LABOUR UNITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 163, 10 July 1914, Page 5

LABOUR UNITY.

! POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL. \ 1 jDEMBKRATION'ti OF CONFERENCE. \ ' ~~ I ; (By Tolegrari —Special to "Star.") I ' \VEU,f.XCrTON", Thursday. | ' To-day the I'nity Conference settled down to hu.-iness in earnest. On Tues'diy an.l Wedneoday the 'thne was priucipuily occupied in settling routine busi--1 nrs>. The jirincipal diseuseion whh on ■ the queetiiin ot whether the ! nhoiild consider the politiral or the industrial sfftion, or take both sections into loimideraticm. Spvoral skirmishes Inuk place, and from tile voting it ivat 'nl ~-i.. seen that the extremists were ■not l: iin'_ r to hare all i-heir own -way. iKventually it w.is decided that a eoni!m:ttee of'nine should be apt up to draft ; riTommemlntions lor the. oonfe.rence to ieonpidi-r: ill The industrial section, ajid [2i ihe poliiieal section. Sixteen candidatiK were nominated for ttiifl commilt«-.\ and. on a ballot being- taken,] the following wen- elected: Messrs. R. | Setnple. V. Kllis (Oliristchurcin. .f. Townseud i-Ma-rlborough), <.;. Stove I King Country Workers). W. McCallan iDiuiedini. ll' r O ppersnß-th (-Riuiang-al. Mark Kayan llnangahua Miner? I. T. Ung and 11. Hunter (Ohrietclnireh). •hi Wednesday morning an hour and a-hali iva- taken UP with deciding u\mn instructions to the commiitpp. when the following motion was carried. '•That the uuo-tion 10 be considered by tlio committee be: ill Tim best "method ot aihinving national industrial tion. and l-i the most ellYvitivp meaiH of consolidating the forces of labour for the general election of this year." It was further decided that the .'ommittep bring down it- report on the industrial question fir.-i. The <onl>n-nee then adjourned until this moriiin? "to e.na,blp tlie cuminittee tn Kring down its report. When the conference resumed tine morning it wa« neen tha.t the committee, liv a iiuauimouij vote, had devided on a • .institution on practically similar | line* to tiie Australian Federation of labour. The preamble U identical, being much more moderate and partaking le&s β-f thp I.W.W. preamble at lartt •Inly Congress. Distrior Council- are to be formed, haring complete autonomy of their own provinces. Xo union shsil involve a Die-lrict Conucil in a strike without first placing the matter unreservedly in the bands of its District ('■ouneil. and no < <>inicil shu'A involve the national organisation in a rtrike without also submitting it to the national exeeutivp. The penalty for dii>r>bpdience ;:i this recpett is expulsion from the Fe.lera'.ion. A great citeoiission took place on a niaiP for the organisation, and ultimately thp name of the United Federation of Labour was retained, but when the constitution i* finally before thp conl'rren.e for adoption, as amended. !an eirort will Ijp made to have the name clau.-e recommitted, with a view of substtuton "l a more eutable name. Thin afternoon the debate waxed lien-ply over the righ! of a union to -,trike without consulting Uie CouncUs. and tin , live <> clo<-k adjournment axI riwd before the question was decided. j There i< altogether a remarkable difj ferenee in Hi, tone of this conference 10 the .Inly Coiiorreas of last year, the i revciae sii.-lained in the big upheaval ot Xiivc.niber. and t!ie refusal o! the bulk ■if the unions to join Uie Federation, having had a nn«t chasteninjrefl'ect upon even the nio~i militant revolutionimes. ■ There i< a g.uierai desire to adopt such Ik ponstitiftion that will not scare even j the mw. timid union, and tKtrp w every j jirospci-t of a strong organisation evolvj ing from the various eeitions of labour thai at present are in a etate of disintegration. 'ih.' 1 r.)|>o-c,l constitution wae dJs-••ii--.'d. an 1 the following clauses were 1. In k'o.'.ited districte. or wherevrr rlii-trio: counßiljj are not practicable, nny 111:011 may affiliate direct with the national execut-i-Tc of tih-e nearest district council. ; -. The executive, wtooh shall consi~t o: -1 7>ree=klent. vice-president, and secrej ;ary anrl treiistirpr. itojrptlw'.r with an j j of nine memben-. shall be iihp I ! giiverning authnmty on all matters inI \oh-ing t.he jiatinn.il body. The ■mempiprs of the executive, pxcJustyp of thp I officers, tha.ll be elei-tci I.v tne membcrP jof the a.fTiilia.tßd hodies -w-iUiin each of j the following districts: —'Auckland, one ■member; Po-rcrty Bay and Hawkoe Bay. one •memibcr; N-nlson anil Ma.rll)OTTni(rh. one mpmbcr: and Grey, one member: Canterbury, one rneim r i>er: Otigo.. ■ovp. 3DCTn!oer: Southlan4. one member. :?. The national officers >Cii:ill be j olected iby plobiscit-e of the whole nvinnf the United Federation of l^ab011.T by a preferential system of voting. 4. Di.strjo't councils shall consii-t of delegates from ind'U~trial unions, and shall, so :far as practicable, 'be orga-ni^ed and governed on the linee of industrial unions. 3. Dirtrirt councils s-Tiall lir, full I po-wer to deal 'wich all matt-eni; co.niing j within the province covered hv their I affiliated unions, provfded -tlhat all mat--1 t<T= likely to the national body ! -hall be sn'omitted to the central exc-n----rive for anproral. They sliall have power j in appoint any organisers d-peined to be 1 nece.=«a-rv at -whatTPr salaries 'they may ' t.hin.k fit. 6. Re preventatives of oinaone worm trict fv-.nncil-i shall be determined by t.hp council itseJf.