The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1892.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4038, 15 February 1892, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1892.

The Factories Act may not bo sun* ablefor large towns, but in up-country towußhips it promises to be an unmitigated nuisance. Notices have j just been Bent to people in Mastoiton wlio employ three men or more to comply with the terms of the Act, or inour £lO penalties. The people here know little about the Act, and as the notice sent thorn does not specify tbo particular things which they are requested' to do, they arc somewhat puzzled, Looking to the Act they read about Boards and Inspectors who have to bo satisfied, but as they have not been notified of the existence of these new powers they are somewhat in the dark. To giye an instance of how the new Act works, we might cite the onae.of a Masterton resident who employs three hands, and for more than a dozen years the three have worked comfortably together .with their boss without complaint on either side, One of the throe takes his lunch daily to the premises at which he works, If, now, he continues this practice be is liable to a penalty of ten pounds for each meal which he consumes, unless his employer provides a dining-room for his accommodation, The Fac. tones Act will, doubtless, find employment for a number of followers of the Ministry who will get billets as Inspectors, and who will harass quiet country people with unnecessary lines, fees and penalties, Some slight deduction will have to be made from current wages in the country to meet the charges to whioh employers will be put to under this measure. The Act is supposed to bo for the sole benefit of tho workers, and (f jt cost an employer ten or twenty pounds a year, aiitj his profits will not afford the deduction, it wjU be only a fair thing for him to charge the sum he has to pay to his wages account. The working man demands Inspectors, require] Boards, and claims a Saturday half holiday. These things ho will get under the Factories Act, but he will have to pay for them either by working a little harder or being paid slightly lower wages. In sOme instances possjbly a master who is called upon tp bujkj a dining room for three men or some! other tomfoolery embodied in the Act will simply say. the game is not worth the candle, and will- Bbut up his shop and hand his workmen overl to the labour bureau,