A LABOUR RALLY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 103, 3 May 1922, Page 8

A LABOUR RALLY.

LEADE: IN CHRISTCHUBCH. I j-'XKW ZEALAND TIMES" CRITICISM.; The "New Zealand Times'' of jesterday's date had a criticism of Mr. Holland's Sunday speech at Ohristchurch, which is really very much to the point. Flattering miction U sometimes pleasing, especially wlicn it is the only con-, eolation that can be offered for disappointment, says the "Times"' writer. Mr.; Holland, it k possible, trusted to this! at Cbristchurcli when he addressed hi« three hundred friends in the Choral Hall. Re bowed to them, and to Labour generally, as a great political party. He flattered them with the declaration that, as a great party, they divide the political field with the party led by Mr. j Maoacy. Ho did not tell them that they I had achieved this greatness for them-» selves. What he said about them implied that greatness had been thrust upon | them. The Liberal party, he said, had j done them tbis service by going out of existence, thus leaving the field abso-1 lutely clear for the Labour party ruled by himself and one or two others. The Liberal party, it seems, after doing as much for Labour in two decades as only a colossal loss of memory could forget in a day. has completed its service by giv'n<* the Holland.sta a complete monopoly of all Liberal work. And Mr. Holland, so far from being grateful, .-.noers at what ho calls the Liberal remnants. The consolation, writes the paper, is not ais great as the flattery, of] course, for while the flattery soars j above the clouds, fhe consolation doee! not rise above the number eight, which expresses t'lie Parliamentary strength of Hollandvt Labour. But even after makinjr every allowance for Hollandtet b'as, the Liberals in Parliament number, as every reasonable man knows, considerably more than doub!e the Hollandist Labourites. The consolation of the Christehureb Chora! Hall is still further discounted by the well-known fact that the real practical friend of the party in power is the Ilolland'et party, which, by deliberately fighting for seats it had j no hope whatever of winning, gave an almo, t incalculable increase to that party's Parliamentary majority. To help this discounted consolation for the paucity of representative numbers there was no array of benefita obtained by vigorous work, says the "Time?"' editorial. The advantages of "'go-slow" are too modest for the glare of a public platform. Shyness of the National Anthem is not a thing that dazzles the average citizen. Refusal to rejoice over peace honourably obtained in no more effective with the average Briton than contemptuous indifference I to the Heir-Apparent on his mission of peace and g-oodwil!. Kur m'orc profitable than theee things is it to bang the big drum of 0.8. U., to salute with its noise the combination of industrialism and politics, and demand in tiieir name that Labour may eventually govern the country and all therein. Why Labour should have any right as Labour—ac a class, that is—to govern, has not been, for obviou,; reasons, explained. The bangino, of the big drum te better than all explanations. Even better than the banging of the drum -ts the promise of high wage?. To his particular pebble of the beach, Mr. Holland said that, if it failed to get bigger at the hustings, its wage* would come down .by the run very soon. Virtually this is' intended as a guarantee 'that Labour in the ascendant will maintain wages to any height it devises. But the fact happens to be that wages do not de.pend on anybody's guarantee. The only thing practically possible is to ensure that, in the division of the proceeds of production, workers get the share they are jiwtly entitled to. The impossible thing : « t.) .guarantee amounts. The Hollandist*. who turn against fhe Liberalism which tried to get possible iiistice, clamour for impossible money. It is a point for Labour to consider well before the jrencral Flection.