THE LABOUR SENTENCES EN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 38, 14 February 1910, Page 6

THE LABOUR SENTENCES EN NEW SOUTH WALES.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Since I came to your city I have heard many fulminations about Wademade laws, and his infringement of liberty of speech, and the last to complain is Mt. Cummings, in your ably conducted paper. Once, Sir, in Now South Wales, a man had a right to sell his labour for what he could get for it. After the advent of unionism a man's liberty has been infringed and his life and liberty made unbearable to him by the epithets, soaib, blackleg, etc.; yet there is nobody in New South Wales to-day who presumes to think that fair liberty of speech does not prevail there, except a class of men who, by violent means, have often hindered other men's liberty. Let mc say, Sir, once for all, to your street orators, that in New South Wales every adult man and woman has a vote; that the majority of these voters keeps Mr. Wade in power, because his party's policy is believed in by that majority to be <best fox their country. They believe that when a man was making up to one pound five shilling a day on the South Coast of New South Wales at coal getting and threw down his tools in fellowfeeling for his class—this statement has been made and to this day remains uncontradicted by Bowling "or any other labour leader—and when such throwing down of tools injures every trade .and retards the prosperous progress of Australia by hindering manufacturing at home as well as the exports of farmers' products, for which they have paid laibourers good wages—such arbitrary tyrannical action must not be tolerated, and that Wade's a<rtion is preferable to the action of Labour. There have been many concessions won for labour in New South Wales, but tlie Lalbour party alone were never able to win these concessions, without the aid of others who never belonged to their party, because those others wanted better conditions for the workers of Australia than those which obtained in old times in the countries of Europe. But La.bour has of late become so intoxicated with tho success which this help "brought them, that Labour leaders were foolish enough to think it was Labour alone that did all But they never have, Sir. By the tyranny of La.bour at Broken Hill, and in tliis late coal strike, they will find that they have only strengthened tho votes of the fuf-ion parties and weakened their own political power. Anyway, they should wait for their power of ruling tho country until the majority of the people's votes gives them that power. It will not be abuse of Wade, but sound logical arguments, and suoh actions as in the opinion of the multitudo shall promote tho welfare of the country, that will over bring them that power They must not forget that too high a wage might readily prove disastrous to many industries of their country- and leave the masters of these industries unable to pay any wage at all by driving the manufacturing to other countries where cheap labour is ofbtainwL labour would require to bo a little patriots, for if Japan took possession of AustraHa trade unionism would be powerless to keep high wages afloat.—l am, etc., JOHN FLANAGAN, " N.S.W,