DUNEDIN.
(From our own Correspondent.) The Dunedin bricklayers seem determined to make hay while the sunshines, having come to the conclusion that the standard wages shall he 15s. per day on and after Monday •next, with the proviso that their wages must be paid weekly. The advertisement annoucmg this determination ought to be made splendid capital of by our immigration commissioners, as doubtless it will. Placed before the eyes of homo mechanics, earning tit the outside, say, 305.. per week, it will have a peculiarly fascinating appearance, and properly handled, it should be the means of inducing a considerable influx of the tradesmen : in question before many months have passed. I should be sorry indoed to advocate the payment of a low rate of wages to any class of mechanics, but I am certainly of opinion that ibe amount asked by the bricklayers is much more than contractors would be justified in giving. The demand is a suicidal one, too, for at best such wages cannet possibly rule for very long. The knowledge that their fellows in Dunedin are so independently placed as to demand such excessive wages, will' surely have £he .effect of inducing bricklayers in the Australian colonies to come and share in the prosperity; and, with 'the flow of labor, wages, must of necessity become lower — no doubt considerably lower — thstn they were bofore the forced rise. It is a very hard matter, however, to make men see things in this light. In the present case the men know that their services are in great requisition, and consequently, acting up to the letter of the law of supply -amd demand, they_get all they can -for them. - • What might have l>«an aiivety /lamentable ■accident, 1 occurred on the, Stuart<|treet jetty this afternoon ; fortunately, however, it turned -doi only a temporarily unpleasant-one to. the, interested puttie*.-.. »A drayman had gone down the jetty with & jprecious freight
of six children, who. were enjoying the juvenile luxury of " a ride." He had proceeded about half way to the end of the jetty, and in turning round, he backed the horse, dray, and live freight right over into the bay. There was, of course, a great commotion ; but fortunately the tide was out, and the 'depth of water being only some two or three feet, none of the juveniles were drovraedEven, considering the state of the tide, the eßcapft was almost miraciubus, the dray having turned right over, in which position it lay with several of the children underneath it, until 'thtey were extracted by some men who promptly went to the rescue. It is needless to say that the youngsters presented a sorry spectacle when once more placed on terra firma, with their dripping garments, crying lustily, and hurrying to their homes, no doubt to receive a welcome not by any means calculated to have a soothing effect on their shaken nerves. The occurrence of similar accidents to this, every now and again, ce»tainly points to the necessity of some preventive being required. Somebody will get drowned one of these days, and then perhaps steps will be taken to prevent any future occurrence of the sort.
The proposed removal of the Boys' High School to the residence of fcha Rector, near the north-eastern portion of the Town Belt, does not seem to meet' with favor among those who take any interest in educational matters, The reason given for the change is the increased accommodation required for the High School girls under Mrs. Burn's charge. It is proposed to devote the whole of the present High School buildings to the latter. While .it is very gratifying that the High School for girls is evidently such a success, it is, I think, a pity that the boys should be transported from the buildings which .were specially built for them, and which, I certainly think, must be very much too large for the requirements of the girl's school. It seems ' to me that the proceedings can only be looked upon as a slight on the Rector of the High School. What the views of the Government »re a in'this matter I don't know, but if they mean by this action that they have lo*t faith in the present head master, they should say so, and effect a change — not leave the inference to be drawn, as it assuredly is, by their pusillanimous action. If the Rev. Mr. Simmons had not penned that unfortunate epistle in which he gave such umbrage to a few of our educational chiefs by characterising Presbyterianism as the driest, narrowest, and least humane of all religions, it seems to me that our High School would have been in a much more satisfactory state than it is, for he would doubtless have been amongst us yet. The Carandinis still continue to draw good houses at the Queen's. They seem to have an inexhaustible repertoire, every night witnessing an almost complete change of programme. Further opposition, however, has opened out at the Masonic Hall in the shape of "Bachcllers Colossean Pantascope" of a tour through America by the Trans-Continen-tal Railway. Judging from the lavish display of flaming posters, this latter must be something good. The City Council have decided to erect an arch at the Octagon on the occasion of the Governor's visit to Dunedin. An address of welcome is to be there presented to his Excellency, and the school children are to sing the National Anthem. Beyond this, in accordance with the expressed wishes of the Governor, there will be very little display ; alt hough this quiet wwarj r of doing things does not at all accord with Councillor Barnes's notions of what is right and proper. Most people, however, are very well pleased that his Excellency has put his veto on the flummery of long processions, innumerable addresses, &c., &c., which are usually indulged in on these occasioi s. Let there be a kind, hearty welcome accorded to Sir James Fergusson by all means, and all the better if there is a good enjoyable ball got up ; but it is high time that the usual nauseating columns of flattery and meaningless speeches were 'dispensed with.
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Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 312, 13 December 1873, Page 3
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1,025DUNEDIN. Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 312, 13 December 1873, Page 3
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