T. SMITH.]

53

EL—lB.

14. Which witness was that ?—Mr. Boreham. 15. Mr. Fairbairn.] What is the present price of mutton and beef? —Legs of mutton are of various qualities. Wether legs, from 4Jd. to sd. per pound. In my George Street shop I am selling legs at 3jd. per pound. That is done mostly to catch the cash trade. Rump steak, 7d. to Bd. per pound. We sell good ox sirloins at 6d. per pound. , \ 16. Mr. Hall.] What are cattle selling at now?— Really prime cattle made £12 10s. to £15 2s. 6d. at Burnside on Wednesday. They come out about 28s. per 1001b. 17. How much do you estimate that cattle have risen in price in the last ten years? —Cattle have risen considerably. Prices during the last two years have been disastrous to butchers so far as stock is concerned. 18. Do you attribute the rise to the drought?— Yes, but you have to consider that wages are up 80 per cent, to 90 per cent, on what they were a few years ago. 19. What have they been raised? —Men who were getting 255. and 30s. on the carts are now getting a minimum wage of £2 16s. 20. Mr. Robertson.] How long ago is it since they got 30s. ? —The award was made about 1902, I think. You have also to take into consideration that butchers worked from sixty to seventy hours a week, and they now work fifty-two. It has considerably increased the wage per hour of the employee. I maintain that the wages in those days were too low for a good man, and in some instances they are now too high for what you might call a good. man. Some of the good men are receiving wages that are too low, but inferior men are too highly paid. 21. Do you think the efficiency of the men you employ to-day is less than that of the men you employed under the low-wage conditions, or has the efficiency increased? —I have heard the complaint made that they do not do the same work under the better conditions, but I am quite satisfied with my men, and I pay my men higher than the Court award. David Alexander Aitken, Assistant General Manager of the Union Steamship Company, was sworn and examined. (No. 29.) [As this evidence was tendered in Committee to the Commission and was given in confidence, it is not published in this report.] William Grey, Farmer, examined on oath. (No. 30.) I. The Chairman.] You are a farmer residing at Milburn? —Yes. - 2. You desire to submit your opinion as to the shortage of labour in the country? —Yes. 3. You seem to consider that the reduced amount of cropping in the country is due to the shortage of labour ? —I have no doubt about that. 4. If the amount of cropping in the country is short that would increase the cost of living by raising the price of food?— Yes, it should raise the price of crops. lam confident of this : that if more labour were brought into the country every year there would be more crop-growing. The farmers cannot get enough men to do the harvesting, and they cannot even get enough boys to do it. 5. Is it because the wages do not attract the men? —The men are not there to do the work, and the farmers cannot get sufficient boj's. 6. You were in favour of the Sedgwick boys scheme? —Yes, I think it was a very good scheme. 7. You think it important that men should be encouraged to come to the country?— Yes, there are any amount of good farm labourers at Home who would be willing to come here if they had inducements to come. I may also state that the majority of farmers cannot get girls for their homes. 8. If the farmers had more farm labour they would put more land under crops?— There is no doubt about that. 9. Has the price of rural land increased very much during the last ten years?— Yes. 10. That would add to the cost of living : you have to get more interest out of the land?--I think that people are paying rather much for the land in many cases. 11. Mr. Macdonald.] The Year-book does not show a diminution of acreage under crop.: it shows an increase. There are 322,000 acres under wheat? —That may be accounted for in this way : a lot of -big estates are being cut up into small farms, and a good many of those farmers, being short of money, put in crops in preference to running stock; but I know of farmers who are not putting in half the amount of crops that they did years ago, and I know of farmers who this year say that they will grow nothing but horse-feed. 12. Mr. Veitch.] What is the rate of wages for farm hands? —Farmers, if they could get good men, would give them almost any money they liked —that is, for harvesting. 13. What were the wages about ten years ago?— About 9d. to lOd. an hour ten years ago — perhaps Bd. to lOjd. 14. Do you say that a man would get considerably more than that now? —Is. an hour and found, and in many cases more. 15. You say that an inducement should be given to farm labourers to come out to New Zealand from other countries: what inducement do you recommend should be given to them?— I reckon they should be brought out nearly free. 16. Mr. Fairbairn.] Practically a system of emigration?— Yes. 17. Mr. Veitch.] Are you quite sure that it is fair to the people of New Zealand generally to pay the fares of these men to New Zealand simply to work for one particular class of the community? —Yes, if that is the particular class of the community that the country cannot carryon without. 18. There is no section that the country can carry on without?—lf farming went down the country would go to the wall.