UNITY OF LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1361, 12 February 1912, Page 9

UNITY OF LABOUR.

Several hundred people attended at the Opera House last evening to hear an address bv Professor Mills on the subject of "The Unity of Labour." Mr. W. 11. Hampton presided. Professor Mills, after describing the weaknesses of existing labour institutions and organisations, advocated the formation of a trade federation culminating in a political party backed by every worker in the country. He expressed a qualified approval of strikes, and stated that he frioried in labour victories obtained by the strike method, but insisted that it was only by political action and the public ownership of industries that Labour could fully attain its goal. Political and industrial problems, lie said, wore identified and inseparable. The labour forces must bo prepared to follow the enemy into political encampment and "whip them there," or stop short of final victory. Professor Mills stated that, he would endorse any scheme of labour uuity provided one or two essential') were wuceded. The Labour party 'must be disthist from either the Liberal or the Conservative parries. The Liberal party, he said, had betuiyed labour, and had made progress impu-siblc. Any one who said that the unity proposal was intended"in some way to'revive the atiiantv between the Liberal parlv mid Labour tmist 'have said it "in a lrtliniiip; position." Any one who *aid mi was,'certainly .-.latin;; what was noi true. An.ither vital iiece»ily n»< ||| tl j mere geographical representation im | ;l . Ikiui bodies should be abolished and replaced by trade representation., finally, there fhould be no altempt to separate political from industrial problems, Divine versa.