DOMESTIC SERVANT PROBLEM.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8102, 23 March 1906, Page 7

DOMESTIC SERVANT PROBLEM.

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFER. A LONG FELT WANT. With reference to the cable message, published ou Monday morning stating that the High Commissioner was willing to give a thousand domestic servants reduced passages to New Zealand regardless of the capital qualification, a Christehurch reporter visited several registry offices to ascertain the state of the libour market in respect to domestics. He found that the supply of New Zealand girls for household purposes was inadequate to the demand which now prevails and has prevailed for some time past. Several of the persona seen gave their assurance that if the proposed shipment oame to hand the girls would be disposed of within a week. A glance at the books raised a doubt iu the reporter's mind as to whether one shipment would suffice, and one lady deolared that she could have found places for 50 girls that afternoon. "What do you think of the High Commissioner's proposals?" the reporter asked the proprietor of one registry office. "Well, if he would send me the thousand, provided they were good generals, I would guarantee tu find places in a week for everyone of them, bat I am afraid that they would be riffraff. There was a large demand for generals at the present time, and the supply of New Zealand girls was small. If the English girls were of good character there would not bo tne slightest difficulty in placing ttiem." Another registry office-keeper was of ODinion that the proposal would fill a long-felt want. There were not enough general servants to supply the demand, and as the exhibition approached the demand would increase. "In fact," she added, "several ladies in Christohuroh are contemplating holding a meeting to see if some combined effort cannot be made to obtain girla from Denmark, as servants, as there is such a scaroity of this class of labour, especially of generals." "Do you think it would affeot wages?" "Oh, no. not materially," she replied. "You see wages are high now, and they might decrease if a shipment like this came out; but not very much." A third lady stated that she could have guaranteed 50 plaoes thac afternoon. Generals were wanted at present, and they oould not be obtained. The last registry house-keeper* Been on the subject said that if the servants were healthy and of good character plenty of work oould be found for them. "Of course, the trouble would be if we get them out here they will not remain domestic servants. They will soon get tired and want to return home, or else enter upon thing else. Anottier thing, girls oan go from England to America for about £5 and work in one of the large hotels there and return to England for six months, having made enough to keep them during that time. Thus they could live alternately ,in America and England." i "Well, do you think it would be a benefit to the people of New Zealand to have them out nere?" "Yes," was the reply, "and we could find employment for them."

AN AUCKLAND OPINION. Interviewed at Auckland upon the aotion of the High Commissioner in accepting 200 navvies as emigrants for New Zealand at reduced passages and offering to send ont 1,000 domestic servants on the aame terms, Mr K. F. Way, a wellknown labour leader, admitted that there was a greater demand than supply in both oases. There was, however, he said, an" objection on the part of a number of navvies to these men being brought out, as they contended there are plenty of labourers to do all that is required. lhe way he looked at it was this: *as railway works in hand were stopped large numbers of men would be thrown out of work. Instead of going at this thing in a bombastin wny the matter ought to be carefully weighed beforehand so that injury would not be done to those being brought out and those already here. Speaking on the servant girl question, Mr Way said that mistresses themselves were to blame for the insufficient supply. They seemed to regard the girl as a sort of automatic machine, who could get up at daybreak, do housework, cook meals, nurse the baby, and do washing with a little bit of ironing thrown in and then retire to rest when all were slumbering. He did not say that this was the experience of every servant girl, but it was the fate of most of them. When one considers the fact that a New Zealand girl could work in a factory for eight hours and have a little enjoyment in life afterwards, it was not to be wondered at that she did not run into the arms of Mrs Newlyrioh in order to make herself a slave from daylight to dark. If those who deaired servants were more considerate towards them, and looked upon them as human beings, then the average girl who went to get her living would much prefer domestio duties. If they imported domestic servants those girls in a short ime would realise that they could enjoy much better conditions by selling their services for eight hours to manufacturers and others. The importation would not settle the difficulty. Where the real remedy lay was in the altered attitude of mistresses. There were soihe cases where a servant was condemned, almost like a prisoner, tc have her meals amidst the sordid surtoundings of pots and pans and kitohen tables, whilst the mistress was airing . her bad English before bdr jghefiid in the parldur. A good many the mistresses who growled about the failure to get servants had sprang from the same rank and their only conception how to 1 treat other servants was tc make their lives lis intolerable as possible.