The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1893.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 278, 23 November 1893, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1893.

For tln> ca_3B that lacks assistant., Tor the Tftong that naeds resistance, For the futur_ in ti>o iistanco. And tho good that -wo can do.

The demand made by the labour organisations of the city that they shal have a representative in Parliamen. who is in close touch with the workers^ is one to which no reasonable objection can be taken. It is quite true that the term " working man " should not bear the restricted meaning that is often placed upon it. The great majority of successful men in New have risen from the ranks, and a man may work quite as hard with his coat on as in shirt-sleeves. Neverthe" less, even those who have passed within a very short period from the ranks of manual labour to the position of employers, get surrounded with new interests, and although they may retain all their sympathies with the classes from which they sprang, the shoe does not pinch their toes day by day. They may sympathise, for example, in a general way, with the ! early closing of shops, or believe as a \ principle that eight hours of manual work per clay are enough for any human being, but they have not the same realistic sense of these things as ihe man who is toiling beneath the galling yoke of excessive labour. Nor can they see so clearly as he the causes which tend to thwart all strivings after an amelioration of evil conditions. Another reason why the most ardent sympathiser outside can never exactly fill the place of a man in the ranks as a representative, is because he cannot be so closely in touch with the industrial element as a man who, in the j workshop, in his social life, and in his ( trade and benefit societies, constantly) associates with the workers, knows their thoughts, their grievances, and difficulties. We have seen in England the enormous good which has been effected for labour by the admission into Parliament of such men as Joseph Arch and John Burns. There were philanthropists enough in the House of Commons before, sincere sympathisers with labour, but they did not understand the language of the masses.

It is not petting or coddling or patron-1 ising the genuine working man wants, j nor promises of all sorts oi special privileges, and relief from responsibilities which as a citizen he should justly bear: what he seeks is a mitigation of those conditions which under the law of competition inevitably drive him and his class downwards—not through any evil design of any body of employers, but because of the lack of some force in the industrial mechanism strong enough to counteract and moderate the cruel struggle for life, which crushes down millions of the human race into the slough of misery and vice. Moreover, the workers point to the fact that prior to the last Parliament all classes were directly represented in the Legislature except theirs. In the last House of Representatives there were no fewer than nine lawyers, and judging by the number of members of the legal profession who have been nominated, that class will certainly not lack representation in the new House. Now, a man with knowledge of the iaw, we willingly enough admit may be of service in conducting the technical part of law-making, but we also want practical men to see that these laws are made for the benefit of those who live under the law, and not by it. The fact that the workers for wages in Auckland, unlike their fellow workmen of other cities, were unrepresented in the last Parliament, has been a cause of great dissatisfaction, and more than iwo months ago tbe Trades and Labour Council gave notice to the Liberal Association that they would put forward one candidate at this (.lection. They chose a man svhose personal character as a genuine hard - working mechanic was irreproachable, and one who l\ad devoted his leisure to the service of his fellow-craftsmen for many years, in such capacities as member of the City Schools Committee and Secretary to various trade organisations and societies. The shabby treatment which his nomination received at the hands of a majority of the Liberal Association has evoked just indignation among the bodies who put him forward. Usually the outcry raised against every working-man candidate is that of " agittor," " windbag," " frothy demagogue," but assuredly no such accusation can be brought against Mr Thomas Tudehope. He would, indeed, be better qualified for the position if his powers of public speaking were greater, but this is a quality which may improve with practice. The main thing is that he possesses the entire confidence of his fellow-workers, with some of whom he has been associated for more than thirty years. The trade societies may be congratulated upon their good sense in selecting Mr Tudehope, who, to a knowledge of their wants, has the added quality of old citizenship and sound common ssnse, in preference to more frothy aspirants for the position. For these reasons we think Mr Tudehope^ csndidature has strong claims UDon the electors of Auckland as a body, and we shall rejoice to see him among its* chosen representatives on, Tuesday next. i