"trade and labour NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 105, 4 May 1923, Page 11

"trade and labour NOTES.

iPy INPfPTniAIj TRAM I.) CXION MKF.TI?fri.« t-"<">K Till-: WKKIC. M"? - " - R nkor ~ Monday: Mn.v 7 Slui.wrichr*. Prlvor-. TwfrtaV. ><". r s KiurlnPorhiß rnili«. gtorpnipn. VTsdnecdny. Mn.v " i:«« l-.mplnyp,.s. Carppnl(T» iAn.-kl.ni.l-. Cnrp.-nl.r- ,■>,.- linr.cn'. Tlwrsday. Mnr 1"". I'.'Tl-rs. FrHa.v. May " -' "friers LABOI'R AT Tin: I'lH.l.S. The municipal elections are non "\er. and it cannot be said ihiu the results nro gratifying so fur as Labour is concerned. For the Auckland City Conn ril, the party nominated 1- candidates, nnd only one. Mr. T. Bloodwnrth. was successful, and seeing he came fifth on the list of successful candidates, it is a riohatalile poinl whether he Mould not have been micccssMil hud ii<- not Iwn on the Uhotir ticket. His >,~.nr «m sflZB votes, while the uc\t l.aboiir candidate, Mr. H. I". Barter, was uusuecessful with 3fi4B. This clearly indicates that Mr. Bloodworth is :\ popular innii outside the movement. In the ln.il roiincil- l.nbour had three representa tives. MesFi-s. Rloodworth. Savage. M.1., and G- Dayis. the latter two not accepting nomination for the new term. Out of ' 31,000 on the roll, only one-third voted last week, while two ears Mg.i twothirds of the electors on the roll exercised their privilege hik! voted. Labour is very apathetic in a municipal cl.-<--tion coming so soon after the general elections to Parliament. After doiujf so well in December, it looks as if the party had sunk back i-vhausied with Its effort, both physically and linniu-i----ally. Many workers took no I rouble to ensure their names being on the roll, and many of these that were on :1»----roll took no trouble to record their vote. Some that came into the booths to vote were certain they were on the roll, because "they voted n« rc-etiHy as last December," evidently confusing the Parliamentary with the municipal franchise. On the Hospital Board, Labour, with a full ticket of five, was unsuccessful in petting one in to replace Mr. M. -T. Savage, M.P.. who was successful in 1921. For the Harbour Board. Labour's only candidate. Mr. T. Bloodworth, was elected, so that in this solitary instance it may be truthfully stated the party got 100 per cent of its ticket in. In the South, the Labour party put up some strenuous fights. In Wellington Mr. P. Fraser, M.1., was beaten "for the Mayoralty by Mr. Vt. A. Wright. M.P., by a narrow majority. hut in the council elections the party was only successful in getting two of it? ticket in, Messrs. A. L. Monteiih, M.P., and C.H. Chapman. Tn the Hospital Board the party was rather more successful. In Christehurch. Mr. 1). (i. Sullivan, M.P.. had a rtraight-out contest for the Mayoralty with Mr. .1. A. Fleslier, the retiring deputy-Mayor, but was beaten by nearly 2000 votes, but in the Council "the party have secured six seats against nine Citizen's party nominees and one independent, which is a fairly strong representation. In Dunedin only one Labour nominee. Mr. .J. E. MacManus, secured election on the council at the bottom of the list of successful candidates with 4121 votes, there . Hiring a big discrepancy between his num her and those of his confreres on the. Labour ticket. I notice that the Dun(din Press express the opinion that Mr. MacManus scored a number of votes • from the fact that the genial "Jimmy" had volunteered for the war, as a married man with a large family, and gone through a strenuous campaign in France. THE APPRENTICE CONFERENCE. This conference is now sitting in Wellington, and is expected to finish its • deliberations to-day, or at furthest tomorrow morning. The Labour representatives are: Messrs. F. Corn well and -J. Barras (Wellington), C. Renn (Christchurch), R. Ferguson (Ounedin), and AY. Hanson (Auckland). EMPLOYERS AND APPRENTICESHIP. There are three sides to the apprenticeship problem to modern and enlightened minds—the employer's, the apprentice's, 1 nnd the State's (says the "N.Z. Industrial 'Bulletin"). The employer has v right to the complete fulfilment of the apprentice's obligations—the full service and the best service. The apprentice, on the other hand, is entitled to expect fair treatment—a fair opportunity to learn his trade- in- all branches, a fair opportunity to study the theoretical side of Wβ trade, and at the same time attend to such intellectual pursuits as will qualify him to be an intelligent and efficient citizen, able'to detect the specious »nd fallacious arguments of Socialist fanatics. Th e Sfate's side of the case i s the responsibility of maintaining in its legislation a fair balance between the claims of the employers and those who represent th a interests of the apprentice. Against the theories of the Labour advocates, and the idealism of the educationists must be placed the practical diffi- • cutties with which the employers may be ■ placed in applying any scheme of app'ren- ; tioeship. The onus will be placed on tbe Mate of seeing that industry already harassed by economic conditions, and. in tno opinion of some an overdose of regulations, is not unfairly taxed under anr new legislation. Attention has also been re-directed to some striking figures which were issued two years a*o hy the Labour Department showing that in several trades, notably the building, the number of «Pprentices had declined since 1014. One of the reasons for this is that in some wadee apprenticeship is lesn important : than it was owing to extension of the . "se of machinery. The main reason however, seems to hav c beer, disinclination l ° be bound to a trade for a number of y«am wee good wages could be ~1--wined in a calling tlu.t required less ff Th P attractions of the present """I the near future are preferred to the Prospect of learning a skilled trade thoroughly and reaping the benefit in the distant future.