THE AIMS OF SOCIALISM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 87, 6 January 1908, Page 9

THE AIMS OF SOCIALISM.

s MR. J, KEIR HARDIE, M.P. .• ADDRESS AT THE TOWN HAI L. TO was comfortably filled in last evening whon.-Mr,, J. Koir . .€ardi«;^MvP; : ;i;who:has made a rapid recovery 'Th° Mayor (the. Hon. T. W, Jlfgjop) presided, and. on tKe' stage v.wera 'Mr- J.<; Hutcheson, Cpuncilipra'•iM'Jjaren "'and'v end prpmin<avt f niflrab'ecs of the' Labour partiofi. On entoring tho build-' ' ing, M.r.lJlkoir Hardio bad a moat enthusiastic r^pMon,-ninny rising and' oheoring. .A man on; tho; stage, callod for -three checrs for ' and waved- a flag inscribed witlrtho word., ■-. Tho .Mayor,"' who, '-tp mtroduco Mr.. Hardie,.. was applauded, spoko briefly.-, of. tho; misr?prosentatioij. of theirvisitor's doings in India,; ; and dosoribed himas a man whoi" possessed exceptional know-; ledge and discrimination, and had approached every subjoot with an honesty of purposo and 'earnestness which were worthy of regard and respept,,, "(Applause.) ■ j:'OTEWiW REMARKS. . Mr.'Keir Bardie, on rising, was again ]oud- • ly applauded'arid cheered. ." Bp first made a brier .roforonoei to the rapid development of Australia and New''Zealand,. and to certain of the improved'labour'conditions whioh had struck 'him'.ifi-this.'country: ; He then went on to .'say. it was dye/to tho audience, pqr- '• hapsjvr'.to mention-a matter ■ cqneerriing liim-solfy.-a.nd :gave 'a' full* statement ariont tho ; critioisms.of: himself. in India. (This is re-' ported'elsewhere;)!., Prima facie, proceeded Mr. vKpin Hardie,- the-labour 'man, and the Socialist;|..wa's'always suspected; Conventionality; was the.cursQ of lifp in every ago. 'The man who'dared'to step out of the rut which the feet of centuries had worn, was treated as- a'mischievous knave and- disturber of thp peace. "' ". : < ...IMPERIALISM. . r ;• It had-been said'that the Socialist was anti-patnoticj-and 'frorq ; ;this the " speaker went" on to' define' Imperialisfn. ,• He had no hesitatipn-'in. saying that he was no Imperii alistin r its accepted form. Ho hated the ■, aainp of'liiiperiali6m;«'(Applauso.) Perhaps the audienco. had fead aji account, of a Chri'stmag diiihor-given to Indian Mutiny veterans, .men who::had'sayeii:'the::Empiro at a critical time./ A .'Ohriftmas dinner given- to ' them' I v. They. ■' hid: comet from jtho workhouse to rcceivo it, and back to it again thoy would :go. Imperialism I and treat hiiipan beings like that, wjioihad risked their lives for tlio Empire ! 'At'.the time of the war. in-South Africa there been a great cry .of Imperialism, by forward .to put dowmtyraijny andjvpppressiph , that . never., oxisted—(appl^jjse)—and ihen there .followed the tr'pdjifctibn' of " (Chinese!labour, for the South African, mines,':< npt be'eauso 110 white men were , .. thero , to ': do!, ~the ,;!;.work, . , or ..'because'!;'' they, could,!: not or , would not', ihujt ,for v , the.. reason .thattlio Ghineso . - were cheaper and,had no vote in: the, constitutionall, matters of the country. (Hear, ~ hoar.) These were illustrations of Imperialism; one taken from tho middle of last century and .'another from, recent. times. Men who had'gbrie to, Africa. to save the couiitry liad had.tobeSejit back, at e?pens3 becausp ino'work 'could bp found for them, the'mines being full of Chinese labour.' "No,! iriy ;; frieri3s';" siid the.speaker,. "I ani too inuch a' lover of, my'country to-be an Ira.fly .the.'flag,;'because,, as .Cecil, Modes, "it "'is''most valuable, commerciaj 'asset'! ; ia the world.'." (Loud applause.) !''\;p.;,'. •: TRUE" SOCIALISM. ' In.! questions affecting I the"progress of the !race,v'3!lri 'lieir'Hardie said he had the knack ' of .spe&king of. things'" as". lie- 'saw'- them.\'<-If thp foundations, of the" British Empire wprof !■' so rotten that they would not bear the : weight pf' criticism^it:was,a bad ■ outlook;: (Cheer£) JSbciilism; : wliaffiveif the attitude, displayed,, to it,, w .'rapidly* becom-tP©-/rcferred' tp': 'the-!\progr,es3 of-. i Sopiiilisni. ! , m 5 / .permany, ;: cowitropf; ,the;^wtfiCi''?tates/,v S );hP;; i rppid growth '.pf Socialism .would-, _ : pel;.a'. : chapge- in,-'its';.affairs,.. .In .•.Ei)glaud,,of-. 81- atsi?the.: ]ast. Parliameptary,,e)ec.t.ipns, ,21/w.ere. declared Socialists.!; t iln $ew Zealand it/was said that, with. their,'. Conciliation !Boards—(laughter)—. i arid other' Labour institutiops. there,was. no. . ,!<He recognised' these in-, gtjtufions,:but even-,thpy,;wero,merely an-at- . teriipt ; . fq pare the , claws', of the tiger ; ,and,the time'woiilij come when,they!.would want, tpishoot'tha'.trgor. :'(Applause.)' He went on to :speik of|true Socialistic aims.