German opposition to the masters and servants act |
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| Title : | German opposition to the masters and servants act |
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| Source : | Adelaide Observer, 1 May 1847, p. 4, col. a,b | ||
| Place Of Creation : | Adelaide | ||
| Date of creation : | 1847 | ||
| Format : | Newspaper | ||
| Catalogue record | |||
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| Description : |
On the evening of 21 April 1847 a meeting of German immigrants was held at the Hamburg Hotel in Pirie Street to consider a petition to the Lieutenant Governor in reference to the proposed Masters and Servants Act. In 1841 the Legislative Council had passed an Act for the summary determination of disputes between Masters and Servants. In 1847, mine owner Charles Bagot introduced an amended Bill to the Legislative Council which included a provision for the enforcement of employment contracts entered into in by intending migrants before their arrival in South Australia. The South Australian German community feared that as a consequence many migrants would sign the agreements, 'ignorant of the state of the labour market here ... on terms of serious disadvantage.' The Bill was similarly opposed by local English labourers who believed that it would undercut their wages. The considerable opposition to the Bill caused the governor to set it aside. However, a short time later, in July 1847, the Bill was reintroduced and became law. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Bagot, Charles Harvey, 1788-1880 Hamburg Hotel (Adelaide, S. Aust.) |
| Coverage year : | 1847 |
| Period : | 1836-1851 |
| Place : | Adelaide (S. Aust.) |
| Further reading : | Schubert, David. Kavel's people : their story of migration from Prussia to South Australia for the sake of their faith, Adelaide, S. Aust.: Lutheran Publishing House, 1985 |
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