CHAPTER XII. LABOUR, AND THE COST OF LIVING.
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CHAPTER XII.
LABOUR, AND THE COST OF LIVING.
THE labourer and the artisan are always welcome and well remunerated in the Colonies; and nowhere more so than in Otago, which may be said to be a colony of workers. For every man and woman, able and willing to work, there is ample remuneration and good pay. The practice of the homely virtues of industry and frugality results in an ever-progressing and upward motion, whereby servants soon become masters, and, in their turn, employ those who will themselves hereafter be employers. Hence the demand for labour is unceasing, and never completely satisfied. A ship-load of immigrants is absorbed in a few days, and the cry is still for more. The following extracts from the last Report (1868) of the
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Immigration Agent at Dunedin will be found to corroborate these remarks:--
"Notwithstanding the additions made to farm-servants during the year, the demand is in excess of the supply. The immigrants who arrived per ship 'Viola' on the 12th March were readily engaged at a slight increase of wages, though harvest operations were far advanced before their arrival. The rate of wages now ruling is from. £55 to. £60 per annum, with board and lodging.
"The scarcity of domestic servants (female) is a matter of general complaint throughout the Province. The rate of wages at present ruling is from. £35 to. £40; and so long as the demand so much exceeds the supply, no reduction in the wages can be looked for. Notwithstanding the efforts used by the British agent, and the liberal inducements offered, the supply continues to be comparatively small. About one hundred per month, during six month of the year, might be introduced with safety."
At the present time, ordinary laborers are paid from 7s to 8s per day of eight hours, and miners, from. £3 10s to £4 per week. Those who may be interested in learning the exact rates of wages paid in particular trades and callings will find full information on the subject in Appendix E. The sources whence that information has been derived are altogether unimpeachable; and in no case have the statements of a single firm or individual been accepted without comparison with those of others in the same line of business.
All the necessaries, and many of the comforts of life, are procurable at moderate rates. In Appendix F. will be found a table giving the current rates charged throughout the year for the principal articles of diet. Board and lodging can be obtained on reasonable terms, both in Dunedin and in all parts of the interior, varying, of course, with the nature of the accommodation, from £1 to £2 per week. Substantial meals are charged one shilling and upwards, and beds are the same price.
Clothing of all kinds can be purchased at an advance on home rates. Perhaps this item, together with furniture and house
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rent are those which exhibit the greatest relative disproportion, as compared with prices in Britain. But it must be remembered that the cost of labor is much higher, and that money for investment is worth more than at home--10 and 12 per cent, being easily obtainable for loans upon good landed security.
