LABOUR'S OPPORTUNITY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 10, 12 July 1909, Page 3

LABOUR'S OPPORTUNITY.

TO THE EDITOB. : Sir,— The position of the Labour Party i e.iiev tho splendid advocacy of land, re- ■ form by the labe Minister of Labour, ' Mr. Hogg, should be slightly in the ascendancy. Mr. Hogg, by his sacrifice of , position for principle, has done more for the cause of Labour by his action, ' than the Labour Party could do in mauv i years' propaganda .work. The people of j

to-day in their rush for the almighty dollar are too prone to make their sacrifices vice-versa, and to sink their principle, in the general scramble to obtain position and riches. Mr. Hogg has signified his intention, I believe, of touring the Dominion in the interests of an In° dependent Labour Party. His first opinion was that something should be done towards forming a Liberal Land Reform Party, but he now sees in the light of! niaturer reason that no lasting reform in the way of land nationalisation can be hoped for from the present party in power. It is for the Labour Party to assist him as much as possible in his endeavours. The general mistake that seems to have been made by the Labour Party in the past is to leave too much to be done on the eve of an election, instead of fighting, educating, and organising from election to election. The land question as well as most of the planks on the Labour Party's platform, are questions of education. Education is the lundamental basis of every reform. As a result of education and organisation we hope to have our land and national industries placed on a proper basis, and true prosperity asbured to the masses of the people. When is this education going to commence? Not until wo have ?■ leader and an organisation. Mr. M Laren has given us room to hope that he would make an efficient, leader, and his success is assured if h© would but take advantage of the trend of public opinion on the land question, and bring forward his scheme to thoroughly organise a campaign throughout this country, 10 drive home .the truths of the Labour cause which Mr. Hogg has done so much to advocate. The time is ripe fov a change, the people are waiting but for a leader. Some of them who have studied the situation, the calibre, and potentialities of the two present parties, recognise by their recent actions what it is to be politically deluded, as they haye been in the past. It was encouraging to hear the opinions openly expressed, on the Opposition party, at their meeting in the Town Hall on a recent Thursday night. When Mi. Herdman emphasised the necessity of a change of Government, many of them rose in the hall and exclaimed from the bottom of their nearts, "But not your party. ' The cry was for a new party— Labour— and that cry is going to be answered only when our leader comes forVar ut, Hog 8 has revived our battle cry, ■} he land for the people, and the people for the land." This is not the cry of political marionettes, but of men, and men of principle, stamina, and Backbone. We will gain what we have particularly lacked in the past— the goodwill and support of the country workers who are with us to a man. The essen tial personality at the present juncture is the general— the campaigner, the shrewd director of the campaign to amalgamate the detached unorganised forces of Labour, to centralise and control their fighting forces from one end oi the Dominion to the other on the basis of a definite scheme. With contributions and support from the present unions and heterogeneous organisations whose political beliefs are closely allied, to flic party s platform, their success is assured. This should be the first consideration of all well wishers of the Labour cause to push forward organisers and to contiibute towards their support in the field. The people are ready. The masses are waiting. Who wilL lead' us? M'Laren? Taylor? Rigg? A. W. Hogg? O'Regan? M'CulloughV Who? Who will shape the future of the Labour movement? Posterity awaits their answer. I am, etc., G. G. FARLAND.