CORRESPONDENCE

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4480, 26 July 1893, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE

(To ihb Editor W. D. Times,) Sir,—As a great deal has been aaid ■ lately in regard to tho state or the labour market, and knowing that i yojjr columns aro always open to fair i I should like < to say a little on that subject myself, i The lubour market is at the present i time unfortunately in a very conges- | ted stat", and the questions that pre- i sent themsolves to us aro: hit ' caused by depression existing in ' other colonies and tho consequent , influx of labour into our Colony, or 1 is it the effect of our Liberal legisla- ( tion? To fully discuss these two would occupy fur too much of valuable space, I think, howevor, that the present stale of affairs in in a great measure duo to the grout depression now existing in Australia, and also to the Bunk suspensions which have taken place t there recojitly, which liavo canned a groat number of laboreis to corao to J our Colony, But what inducement did they get to come here ? Was it the glowing accounts of the prosperity of our Colony that havo been sout across to Australia of late, or was it ' due to the advantages ofleicd to laborers 10 obtain work by suck institutions as the Labour Bureau ami the promise of the Government to find ' work for the unemployed if possible, Those are questions to which I loive ' to some better authority than myself to solve. But now that the labour ! • market is so terribly glutted, the ' question arises: How is it to be relieved? Willmichinstiiutiousastho Labour Bureau do it? Wilt the ] process of taxing landowners and | BjpsJMi'S to the hilt doit? No! for tho greater they are taxed for their hold- ( ings tho less labour they will em ploy. Will any form of taxation do ' it ? No. Then where are wi: to look j for the remedy? Would not tho , rapid settlement of the land help 'o do \ it? Would not such institutions «s I the Knights of Labour, which is to ' watch the interests of the labourer, j help to do it? Would not the aboli- t tion of the liquor traffic help to do it ? j • I think you will agree with me that they all would tend towards the solution of the difficulty, It is not the i squatter who is doing the damage, for t 1 know that they are feeding men by J the hundred at the present time, ( which is certainly a heavy tax upon t them, But I believe that the present I Government aro doing their hot for c the welfare of the whole colony, v though I do not agree with the co- 0 operative Bystem or the Labour t Bureau. The way they are settling « the land and giving the email capita- ' list and poor man achanco to procuro v a home is commendable in the highest i degree. The introduction of such ' Bills as the Arbitration and Conciliation Bills ore all intended to bring the labourer on more friendly terms with the capitalists, and to prevent 1 those strikes which have proved so disastrous throughoutthe Australasian colonies during the past few years, To say that the landowner is allowing his bush to stand and his fields to remain untilled, and thus helping to \ ■ glut tho labour market, is certainly ( ridiculous, when he is feeding the rwya. tho rood by the score, and • wniung under heavy taxation. I am, etc., David Sfbeat.