NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1321, 27 December 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

We should like tho few remaining supporters of Wardism to read this Press Association telegram in this issue reporting the strictures of Mil. Eavixgtox, tho official visitor to the Auckland Mental Hospital, upon the conditions of-existence in that institulion. The "scone of horrors, consequent on the absolutely deplorable thpt ho describes, is directly attributable to the Government. There arc some conditions of things that no Government could be expected to remedy quickly, such as ii grossly bloated public debt, or oppressive, economic circumstances, hut Mich "scones of horror" in a mental hospital as Mr.. Ewington describes arc things capable of quick, almost immediate, remedy by any Government ■n-ith. ) an ]|i ouncc of brains and another ouu.Oe'.of mingled honesty and humanity. The AVakd Government's indifference to the unhappy j'fioplc who, being mental' invalids, have no votes, and are therefore not ■worth the attention of a "humanist" Ministry, is not a new subject. At intervals the matter has been discussed by Thk DojiiKio.N* and by tho Auckland Herald for a long time, past; In our election issue of December 2 wo stated an overwhelming case on this very point against the Administration had the cffrontor.y to call itself "humanist." Humanist! Mn. Ewingtok, in "urgently and solemnly appealing to the Government , to act promptly," has chosen a good time, for the Government is chastened now. We do trust, for the sake of the unhappy inmates oE the' Auckland institution, that some member of Sir Joseph Ward's discredited Cabinet will insist that a few moments' attention to the mattor -will bo snatched from the desperate plotting and planning of means to defy the country's plainly-express-ed demand for the. resignation of the Government, or an immediate session.

A contributor to the London Mornina Post makes a useful analysis of a recent Bulletin dealing with trades unionism issued by the New York State Department of Labour—perhaps the finest statistical bureau in the world. The Bulletin deals with all the countries of the world, and shows that the numbers of trade unionists in the twelve leading trade union countries range from 2,688,144 in Germany to 85,266 in Hungary. These arc impressive figures, but they lose their impressiveness when they arc translated .into ratios of population. The percentage of .trade unionists to the population is highest in Great Britain, where it is nearly ol per cent. Denmark comes next with just under 5 per cent. (4.9), and- Germany next with 4.1 per cent. The Post's contributor argues, however, that as agricultural industries form no strong soil for trades unionism the right way u> compare the hold of the trade union movement is to consider the ratios of the number of unionists to the population not engaged in agricultural pursuits. The figures in the Bulletin show that of thepopulation engaged othcrwi-ie than in agriculture—that is, the industrial population—l 4 per cent, are trade unionists in Germany, 12 per cent, in America, and 10 per cent, in 'Britain, which are the leading countries in this respect. The figures illustrate remarkably how small a proportion of the people are trade unionists oven in the, countries in which the unionist spirit is most carefully cultivated.

An interesting communication in the form of an open letter to Mn. E. Tdegear, lato head of tho Labour Department, and now a political adherent of Wardism, has reached us from the secretary of the Manawahi Klaxmillqrs' Union of AVorkors. Mil. Thegeau is one of the gentlemen who has been attempting to drag Labour into the fold of Wardism regardless of the circumstance that the failure of Labour to secure a fair share of direct representation in Parliament has been due to the fact that the Government candidates and those Labour leaders who cling to its skirts for favours received or to come have undermined the prospects of the Labour candidates by. disseminating the idea lhat a Jlinisterinlifit can do more for Labour than ils/iwn wlcctn\ cfindidate. The Fla.vmillers' Union in the present, case has not unnaturally been provoked by (he behaviour of Mn. TnEGHAR jn connection with the Otaki_ election. The union was supporting the candidature t-jf Up- Rwbkktjw, " L'lbour candidate, though not associated with

the so-called New Zealand Labour parly, and Mr. Theoeak appears to have done his best to kill Mn. lioßEßTsoii's chauces of success by sending a telegram In I lie Wardist candidate tolling him to "Let the electors know that llouEBTBON" has no connection with the New Zealand Labour party." Why should this professed friend of Labour seek to influence the electors against a Labour candidate and endeavour to bolster up the candidature of a supporter of Wardisro and all that it stands for? The Flaxmillers' Union secretary puts the position very plainly. He says in his letter: Wo fought an uphill fight for weeks. Against us were allied all the resources of thn Government, nil the influence of a wealthy parly, all the. power of the local liquor trade, and hdvtird Tregcar. Evory • "groggcry" from Shannon to the southern end of tho electoral* did thoir best to ensure our defeat, and tho efforts of "Bung" were bolstered by Edward Trogear, Of the somewhat dubious and devious methods of electioneering practised by our political opponents, wo do not propose at tho moment to speak, save to call your attention to the fact that these methods were bnciied up and endorsed by a telegram from Edward Tregear. "Let the electors know," said the me-sage, "that Robertson has no connection- with the New Zealand La hour party." The telegram was addressed to the Government candidate and was signed Edward Trngear. The implication (to the average man in the street) was that Hobertton had claimed connection with this party. As a matter of fact our candidate made it perfectly clear at every meeting that he was connected with no party and pledged to no platform cave tho ouo which he so clearly enunciated. If there is any explanation of your telegram we shall be glad to have it. The explanation of course is simple enough. Mr. Tregeak wanted the Wardist candidate to win tho scat for the Government in preference to the candidate brought forward by the Flaxmillers' Union in the interests of Labour. At the present time the Government is exercising its influencewith certain of the Labour leaders in a manner which, if they are successful, can only mean the betrayal of the interests of the rank a,nd file of Labour. There are men in the ranks of Labour who realise the danger of associating their party with the degenerate Ward Administration—the hopelessness of ever establishing an independent Labour party so long as Labour is tied (0 the so-called Liberal party. But there aro others who, either through iguorance or on selfish personal grounds, make themselves willing fools of Ministers and attempt to divert the forces of Labour from the Labour cause to the maintenance in office of a Government which in recent years has done more to the detiiment of Labour than any other Administration which New Zealand has yet had.