Trade in Melbourne.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2862, 2 April 1888, Page 3

Trade in Melbourne.

The following extract lrom the letter of an ex-Dunedinite who has been in Melbourne for about five months, has boon handed to the Evening Star for publication" The tradesmen who are flocking over here from New Zealand should be warned that there arc thousands walking abcut the streets unable to get anything to do. I am certain that there will be great distress here in the coming winter; in fact, I have met several Dunedin tradesmen who are hard up and have to sleep in the public gardens at night, getting a bite of food as best they can. House rent is very dear-about double what it is in Dunedin, Wages rule as follow—Painters, Os a day; carpenters 7s to 8s; French polishers, 85s to 40s per week; cabinet-makers 7s to 8s a day; laborers Gs Gd to 7s; tinsmiths from 80s to 40s per week. Other trades are equally low at present. It takes a man all his time, with constant work, to live; in fact, the place is overdone. There are thousands here who came over with just enough money to pay their passages, and the consequence is that they, having families dependent on them, have to take any wage that is offered to them, else their families would starve. It is nothing short of robbing a working man to tell him tliat constant work is obtainable here, You are better off in Dunedin at as a day than here at 8?£ on account of the high rents, But if* people will come over they must take | the consequence, which is starvation.'/1