AN EDUCATED DEMOCRACY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 22, 27 January 1915, Page 2

AN EDUCATED DEMOCRACY

WORKERS' INSTITUTE DELEGATES VISIT WELLINGTON. Messrs. Meredith Atkinson and D. Stewart were passengers from Sydney to Wellington by the Ulimaroa, which ar-' rived rather late at Wellington last evening. They have come for the purpose of spreading the influence of that comparatively new movement in the Labour world— the Workers' Educational Institute. The big Town Hall had been taken for the occasion, but the lateness of the hour o f the boat's arrival and the possibility that the delegation would not arrive in time accounted probably for the very small number of "people who "were present. Mr. J. P. Luke (Mayor of Wellington) presided, and explained that the meeting was being held in the big hall because a wool sale was being held in the Concert Chamber. In" introducing Mr. Atkinson, he said their guest would, he was sure, interest the people of New Zealand in the work that he had in view. It had already a large number of members drawn from ail classes of society, and the ultimate result must be for the benefit of posterity. In the name of the citizens of Wellington he invited Mr. Atkinson to proceed with the lecture. The lecture was illustrated by views thrown on a big screen in front of the j stage from an apparatus situated at the far end of the opposite gallery. In opening his lecture, Mr. Atkinson said that for some months they had been preparing committees for their tour, and nad met with a ready response from all bodies interested in the higher education of the public. They were looking for a tour which would be of benefit to the people as a whole. He proposed that , evening to give a '.ectuie on the history' of British trade unionism. ,He wanted to destroy the illusion that trades unionism sprang from the old guilds. To help in destroying that illusion he put on the screen a few pictures descriptive of the medieval system, which was composed of groups of masters or merchants, many of which have their lights buried in the relics of municipalities. Those guilds did not consist of working men, and at the same time arose guilds of independent craftsmen, which finally submerged the guilds of masters and became even more powerful. Speaking almost entirely in the dark (much to tht disadvantage of the reporters) Mr. Atkinson described the progress of trade unionism during the Middle Ages, illustrated per lantern slides. The real beginning of trades unionism was about 1560, when the journeymen arrayed themselves against the masters; thenceforward there was all the possibility of a strong trade union movement. _ As early as 1720 laws were passed against the clothmakers for combining against their masters; this was before the factory system was dreamt of — and in this connection he showed slides showing the degrading conditions under which some classes of people worked between 1700 and 1800. That condition of affairs led up to the Industrial Revolution, which really began in connection with the coal trade. The new unionism, he went on to say, grew mostly among the highly skilled operatives who were herded together in large factories. Mr. Smith, the local organiser, announced that the Government had refused to give free passes on the railways for Messrs. Atkinson and Stewart, and he made an appeal for funds on behalf of the movement. A collection was then taken up. *■ Turning to the trend of trade unionism the lecturer traced the course of the movement from about 1830, laying particular emphasis on the work of Robert >owen. The time, however, was not ripe for big combination movements, although a great deal of educational work was done. That educational work stood the workers in good stead in the years to come. About 1860 a number of men at the head of the movement provided a kind of Cabinet, v composed chiefly of engineers and carpenters, and by 1867 it was seen how steady the organisation had been, because by that time they had decided to resist to the utmost the Master and Servants Act — which was all on the side of the masters. That same year the Act was considerably amended, and in 1871 considerable freedom was given to trades unions, though "peaceful picketing" was prohibited. Further amendment was made in 1875, placing the trade unionist on the same plane as an ordinary employee. The final stages of British trade unionism occurred in the late '70's and the early '80's, when a body of men sprang up who were more advanced than those who went before. The Socialistic element began to arise; big strikes ensued, and the movement showed that the strike of the unskilled labourers was a class movement in favour of Socialistic organisation, even syndicalism. The result Ws that the movement as a whole became uniform and was expressed year by year in the economic policy of the trade nnipn movement. He was often asked if there was any syndicalism in British trade unionism. Most of the British trade unions were, so to speak, •conservative ; they were not advanced. There was, however, a great body of Socialists who were in charge of the high positions. As to syndicalism, the amalgamation of the transport workers, the railway workers, and the miners meant the strike, and he had no doubt that in the next year or two there would be a big general strike in Great Britain. The syndicalist, however, did not believe in the desires of the trade unionist; his own opinion was that syndicalism, would not gain in England as much force as it has attained in America and France. Syndicalism, to his mind, could only succeed in countries where the national temperament and the natural history were conducive to its development. In conclusion, Mr. Atkinson showed some interesting pictures illustrating the operation of certain "sweated" trades in England. On the motion of the Mayor he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. Mr. D. Stewart (who was introduced by the Mayor) also addressed the meeting. He emphasised the need for an educated democracy, and ho hoped that before many months were over the movement which he represented wonld be firmly established in New Zealand .Education in the past had been left too much to experts; the association opposed that as much as possible, and had set itself the task of educating the average working man and working woman — the first essential step in all social progress. (Applause). Mr. Atkinson made a few remarks on the object of the tutorial class, stating that they gave the pupils which they themselves thought they wanted. The real fact was that the workers merely required the faculty of expression, and the results already achieved had been very encouraging.