- Socialism,from ..the assumption that no.t:: competition, but, .co-operation "was the real., law. of,* progress for .communities. , At HP.m^'/many .households, at .this -time, wereBhivering with cold and htinger becauso it did!;'!n6t-!suit f ,spmeono ..therei to employ -the. heads',.of.. thp .house. ~ Socialism? would: give full.'control.for a.man to-obtain,his own food supply. „! It; proposed that land and capital shoujd.belacquired, as, public'property,. and to go. Wellrbeing .pf-. the oommunity. and' not,ifor ;the, aggranaisement,!. of,;! : , any- ;• individual . There wero■ millions of acres waiting ' to. be: peppled ini Australia,.. but ■ emigration • wasiw'solution. .to >poverty at-' Home. Socialists Would not 'countenance emigration -as a; cure !for poverty. They wanted; their good men:; at f . home. They ... had their j land.. there'to ..cultivate, as' well "as out here—(hear, hear)—and instead of. tlio unemployed, they should", be put in ..tho of .w.qrking.'without' the. need of e- ! PROTECTION' ' '■ The.'speaker also' introduced ' the question ofprotection,. .saying . that .it. would be. no splptio'n.df,!thc troublp. !,Thoy!.,'did not want protection at! H6m'6,.,.. Protection , there was boing nin and flriariccd.jby the samo "unholy garig'J as ha'djed thom f into the Boer war.', |. That, mjtsolf would make^him suspicious of, its benefits..,lf'thoy'had it they .would' still Kayo-to depend on. tlieir/markets to find employment. Suppose.-.horo in New "Zealand somp .depression..,came, which curtailed exports. _',!\yhat would protection do for them ? In that'case protection, like everything else except Socialism, : would be helpless; . So long . as people .wero depending on exterior markets, for."work thoy 'were, at the mercy of those!,ma Acts. "Under Socialism, with tho land'.beloiiging to the Nation, and its industries organised, by tho community for tho benefit of, the , whole, poverty and despair would flpo from their midst. A FACTOR FOR PEACE. Mr. Keir Hardie also spoko of Socialism as a factor for pcace. The world had had Christianity, which • spoke of peaco, for nearly two'thousanll years! , Yet what was the doriiand.';.at'.,-Hbrno "to-day?. It. was. not for'f.'pebte.'/.bittv'for bigger- armaments. He; nentyon ;to (irguo th.it tho working-class of the world—Which, was now making its • voice heard—was"'movirig for peace in every oountry by aiming at a common end. So-cialism-stood for'the right of the peoplo to mako their own law 3, irrespective or skin arid'-colour. no sedition in India, and'no.rebellion it was simply an agitation for the right of the'people to make their own laws. .Only by tho peoplo having a voic9'in law : making",could they hare peace. He spoke emphatically of his belief in tho brotherhood of-tho race; and in this, ho said, hp followed one i'f the precopts of Jesus of "Nazareth. •' CONCLUSION. In. conclusion Mr. Keir. -.Hardio said he hoped that the day was: not far distant when the working mam,-in theso now coun- . trios of the south woulcl, show more Real in their trade unions—(applause)—and in their political affairs than at present.... Ho hoped the time also was not far distant when tho dominant element would landlordism rior the capitalistic olompnt,- but the humanism ' of the working-classes, or, of the Labour party. (Loud and continued applause and cheering.) ~ VOTES OF THANKS. Whon the enthusiasm had subsided, Mr. Parlano, president' of the 'Trades Council, proposca a vote of thank's U| to Mr, Keir Bn,rdic. This was seconded by Mr. Westbrook, secretary of the Trades Council, and ' cari'icd. with another outbnrst[,'.of cheering. Mr. Koir Hardie led a vote of thanks to the" Mayor, and to the organist who had contributed itoms during the 1 e'vening. Mr. Koir Hardie said ho . felt a special prido in

tho fact that the Mayor was a follow-coun-tryman of hjs, because of tho stand ho had taken in regard to himself "whon the storm was raging." (Cheers.) Ho. had proved himsolf worthy of his office.'-' Ho would motp out justice tp all, bccauso ho did not bolipve 'in condemning a man first and trying ing him , aftorwards, • (Applause.) , . ..! ,! Further' cheprs fqr Mr, Koir Hardie wero , given, and the gathering then broke up. Mr. Keir Hardie was received in an informal'.way at thp Socialist Society's rooms ' oarly on Saturday evening. .'• A iargo nuin- , bor of the Socialist. p.irty attended and mado O'.* rpnowod acquaintance ' with .the British Labour loader. An hour or. two were pleasantly spent,'and various aspopta of Socialism wpre discussed.