The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-10-09
Labor.

As bearing somewhat, thou sh perhaps re-
motely, upon the question of labor as it now
stands in this Kingdom, we republish extracts
clipped from two leading American publications.
A writer in the Oreriand Magazine, for Octo-
Der, page 334, in comparing the system of labor
in San Francisco and In Melbourne, says:
Remuneration of every sort of work here is better
than ut Melbourne /; where, however, those high in
official station are better paid. The condition OF the
working classes is immeasurably better than there
and this is attributable, in my opinion, to the Press
Of this city and country, which. for the most part,
land to its eternal honor, justice, and humanity be
it said) advocates the payment Of remunerative
wages to working-men. In twenty-eight years in
the Australian Colonies I never knew q solitary in
stance where n journal advocated the same thing
there. II paper were to do 30, it would be stigma
TIED rs rD,;Sal and disreputable, and would be pooh
poohei to death. On the contrary, the Australian
papers. without q redeeming exception-and the
Melbourne papers pre-eminently-are ever advoca-
ting. ever harping on the necessity Of low wages I" as
an inducement to capital and enterprise" They
even quote political economy to the same intent and
purpose. They have succeeded They have brought
down wages with a vengeance, and TO their hearts
content. Men in New South Wales are now working
for n dollar and = quarter q week, in Victoria for
two dollars and n half a week and are idle. at that,
half the year round. The consequence is. there in
more destifution,m more crime, and more unmitigated
infamy in two or three back streets in Melbourne,
than in all this city Where are now the enterprise
ana the capital Tne labor - there dd H0nSs0m but
where are the enterprise aud the capitalf Enter
prise, for years past, was nowhere sud the capital
well, that is lying snugiy in the banks
Mr.. Horace Greeley in an article on the CO.
operative system, published in the New York
Independent Sept. 9, has the following:
81 have earned wages considerably, and paid
wages TO n still larger amount ; and I do not COM
plain that I was paid too little, or have had TO nav
too much On the whole, the Wages system has
treated me fairly. and I am bound to reciprocate. I
do not suppose that system will be entirely SUPER
seied these many years. anG perhaps it may never
be- Yet I think Cooperation an Improvement on il
like the steamship on the sailing packet, the rail-
road on the rurnpikc-and I hope TO see il cautiously
yet very widely adopted. For among its recommend
atoms are these: IL will constrain the Working
Class (socAlled) To be more thoughtful and provi-
dent than they have been
"Co-operation will supply the training, IL il be
needed The co-operafors viii feel the pressing need
Of more capital. better implements, more efficient
machinery, from the outset. They will resolve to
economize and TO work harder, in order to accumu-
late the means OF composing the desired economies
As / have known young men, who never saved be-
fore, begin 70 lay up and TO thrive from the hour in
which they joined . land or building associa-
ton. 20 thousands would be impelled to thrift by
finding that their labor would be rendered far more
efficient aud productive by the command Of more
capital. which they must earn before they can Weld
"That the Wages system is simpler and less CON-