The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-03-31 00:00:00

TIM LABOUR Q 'BiTION IN Daßsar.

The agricultural lab...mere in Houghton have been
reoeiving its per weak as wage.; they asked for their
wage, to be risen to 151. per week; MI the formers
refused to grant their requitals they have struck work.
At Millers., the men have aakei to be paid 151. per
week; and it the farmer. refuse to pay this amount
tlAre can be no doubt a strike will be the min toques:toe.
It seems likely there may be mauy strikes in Dorset in
those (mem where the farmers refuse to pay the 15a.
per week. Kea are mlgratiog and emigrating fast.—

_
I think the average *endure of • farm labourer In
this district may be fairly dated as He. per week for
the year, some carping more and some leas. Ido not
mean that he always retains Do mien in mousy, hut in
mazy parte he bee • good cottage end garden at Is. per
week rent, whiles the value may be double that. I
think that an utter* of about 2s. per week has generally
taken plat* within the last three years. In consequence
of ultra machinery being employed, and • retain pro-
portion of the arable being converted into pasture,
farmers have no liflioulty in getting roes, notwithstend.
lag their emigrating from various parts of the county.
Madera and men are on better terms, and the labour
question seems wattling down to the satialaction of most.
R. Lamm, Denotes or.
The labour matter la being aetUed very amicably. In
this odnty th..re Is a general advanoe et wages.. the
market bad risen, from the quantity of work to be done
and the good season we have had for doing it; but with
a very hard winter the market prim woul I fall very con-
siderably. In as far as I see all erns as willing le
iratrmlt to the market pries of labour as for everything
else, but if it he understood that 'awl:sing extra is
reqaired, at the bidding of Jareph Area, or that
farmers are to be ealled upon to support dumpers,
there will be a very oat-slut looking into the labour
queetimi, and I believe with Mr. Reed that it is possible
to pay more moldy to good men and yet to make the
Labour bill even Ism than before, se ours will in future
be stem work sad no troy thinp to pay for. Row•
ever, upon this point it map be said that boys are in
fostered demand as they do much of the work of men.
The old men I find have • groat inorrea of rheumatism
ad farmers will not mooed, improved ware to them,
and so they must have something so appear before the
Board. Not long sines eight men wore dieeharged from
one pure, and nearly all were before the board next
week with 'the rheumatics." There's one thing
aertain, that burrowed wars do not mean more or
better work, but rather the reveres. It does not with
as mean lees poor rates or pauperism, but it dose mean
more beer and elder, by whir pauperism Is inerewod.
The ocruequenoe of all this will be that rents will have
to rose down. Already there Is • diffloalty in Letting
farms well, lately they have risen to the highest pitoh
of rent while every ereelvable lax ha. been superadded.
The charges for rent, taxes, labour, and Improvemente
on farms Gan thin only be maintained by very high
prime of produm. Once Lot these fall, and tho others
will fall too. —J. B.