Industrial.

The staple products of Canterbury are, of course, agricultural and pastoral: but even apart from these, few countries have ever developed such various and valuable industries within the short space covered by the life of the province. At the present time the registered factories in the province employ 7650 male, and 2927 female workers—10,577 in all. The four freezing works alone employ over 1000 hands. They can together put through 18,000 sheep a day, and can store over 400,000 carcases. The works are equipped for the production of a large variety of by-products— preserved meats, tallow, bone dust, and manures. There are three woollen mills, which use up every year 1,000,000 pounds of the province's own wool; and with the clothing factories attached to them, employ fully 1500 hands. Of other factories and works there may be mentioned seventeen boot factories, eleven bacon-curing establishments, twenty-nine tanneries, ten ironfoundries, fourteen dairy factories, twenty-two saw-mills, thirty-two grain mills, fifteen brick and pottery works, and sixteen breweries. The total value of land, machinery, and buildings connected with the manufactories of Canterbury is fully £1,500,000; and the total annual value of the products is little short of £3,000,000.

The comparative statistics given in the 1896 census returns may throw some light on the industrial position of the province. In number of registered factories and works Auckland came first with 573, Otago second with 516, Canterbury third with 448, Wellington fourth with 396. In Auckland in 1895 5044 male and 1116 female hands received £406,527 in wages. In Otago 5504 males and 1551 females received £471,013 in wages. In Canterbury 4944 males and 1110 females received £411,721 in wages. In Wellington 4149 males and 524 females received £360,204 in wages. The approximate value of goods produced and manufactured in 1895 is given as follows; Canterbury, £2,629,822; Auckland, £2,163,759; Otago, £2,153,473; Wellington, £1,475,517. In this most important particular Canterbury is not only first of all the provinces, but is nearly half a million ahead of the second on the list. As to value of land, buildings, and machinery used in manufactures, Auckland stands first, valued at £1,558,706; Otago second, valued at £1,270,649; Canterbury third, valued at £1,178,112; Wellington fourth, valued at £939,749.

In respect to the average rates of wages in the various provincial districts, information brought down to 1900 by the Labour Department shows that agricultural labour is no more highly paid in Canterbury than in the other provinces. In 1899 farm labourers got 5s to 6s per day without board, as against 6s 6d in Taranaki, and 7s in Wellington. Ploughmen got less in Canterbury than in any other province— 5s per day without board; while in Auckland they got 6s to 7s, in Wellington 7s, and in Otago 9s. Harvesters on the other hand fared better; 8s to 10s per day, without board, in Canterbury, while in Auckland they got 5s to 8s, in Wellington 8s, and Taranaki 9s. In pastoral labour, which is, of course, less highly specialised than agricultural labour, there is not the same degree of divergence in the different provinces. Shepherds, with board, got £50 to £65 per year in Auckland, Nelson, Otago, and Canterbury, but in Taranaki their wages ran as high as £78 per annum. Stock-keepers got £52 to £65 per year in most of the provinces, but in Hawke's page 27 Bay they got at least £65, and in Taramaki as much as £80 a year. Shearers got less in Canterbury than in any other province—15s to 16s 8d per 100, in Marlborough 18s 6d. In Nelson the ordinary price is 17s 6d per 100, and in Taranaki 20s, while in Otago it ranges from 15s to 20s per 100. So far as these statistics go, they show conclusively that the ordinary supply of agricultural and pastoral labour in Canterbury is equal to the demand; and Taranaki is the only province which offers very special advantages to labour in these special kinds of work.

To the artisan labourer Canterbury seems to present a more favourable aspect. Masons, it is true, got 9s to 11s per day in 1899, whereas in Auckland, Wellington, and Nelson the wages of masons rose as high as 12s per day. Plasterers were rated at 9s to 10s 6d per day in Canterbury, while in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago their wages ranged up to 12s per day. Bricklayers in Canterbury got 10s to 12s per day, which was the same as the Otago rate; but in Auckland and Wellington the average was rather below that level. Carpenters at 8s to 10s 6d per day were better treated than in Auckland, Nelson, Wellington, or Taranaki; though in Otago their wages sometimes rose to 12s. Painters in Canterbury got 8s to 9s per day, while in Auckland and Taranaki the average was 6s to 8s. Shoemakers at 7s to 8s per day in Canterbury were better off than in any other province but Otago, where they got 8s to 10s. Throughout these artisan rates it may be noticed that Canterbury wages do not cover any wide range, while in Auckland and Otago rates there is often a wide margin for variation. The reason, of course, is that in Otago the goldfields districts are comparatively unsettled, and in Auckland a large portion of the province is in the same state. This means less efficient competition on the side of labour than in Canterbury, and hence exceptional wages; and it also indicates that where work is pursued under special disadvantage, labour demands special remuneration.

These last remarks apply especially to the large class of labour that may be described as unskilled. The well settled state of the country, and the easy means of communication ensure this fact, that in Canterbury the demand for unskilled labour can always be easily supplied. General labourers got only 5s to 7s 6d per day in Canterbury, while in Auckland and Taranaki their wages ranged from 6s to 8s, in Hawke's Buy and Wellington from 7s to 8s, and in Otago from 5s 6d to 9s. Under the “miscellaneous” heading tailors get 8s to 10s per day, which is considerably above average Otago rates (5s to 10s), and also beyond the Auckland figure

A Canterbury Wool Waggon.

page 28 (35s per week). Engine-drivers seem more in demand in Canterbury than in most other parts of the colony, as their wages ranged from 10s 6d to 12s 6d per day; while in Auckland they got only 7s to 9s, and in Otago 9s to 12s. Dressmakers and tailoresses in Canterbury got 4s and 5s per day; while in Auckland they are classed from 13s to 30s a week, and in Wellington from 17s 6d to 25s per week. Miscellaneous assistants (storekeepers, grocers, drapers, bakers, butchers) received in Canterbury generally from 6s to 8s per day; while butchers and bakers in Wellington and Auckland got as high as 50s, 60s, and even 65s per week.

It is curious that there should be so much disparity in the rates of wages prevailing in different parts of so small a country as New Zealand. On the whole it may be said that Canterbury offers special advantages to artisans and trained mechanics; but for ordinary unskilled occupations, the country is so far settled that the large supply of labour circulates easily, and prevents anything like a high level of wages.