The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 1909. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2442, 5 March 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, MARCH 3,1909. DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

That section of the . community which is interested in the servant girl problem will be well advised to peruse the full report, which appears in this issue, of a meeting held in Christchurch on Thursday l.iftt. On that occasion there xvas a largo attendance of ladies; and as they freely A r oiced their opinions, the matter avhs A'ery capably and thoroughly discussed. AA hen the subject had been Avell Arentilated, a motion Avas carried by the meeting asking the GoA’ernment to provide some relief to those who suffer from the present dearth of domestic labor, by granting better emigration facilities from Great Britain. Sir Joseph AVard has since expressed himself against the granting of free passages to domestics, but av& fail to seo Avhy lie should object. The need is a very real 1 one,, fer, as Ave pointed out when last dealing xvitli this question, the 'impossibility of securing female assistance in the country is making the position of many women Avliose homes nro remote from town something equivalent to slavery. If the Government is prepared to recognise .the urgency of the. position by granting a State subsidy in the shape of reduced passage money, it may just as well ensure the effectiveness "of its operations by granting a fi’ec passage for a limited period. Far .more important than the actual amount of the subsidy is the supervision, of those Avho arc assisted. There can be no question but that it Avould pay the State handsomely to provide free passages for a few thoiisand domestic; servants,' provided they are really competent, for;, as every good housekeeper knoxvs, a thoroughly capable, servant is “worth her Weight in gold.” lii this connection it should bo stipulated that the .qualify cations, of eA r ery girl sent- diit- should 1 be carefully' investigated by; a; competent lady. If the work.' of selection should .be left to. the. High Commissioner’s office or to other Government officials,-it-is qu-ito- possible -that the 'country, might be inundated with shiploads of girls..;who,’ being in no sense qualified for domestic occupation, would' provide a disappointment to their mistresses, and' Avould ultimately help to savcll the ranks of factory hands. Such a result would bo deplorable, and must be guarded against at all hazards. It may bo urged that the. importation of a few hundred or even thousand girls from abroad will not settle the servant girl ' problem. This is quite true, hut it Avould undoubtedly give very avol-

cpme relief, albiet of a temporary nature, to those Avho arc at present sufferers from the dearth of domestics. The underlying cause of the problem is the. unpopularity of domestic occupation ; and this is due partly to the selfishness and thoughtlessness of mistresses' who have failed to accord the treatment to those who assist in housework, which is very properly demanded and usually obtained by competent workers ’in other occupations. It is also due, in part, to the inefficiency of training,, or the total absence thereof in domestic. Avork amongst young girls, the natural con-, sequence being that -air obvious failure in domestic service brings dissatisfaction. When girls are properly trained in the necessary work of a home, and xvhen, mistresses recognise that a servant is entitled to reasonable Avages, a limit to Avorking hours; a certain amount of freedom and a friondly attitude, on the part of the employer,, then and not till then will there be any prospect of a permanent solution of the servant girl problem. In the meantime, however, the position can certainly, be greatly improved in many a home, Avliere girls would have no cause for complaint in any respect, xvere the supply of domestic labor brought . somewhere near the present a- cry great demand. It .is for the ladies of Poverty Bay to give the movement that has been commenced, in Christchurch some attention, and if they do, Ave shall be surprised if they do not also take up the. matter -arid assist in the circulation of a similar petition to that Avlrich is being promoted in the South.