Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-02-16
WORkiNGMEN PEERS.
Labor's Representatives in the Upper
House of New Zealand.

Labor's Representatives in the Upper
House of New Zealand.
The government of New Zealand has
vastly surprised the colony and the whole
British empire and created consterna-
ton among the squatter aristocracy and
the conservative pseudo-patrician and
snob element of the empire at large by
the remarkable democratic proceeding of
creating four workingmen peers" of the
colony by calling them direct from their
workshops to seats in the upper chamber
of the legislature, to be councillors to his
excellency the governor. One of the new
"peers" is a boiler maker, another store
keeper in a large warehouse. and the two
others are compositors.
This action marks the acquisition by
the colonists of much greater measure
of direct control in their own affairs of
government, as distinct from govern
ment by the colonial Office in London,
through its direct appointees, and is
long step on the road to much larger in
dependence, which is generally desired
The upper chamber has hitherto been
held sacred primarily to the blue blood
of the colony. Occasionally, however
powerful squatters, the large land own
ers, or other men of great wealth or large
influence, have been suffered to sit in its
hallowed precincts as a mark of especial
favor and condescension. Its members
were styled "peers," and were doubtless
as much SO regarded in colonial society
as are the members of the other upper
house at Westminster. They were ap-
pointed or nominated" by the crown
through the governor.
Eight of the twelve new peers" Gre
ated by the government are of the usual
class, and therefore unobjectionable
But the house and the empire stand
aghast at the contemplation of the re-
naming four. The Hon. j. E. Jenkin-
son, boiler maker in the government
railway workshops, was inside boiler
hammering rivets when the call to the
upper house reached him in the form of
telegram asking permission for his
name to be sent to the governor as one
of the new peers" The messenger boy
poked the telegram through one of the
rivet holes to Mr.. Jenkinson. The latter
at first regarded the matter as hoax,
but was finally induced to send an af-
firmative answer to the message. He
did SO and then went on hammering riv-
cts without another word. The Hon.
John Rigg was sticking type in the gov
ernment printing Office when the call
reached him. The Hon. William Bolt,
of Dunedin, was tending the stores in
his employers warehouse, and the Hon
W. Jennings was bossing the comps. in
the Office of the Auckland Evening Star
But it is pleasing to note that the par
allel with Cincinnatus and Israel Put
nam does not end here. All the four
labor peers" are said to be especially
able men, although entirely inexperi-
enced in politics. Mr.. Jenkinson is
spoken Of as a man of real worth and
grit, He has been president of the Du-
nedin Boiler Makers union, the Christ.
church Boiler Makers union and vice
president of the Canterbury Trades and
Labor council. Mr.. Rigg was at one
time president of the Wellington Trades
and Labor council. The other two new
representatives of labor among the pa
tricians are educated, well informed
men of marked ability.
There is said to be a widespread feel
ing that while workingmen would doubt
less perform good work in the house of
representatives mistake has been made
in appointing them to the upper house
The appointment is for seven years. and
there is an honorarium Of e150 year
for the expenses incurred in attending
iament.-New York Sun