A LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS HIRE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2517, 30 January 1877, Page 2

A LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS HIRE.

(To the Editor o£ the, Evening Star.)

Sib,—My mind has been drawn to the above quotation by noticing nearly all the mines are to be let on"tribute,.and that if a man wants work (when there is any) he must get into a contract—the meaning of which is if a man wants to live, he must be a man of capital or have the substitute.; I will try to explain :—This field was let out in large blocks because it was said labor could do no good without capital; it was let to supposed capitalists who won't spend their money in proving the ground, and they say we will let the mine to laborers; these men have to keep the capitalists or the men who stand in their places. Thus reversing the above quotation under this system I want to know what a laborer is worth ; under the contract system before a man can get work he must put in a tender, in .many cases find a deposit, and in most contracts it is almost impossible for the contractor to tell whether the work can be done for the money, for in many cases the work cannot be seen, and however, skilful. a- man may be it is the same as buying a pig in a poke to put in. a contract; and what I want laboring men to consider is whether this system is to their advantage or not, in fact whether it is right or wrong. I have been of opinion that laboring men are taxed quite enough without being bound to find capital before they can get employment, and it is not only the laborers that suffer through this system, for it makes living so uncertain that the storekeepers suffer also.-—I am, &c, Pbo Bono Public.