THE PAINTERS.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 12, 20 October 1871, Page 3

THE PAINTERS.

To the Editor of THE THAMES GUARDIAN, Sir, —l am sorry to read a letter in your paper this morning signed “ A Tradesman living in Brown-street.” It appears to me that he states the house painters on this field charge exorbitant prices for their work. AVitli your permission I will state a few facts, and endeavour to show “Tradesman” is wrong in his assertions. I will add the prices of labour on this field, and also the rate of wages paid to tradesmen in England, and then let the public say if avc charge them unfairly for our work. In England a house painter and sign writer gets five to six shillings a day, of ten hours, for his woik. On this field we pay from ten to twelve shillings a day, of eight hours, for a journeyman house painter. You will now see it is we here who pay double wages for labour, and then add seventyfive per cent, charged on all our materials, and let “ Tradesman” show me how we get these large profits. It simply puts us on a footing with our fellow tradesmen in the old country. Brown-street says a sign writer here can make £5 to £G a day. I will now give him a chance of making a pile. I am-prepared to find him sign writers at twelve shillings a day if he can guarantee them constant employment, and any number of journeymen painters. Sir, in conclusion I will add that the painters of this field do not average more than seven mouths work out of the twelve, deducting all wet weather from their time; and if “ Tradesman” would begrudge us 10s a day, I must say I think very little of his liberality. “The labourer is woithy of his hire.”—l am.&c., Painter. - Grahamstown.