Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1895. WORK AND WAGES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5041, 3 June 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1895. WORK AND WAGES.

Wb take n keen interest in the question of work and wages at the present j: time, because we are aware that I there are manymeiiiuthocommunity . suffering from the want of them, and we would gladly help to discover some remedy for the difficulty and suffering which undoubtedly exists. To begin with, there appears to prevail amongst the unemployed strange misconceptions as to work and wages, which prevent them facing the difficulty witlnvliicli the} have to contend. One day last weel we overheard two men discussing tin work and wages question. The firs said: " I consider fifteen shillings j week and tucker pretty good," am the second—evidently a stauncl liberal-replied: " every man in th country nrnjlil to have two notes: week and his tucker." This wil seem to many a ridiculous claim ti make, but theie are evidently men ii the community who have been pci suaded that they have a right t much more for their labour than the; are getting, or are likely ever to get Men declare they ought to have s much for their labour, meaning tha it is necessary for them to have ; certain amount; that.an obligatio: exists for them to he supplied wif] it. It is tantamount to claiming i as a right, and wo very much wisl those who are in the habit o advancing such claims, would giv some valid reasons in support o them. The Government has mad itself extremely popular by advo eating and endeavouring tomaintaii a high standard of wages in th Colony, and no doubt tUe tvorkinj man considers that a working man' Government is all-powerful in such; matter, and the working man' Government has tried to justify th confidence of their supporters, b various expedients in the diroetioi of keeping up a high rate of wages such as shortening hours of laboui keeping outside competitors fron entering the local labour market preventing even children from com noting against their parents ii the labour market, and givini highly paid'employment on publi works to all who cannot obtain worl privately. And yet with all tlies checks to prevent wages falling they are goingsteadily down; indeed each one of them has tended to in crease the difficulty it was designei to relieve. The latest suggestio: comes from the Knights of Laboui who ask as a further remedy tha the Government reduce (ihe sakvie

of all their employes which exceed two hundred a year. The Liberal policy seems to be to raise up the price paid for unskilled labour, and to reduce the sum paid for skilled labour till both comes to a common level. It would be easy to show that any country which attempted to bring about an equality of this kindwoald rapidly become impoverished and bankrupt, and it is true in New Zealand that the levelling efforts of the present Ministry have been attended with absolute loss and misfortune to the unskilled labourer. It is sad, that any mar, in the community should think that he lias any right oi' privilego to enjoy any particular standard of wages. His right is to sell bis labour for what it will fetch in the district where he lives, or to go to some other district or country, if by so (loiiiTf, he can dispose of it' to better advantage, We believe every man in the community can sell his labour at somo price or other, and that if it remains unsold, it is because he puts too high a price upon it. Last winter we came across a man who had a difficulty in obtaining profitable employment. What did he do ? He took work at half-a-crown a day, lived fairly well on the half-crown and was never idle a single day. This winter he is making good wages and has more work than be can do because a man who instead of standing about waiting for big wages, takes anything he can get soon gets on in this colony. People always help a man whom they find to be helping himself. If the unemployed would only rely upon themselves, abandon the false hope of becoming rich by Government help, live on half-a-crown a day, and earn it they would soon make headway.