The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-03-03

W Wellington. New ICELAND
help. Address Private
2Sl amily, Herald office.
FANTED- situation as lady h,ip or nurse
'1n small family Apply TO Miss Mary
r .----- street, Wellington.
WANTED BY domestlc0ted young lady.
IMPOSITION as companion or help: town or
%fonntry- Apply y O. r., Herald office.
5irhese three advertisements elm from
TIC situations wanted column Of the
MprninS Heruld. They give you some idea
M one Of the distinct professions open to
wfmen in New Zealand. This Is known as
AIN helping. The term "lady help" is as
tninmon here as cook" or "chamhermnid''
~ in the United states. 1t is used as to
Ctrtnin class OF servants. and il means
thnt the servant is to be treated as a Nom.
ber of the family.
~ There are two classes of hired girls In
Ntw Zealand. One is the lady help" the
other Is the general house servant Tho
aAdy help does the same work as the gen
'>fnl. She cooks, makes the beds sweeps
lhc floors, washes and IRONS aud sometimes
42ips her mistress dress. She Is supposed
M sit down at the table with the family
1t meals and to be treated as AN assistant
"a hfl hitNAi'cS. one rs not NllSSCu as a
uervunt. although she is cxpected 10 do
seryantS work and often more than would
be demanded of the general house servant.
Y When ! first heard the expression lady
ffp. | thought 1t was one merely express
etSe of the reign of the servant girl which
nov prevails In Australasia. | soon found
thai il had q distinct meaning. To get Mt
tEf exact difference between lady help
md general servant | Inquired Of tho
laqy clerk Of one of the chief hotels in
New Zealand. She replied:
1&fhe chief difference is In the manner of
address You call general by her first
name, such as Polly. Mary or Sallc hut
the lady help Is always addressed ais miss.
TIC mistress Is supposed to assist the lady
hflp In doing the Homework hut In some
ahnilies the lady help is treated worse
nan scnllon. She does ali the work of
2h. general servant and receives only half
fH much wages. believe some women
3dvertise for lady help inst. because they
&al get them moro chcaply."
|&"But will they work for less wages?' I
shoreY' S"o"'u '"'"N '"eS WOMB want
81 They usually get one. third less than the
Mineral house Servnnts.' was the reply. II
bow some who work for shllings ISL
Er week. while generals get 10. - and
~ shlllngs and upward. You see. the
M tier blood aud breeding than tho general.
&hc wants to rank higher in the social
tcale. and she pays for IT,"
s# An, Lady Helps at Dinner.
ga Iialtsen much amused at the airs OF
fhs W tomorrt,.Sd hired girls. The lady
heh sf took pttiilllcs are greater stlcklcrs
for Nisectiority than any queen upon
throisNv geddy seem to think themselves
Kpests srstheir mistresses and express their
muign1fiOn when asked 10 do what they
EQnsider mental things. One OF my helps,
aid dear old New Zealand lady to me.
game down to dinner the first night after
Hfr engagement in deCollcte evening
Q{ess she wore low slippers and had
warnings and brooch of paste diamonds,
Ehc paid no attention to waiting on the
fA lie, and when her master asked her to
fer up and hand something from the side
H1ard she grew very indignant"
III Hired Girls VS.. Ladv Helpers.
III How about the ordinary servants"
'tkked. "Do they like the lady heps1'
n Do You mean the generalsy" said the old
lady. The ordinary hired girl Is known
as the general house servant and is called
the general for short. The generals rather
detpise the lady helps. They feel, and
Tightly that they are incorporating under
fa1se pretcnSes. They feel themselves fully
Tho equals of the lady helps aud rather
Known as doing that for which they are
ynld. The ordinary general will not allow
y lady help to order her about, She will
tnke her directions only from the mistress
OF. the house. happened to be away
ficm home on one day of last week when
epine of my mon friends called. The lady
hrlp received them and played the Lady
Bpuntiful. She entertained them. serving
cakes and tea. She rang the bell for the
frok, who was general and told her
m bring In the tea. The cook did ST. hut
H.hen ] came home / found her raging.
eAe gave me notice and told Inc she did
pof propose to he ordered about by any
38ay help ! had TO almost get down on
ply knees to keep her. hive her still
hpIr ~. tD1I hnt h..
Ntpst transmit all orders through me-"
XII Where the Servant Girl Rules.
SI find that the servant girl rules here
txen more omnipotently than in the United
Mates. The mistresses are at the mercy
~ their servants, who 10 some extent die
&ate their own wages and their own hours
QQ Every now and then you see an ar
f3Cle In the paper which advocates the es-
establishment of an eight hour law for house
ttfNants, and AT present every hired girl
~ New Zealand has one half holiday a
1'Nek. in addition to Sunday afternoons.
al as a usual thing every other sunday
III the country It is almost impossible Ia
&Nf servants. and In the towns the ser
Halts are leaving 10 work ia the factories,
tNsl this Notwithstanding the wages In the
'M itories are often less than those nj house
wants, especially when the matter OF
|#nrd is taken into consideration.
4H ere are the wages: In the towns gen
u house servants get on the average
6A 50 per week, many receiving as much as
a& 10. Nurse maids are paid from Sl.2j 10
Wv % per week, while laundresses receive
I'M to 81. Cooks are paid from So = ~ a
4N FIX and sewing women In Wellington
M live at the house get as high as 81.
sM other places their wages are lower.
Government EnploVnent Bureaus.
M seems funny to think of a government
Fning offices to give servant girls employ
s4tnt. but this Is one of the ways of New
aland. The premier started IT some
'N MS ago when he found the employing Mt
III ancies We're imposing upon the servant
e. Is lie told me how IL happened. said
m was connected with the department Of
.rks ut the time. found that tho ser
III girls were being charged exorbitantly
zM 1e employment agencies and that they
'& IssNften sent by the agents 20 improper
5s| no - started a bureau aud hxef the
* maas~H such Offices ! chgrged the
~ ~, its dele or Is cents for registration
- time would POEM a place. This Is the
aXNe out their cohOlovinent agencies now
44o Justify the preShe colony W. have 4
& 70 the nouse wil.fepartmpt which far
II for fuel and an a. tho unemuioted
~ ITO run the Sfate'stiv well -
4 BILE and plenty Of 81,
mars 10 come and youF oeFNane WITS
cured at very RI the premier nave
~ m eoa ps. and lignf5aaf the department
& subject has not Dir Awonian Inspector
|f igated. m plaran who Is in
EN- tnnan 2nch here at