The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1911. THE OSBORNE JUDGMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1021, 10 January 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1911. THE OSBORNE JUDGMENT.

_ Some cablc messages printed on Saturday appear to indicate that tho Government will yet encounter serious difficulties in dealing with the Labour party's demand- for the statutory reversal of the Osborne 'judgment. Although . extremely anxious to maintain good relations with' Labour,_ tho bulk of the British Liberals recoiled from the tyrannical and illiberal position taken up by tho Labour party. The Liberal journals sought, therefore, to recon-cilo-their consciences with thc,ir party anxioties by inducing their allies to accopt-a conditional reversal of the' judgment accompanied by tho payment of members. It was'urged by the Ikcstmmster Gazette,- which was quioldy seen'to be in charge of the Ministry's case, that if the Labour party's cast-iron pledge were abandoned, nothing would stand in the way of a reversal of the judgment. Three or four months, ago it apv pcared that- the Labour leaders had accepted this- counsel, feeling, no doubt-, that tho pledge was not.really neccssary, sincc any .Labour member who kicked over the traces could bo easily driven out of Parliament. Since then, however, the Labour party appears to have hardened up again, and it proposes not to abandon the pledge altogether, but to substitute a new pledge requiring its candidates to abstain strictly from -promoting any interests other than those of the party. This is just as bad as the old pledge, and it is very natural, therefore, that the Westminster Gazette should be very much alarmed. In point of. fact, bad as is the cast-iron pledge to obey unquestioningly the commands of a caucus either inside or outside Parliament, tho pledge is really quite a minor objection so far as the opponents of tho political levy- are concerned. That, indeed, is why the Gazette chose- to regard it as the principal obstacle to tho reversal of the Osborne judgment.' For it thought that' tho Labour party would abandon it, and so give the Government an'-'excuse for doing .what it knows very well will be a very wrong thing.-"Should : the' pledge bo retained, the Gazette will have no choice but to oppose the demands of thii Labour,party, and so insincerity will havo its proper reward. Tho intentions of the Government were stated by Mr. Asquith in tho House on November 22, in tho following, terms: ' .

"I have already indicated the intentions of the Government in regard to the payment of members and'of official election expenses. Wo shall' further propose by legislation that trade unions may includo in their objects and organisation tlio provision of a fund for Parliamentary and municipal'action and representation and kindred objects, and may .combine for such' purpose, provided. that the opinion of the union is effectively ascertained, and that there slmll be no compulsion on any members to contribute to the fund."

In!a crossrexamination that followed the Prime Minister gave no further information save that .the new fund would be raised by a special'levy. He laid'some stress, however, on the phrase "effectively ascertained," and it- is now stated that "effective ascertainment" will require the opinion of at loast 80 per cent, of the'members of the union concerned. .This in no way affects the incurable bad: ness.of Ml). Asquith's major concession, but the Labour party will object to a requirement that will not. •be easy to satisfy, for most union ballots are participated in by quite a small proportion of the members. Me. Osborne, in speaking for a deputation to Me. Asquith from the Trade Union Political Freedom League, gave some interesting figures on this point. The Amalgamated Society, of Engineers, with a membership of 107,000, voted on the question of a shilling- levy to replenish the Parliamentary fund. Only 71GG members voted altogether, 5110 favouring the levy, and 2056 opposing it. In the Shipwrights' Society 3133 members out of 50,000 voted in favour of a similar proposition. In the Amalgamated Society of Railway .Servants in 1905 there .were 21,000 members out of 54,000 favourable to Parliamentary representation; but on the real question of 'affiliating with the Socialists they had never dared to take a vote. There is no' reason, of course, why trades unionists should not establish political fighting funds. They already have the right to set un voluntary independent organisations to secure the election of Labour representatives. But there arc obvious reasons why the existing machinery of trades unions, which have a purely industrial character so far as the majority of their members are concerned, should not bo used for the promotion of Socialist activities in Parliament. Mr. Asquitii inquired of the deputation referred "to whether it would object to "a .voluntary collection or contribution bcinjj raised through the ordinary machinery employed for compulsory levies," and Mn. Osborne replied: "Yes, because it would lay those who refused to contribute open to the greatest persecution at the hands of men who have threatened to defy the laws of the country and to coercc or bully Parliament." He added that the case would be otherwiso if the voluntary

levy were quite outside the official body. Mr. Asquith, however, has chosen the other way, and we can only hope that the Government will be saved from the perpetration of a very gross act of tyranny by.the extreme attitude of the Labour party itself.