TRDES AND LABOR COUNCIL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1797, 25 September 1884, Page 2

TRDES AND LABOR COUNCIL.

Yesterday morning a deputation from the Wellington Trades and Labor Council, consisting of Messrs Hendrey, Bradley, and G. H. Gordon (introduced by Mr Bradshaw, M.Ii.R,), waited upon the Premier for the purpose of ascertaining if several alterations the council had agreed to in the Workmen's Wages Bill and the Employment of Females Act, 1881, Amendment Bill could be introduced into the Bills during their passage through Parliament. From the remarks made by Messrs Hendrey and Gordon, it would appear that the Trades and Labor Council considered that clauses 13 and 14 of the Workmen's Wages Bill were opposed to the character of the Bill as set forth in tho title. The deputation urged that it was unfair to class persons who furnished material to contractors in the same category with workmen, and to give the former mentioned persons the same power to attach moneys in the contractor's hand as men who had claims for wages, The effect of this would be that merchants and others who had priority of claims would be able to step in and make their claims before the wages men, The deputation suggested an alteration in clause 3, so that working men who had claims for wages might make an ex parte declaration before a Magistrate, and obtain an attachment for moneys held by the employers. The Attorney-General thought that perhaps olause 7 might be amended, so as to prevent undue preference of claims, but the Bill in other respects would greatly benefit the working man, introducing as. it did the Scotch principle of "arrestment," The question of the amendment of the Employment of Females Act was next introduced by the deputation, the members of which considered that the inspection of factories should be more rigid, and urged that private houses where work was taken home should be registered, with a view to doing away with the system of "sweating." Mr Bradshaw thought that parents should prevent their girls from taking home work, Mr Stout remarked that the State could not be expected to step in and prevent girls from taking home work to finish. If the Trades and Labor.Council had been worth their salt they .would have done •more good than they appeared to have done, and would not run to the Government and .ask the State to do that which they should have done for themselves. On the subject of encouraging local industries, Mr Bradley suggested that the Government should call for tenders for the construction of locomotives of class J within the colony. The Premier promised to bring the matter before the Minister for Public Works, but pointed out that the chief difficulty the Government had to contend with in their endeavor to promote local industries was there being no large centre of population in New Zealand similar to Melbourne and other places. The deputation then retired.—N,Z. Times.