LABOUR'S SELECTION BALLOT

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 79, 30 September 1918, Page 8

LABOUR'S SELECTION BALLOT

\ :" ■ " , ;l "■ TO~IHB EWIOE.

S-Sir,—The manner in which the Labour Kepresentatiori^.Committee.has suppressed tie "figures in connection with the. selecfjont ballot"for' Wellingto n' Central is ilbfng Labour'generally-a'great deal of ■harm. Why not be honest and frank? If.; Labour wishes to gain the confidence ■.s£*. the people it-should shrink from all tactics which are not,open and free from suspicion. -For -writing to you in this strain I will he called an enemy of Labour. -They will say because I ,prefer to < remain.anonymous that my communication is unworthy of reply. But* is that an answer? I ".know very ■well that members of organisations affiljat.ed to the L.R.C. have not been informed as •to the aotnal vote "because jit^would. not be fair to defeated candidates." Would; Mr. Reardon or Mr. 'Pea^ .have anything to fear i if it was ifcn'own that the.number of votes to their Credit was only a dozen? No! Sir, I feel ,-ihere is another reason. lam not allegTiiigKtliafc the voting strength of. the Social "Democratic Party or the other, organisa.tioiis with Socialistic tendencies was suffifiient to account for.the selection of Mr. JFraser even if they voted for him en, ibioc. As a matter of fact, 1 the; number of/votes held by the Social Democrats is, \1 believe, in the vicinity of 100. I refuse %'" accept-the statement of the secretary .that 2136 votes'were actually recorded. .The total number of votes on the roll is $107, and,/-with many others, I do-not * thjiik that' such'a large -»ropoition exertheir rights. I assert that the number of votes recorded was -under 3CK). Will the Labour Representation Commititee,say whether, this is true? Will it say fthat votes were not counted according to XVtie^aggregate membership of each union? jlf: 2000' 'actual votes were recorded at , (Vivian-street the returning officer—there .Swas only, one—would have had a very |-busy time., As'it happened, he did not. -■Now, let us hear the actual facts.—l am, iirtc.> '■'■'■,■ ■ " ' ■ >;if2 •.•;;•■ • : -:'■ ■ HONEST TOILEE. '. I.' [The official reply given by Mr. E. Kennedy,,', secretary; of the Labour Representation Committee, is as follows:— .•'The correspondent does not take into . consideration the fact ; that the polling extended over two days, from 9 a.m. to "9 p^m. each day. There was only one returning officer, but ha had two assistants! as scrutineers., therefore it was not lively that'he would be 1 very busy.; It iis'-.a fact that the number of members ;in'the Social-Democratic Party is 100, • and it.is true,„also, that the actual ! votes polled totalled 2136. Labour does itipt ;feel-disposed to give to an anonyinqua, for -aaiy-other,- correspondent facts if elating "to "the internal workings of the j>arty. The internaland general workings of the party are not for'the general public."].... . ,-.'. •

ji Sir, —Mr. Kennedy states that over J2OOO voted in the selection for the Lab-> our • candidate for the Wellington Central; election. Seeing that only about 250 .voted ..for the' Wellington North : selection, something must have happened. This is,.what I thiaKhas happened: Mr. Kennedy; < "lamps' Jbe^- membership of all jiinions nominating candidates; adds, ; the - ji'uml)erß*~wKc'-^aietuany...'.-voted 'at the ; .Trades Hall, and hence the magnificent ' ifigures.;•'"'Say.-^at? a : union-meetiug attended .byJl<ss~ .members, somebody is nominated. .-. Mr. Kennedy assumes the :-otter 325 members of the union to have 1 jp.ted. .. 'Irades-unionism did not bother

about the election—the -Social Demo- , critic Party did; lience Mr. Fraser's return.—l amj etc., - '

VERTTAS.

[To this letter Mr. Kennedy replied: "Your correspondent has not" the slightest; conception _of How' Labour conducts a selection ballotj or. he would not havewritten in the way he has."] TO TBB EDITOR. , Sir,—ln your issue of the 27th you pubjished a/letter from; P. T. Moore,, which states that the narrow constitution of the New Zealand Labour Party, wliich compels all members, and candidates for Parliament to abide by platform which contains planks that are neither' "righteous 1 nor patriotii," etc. . This from a man who stood as a Labour candidate in 1914, upon' practically the same platform,. containing the same planks as at the present time is remarkable. .Further, the same Mr:. P. T. Moore, wrote /to me on Bth November, 1917, offering to again stand as the Labour candidate for the Wellington' North, by-election.' Mind, Sir, the same party with the same planks in its platform was all right ,in 1914, and again in 1917 for this particular gentleman, who now states that the constitution and .planks, and platform of the the party are neither "righteous nor patriotic." Enough said. —I am, etc., ■

E. KENNEDY,

Secretary,

Wellington Labour Representation Committee.

[The correspondent encloses a copy of a letter written by Mr. Moore on Bth November, 1917.] '■'"-.■''