POLITICAL LABOUR LEAGUE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 283, 24 August 1908, Page 9

POLITICAL LABOUR LEAGUE.

ADDRESS AT THE THEATRE ROYAL.

There was a moderato attendance at tho Theatre Royal last night, when Mr. H. A. Campbell, organiser in tho Wellington District for the Political Labour League, delivered an address on the aims and objects of the' League.,

; "What wb aro endeavouring to. do is to form a now jLabour party in the Parliament of this_ country—a party entirely distinct from either tho Government or tho Opposition, a party to safeguard tho interests of tho working classes, and to introduce additional labour legislation." Having mado this preliminary observation, the lecturer proceeded to criticise the- Government and the Opposition. He declared tlia.t tho workers could not possibly- support Mr. Massey and his (party because they believed in cheap labour. Neither could the workers assist tho Government because it had been captured by tho, commercial men, the capitalists and the farmers, and was now just as Conservative as tho Opposition. Continuing, tho lecturer said' the fact that Sir Joseph Ward nominated fourteen gentlemen to the Legislative Council showed that he was in favour of a nominated Upper House. If it woro right to nominate half tho members of tho Legislative Council, then it was right to nominate tho wholo of them. Tho alterations to tho taj-iH last year woro not in favour of tho workers- There was now no duty on motor cars, but 371 per cent, had to bo paid on hob-nailed boots. If Sir- Joseph Ward hud wished to show that ho was in sympathy with the labouring class ho would have taken off tho duty on flour, potatoes, onions, and tea. Then again, if it were right to nationalise seven millions of acres of Crown lands for the purposo of providing tho cost of old ago pensions and of education, it would only bo fair to nationalise the whole of tho Crown lands. _ Tho proposed amendments to tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act were wholly in the interests of tho employers. In conclusion, tho speaker referred to tho platform of the League. The objective of the party was, he said, to nationalise all tho lands and the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Thoy did not want to bring about those reforms by revolution but by evolution.