A DANIEL COME TO JUDGMENT

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 214, 6 September 1912, Page 4

A DANIEL COME TO JUDGMENT

New Zealand and Australia have been visited in recent years by many distinguished leaders of the British. Labour movement; and practically mtliont exception they have testified on their return Home that they have learned many interesting and vaJnable lessons from our experiments in industrial legislation and social reform. Our ktest eulogist in this respect is Mr Hsvelock Wilson, who has been for many years one of the most influential of British Labour leaders, and who for a long time was entirely sceptical as to tlie value of the methods that democratic Liberalism has employed on this side of the world to better the condition of the Workers. Fresh from his Australasian trip, Mr Wilson has just been addressing the Trades Union Congress, and he has now frankly declared ' his adherence to the system of Arbitration which ho ha-s found ac work in Jsew Zealand and Australia. ilt is, of course, only the general principle which Mr Wilson approves; but it i= a great conoes&ion for him to admit that the, introduction oi such a system at Homo would bo of great benefit to tho British workers. Hitherto, as mo3t proplo are aware, tho majority of the

! wagemere in England have been, disinclined to accept Compulsory Arbitraj tion, which they regard as a cunning de- ' vice of the employers to rob them of their on« effective wen/pom, the strike. But now that .Mr. Jlavelock Wilson hxi declared himself a convert to the colonial view of things, we may reasonably expect many of the rank and file to follow his lead. It certainly is encouraging to find that the most influential and authoritative of the British Labour

leaders to-day are withdrawing themselves definitely from the Syndicalist ramp, and declaring more boldly vhan before in favour of Arbitration, and [peaceful methods of settling industrial disputes. And the moral of Mr. Have look Wilson's remarks should mot be lost upon those of our own workers, who may have been inclined hitherto to attach unnecessary importance to the doctrines of the I.W.W. and tho Federation of Labour, "which stands for that militant organisation on this side of the world.