the people as a whole instead of for the money-rings.: Some ten or fifteen years ago she was the least prosperous of any of the colonies but a little insignificant small store-keeper succeeded in forging his way ahead in spite of many obstacles, till at last he reached the top of the tree and adopted a policy that has made Victoria prosperous. That store-keeper is now Sir Graham Berry, and represents the colony as Agent-General in London. We must do as Victoria has done. We must put down selfishness and encourage industry. The present is the time to begin, we are in the midst of a general election,, and we ought to return to Parliament men of wide sympathies, who will deal honestly with all classes, and treat everyone justly.