Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1874.] MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1895. WORKING-MEN WRONGED.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5190, 25 November 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1874.] MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1895. WORKING-MEN WRONGED.

Tiik crudest episode in the preseu , it Mayoral election, is Mr Pownall' ij attack on certain working-men ii ), this town, which is published in ou advertising columns. It is one, i d we were a working-man, which ivi should bitterly resent; as it is, \\i have sufficient respect, sympath; , and honour for working-men, to n j least repel it with scorn and indigna tion. Mr Pownall, in his publishei programme, proposes to make ser vice on the Borough Works, ni ut annual tenancy; in other words, hi intends to dismiss from their employ mcut, the working-meu who now constitute the staff. Now, tin strong point of the present Borougl: administration, is the excellency ol " its staff. Tho men composing it on most industrious; they thoroughly ■•' understand their duties, and work well together. The best results art , being'obtained for a very moderate ' expenditure of money. We know from, our own observation that the , members of this staff are modol working men, diligent, trustworthy, " and intelligent. Some years ngo one of them worked in our own garden, and we never had better value for our money than when he served us. ' We wero at the time surprised'at the quantity of good work which he i put through in eight hours. But we have .heard other employers of labour—men who engage many "lia'iids,; and who are shrewd judges of Work- speak in the highest terms of tho members of the Borough stnff. Wo oven heard one,say, "Iwould - Ijke-togeVM'do'fbnebftlios'emen!'' We? put it "to the working men of , Mastorton, js.it'fair, is ft/generous wlipn working men 'are doing their diily ably and well, that they should be dismissed from their employment. What encouragement'is thero for labour, what hope is there for labour, if the confidence «!ld trust which should bo tho reward qf all Jionest effort jjs withdrawn. And this is Liberalism, the bastard Liberalism of meretpioipus politicians of tho Ppiynail stamp, who framplp under their feet the rights and just claims of tho working man. Why has Mr Pownall proposed this monstrous thing p Is it that some men in the community have been mean enough to ask him for the billets of theso honest workers, and for the sake of two or three paltry votes, he has committed himself to a course of conduct ■ which is almost beneath contempt? We hope tho working mop of Masterton will watch Mr Pownall's proceedings in this election, and not allow him to trample under bis feet the rights of any map in the. community, Jf Mr Pownall can show that the present members of the Borough are idle, unintelligent, or in any way "negligent of their duties, wewill withdraw all we have said on this score, and apologise for saying it, but if he can- [ not do this, we hold that his conduct j has been an outrage ou tho working ] men of Masterton, The plain on- ,

mistnkenble inferenca of Mr Pownail's proposal " the employment of corporation labour annually at a fixed rate" is that good men shall not have permanent employment, Now we hold that permanent employment is the natural, fair, and just reward of honest service, and' that any public man who assails it, is the enemy and detractor of all honest labour.