MR MUNRO'S IMPRESSIONS

Evening Star, Issue 18053, 22 August 1922, Page 3

MR MUNRO'S IMPRESSIONS

LABOR MEMBERS IMPOTENT, WORKERS MUST TAKE POSSESSION OP PARLIAMENT. At the Choral Hall, last night, Mr J. W. Monro, M.P. for Dunedin North, addressed an audience numbering about 150 on ‘My Impressions of Parliament.’ The chair was occupied by Mr F. Jones, vicepresident of the Labor Representation Committee. Mr Munro began by saying that, so far his party had not done anything. Members had been in Wellington seven weeks, and in hia opinion had practically done nothing. Therefore he could not say anything about the work of Parliament, and he simply proposed to have a homely talk. In the first place he wished his hearers to realise how impotent one Labor member was, or even .the nine Labor members who were there to-day. Ho bad an idea when ho went up that the House would pay, attention when a fine speech was being delivered ; but when one saw the members carrying on conversation and taking no notice of what was being said it took the vim out of a speaker. He had not spoken much in Parliament. During the debate on the Address-in-Reply the older members seemed to have the idea that each must speak for one hour, and he did so to the minute, not caring twopence what he was talking about. He (Mr Munro) did not intend to speak unless ho.had something to say. The fanners were running the country. They seemed to think that the only reason for Parliament was to do what it could for the farmers, and that when a Labor member got up to speak ho was trying' to ruin the country. It was soon borne in upon him that the Labor members were absolutely impotent to do anything for the country in any shape or ■form. ft was a sham fight, pure and simple. The workers must realise that if anything worth while was to be done they must put enough men into Parliament to take possession of it. Both tho bigger parties were out to bring down the standard of wages. If Parliament ■dragged on uselessly, as at present, it was not the Labor members’ fault, but simply .because the Government had no legislation to go on with The workers must put more members into ■ Parliament so as to. make laws for the ot the people—laws that would change New Zealand into a real democracy. The speaker spent a few moments in answering the sneers of men. who blamed the Labor Party as a whole whenever a Labor advocate did anything wrong. As reasonable as to stop going to church because a minister went amiss. _ Tho Labor Party did not stand for stealing in any shape or form. He believed that the union secretaries in New Zealand were as honest as other secretaries. To gibe at the party because one did wrong was not fair. , . ~ “What ate vou going to do in the coming election? ’’ asked Mr Munro. The position was ,that everyone who wished to see the standard of living maintained must not only attend meetings, but help the Representation Committee to the very best of his ability. Tho Reform Governmenfc was put in- power and kept in bv vested interests and the farming community. If the Government went back at the coming elections there would be a greater cut in wages, not only Government servants, but of the woikeis f large. Was it not worth while to do something to prevent such » He thought it was. And what ought to be done? Speechifying by the Labor members would not affect the position. Strikes would not be tolerated in the future. Strikes had resulted in the loweiof wages. If the Post and Telegraph men linked up with the AJiai.co of Laboi as they had a perfect right to do if thej wished to, that would not prevent the cut. The only way was to put more Labor members into the House. Ihe Go vernment would like nothing be t, to see the workers go on strike, and it would ■ then have them by the neck. Referring to the taxation on account of the war, L Munro said that when he war started the capitalists said : Jo "ill give our last man and our last shilling. Ihey gave pretty well the last man but they did not give even the first The people who had money before the war had increased their money, the ju vernment now said it did not know who else to tax. There were many men with high salaries who could be taxed without coming on the workers. Whose fault was it that we owed all these millions? Certainly not the workers. Going up to the House with ideas as to what should and could bo done to help the country, he got a terrible shock to find such a want of earnestness there—members talking merely for the sake of being reported in the newspapers—the only ijuestion of real importance being to keep m Parliament and keep on or get on to the Treasury benches. Tho only earnest members were the Labor members and one or two of the. Liberals. The Government was out to stifle anything that would narrow the field of private seemed to him that the supporters of tho Government had got their orders to make no concession in regard to the spending of money—orders from the interests they represented. Cutting down, wages might be an easy form of retrenchment, but it would not make a country prosperous or happy. One thing it would do wcuhGbc to make tho workers recognise that they must stand solid together. Mr Munro went on to say that tho more work' that was found for the unemployed the more, immigrants would be brought out. The Labor Party did not object to immigrants, but it did object to landing them here at a time when there was no work for them and no houses to put them into.

In conclusion, the speaker declared that if the workers did not act at the coming elections the time would come when they would be compelled to act. 11 The reason why Labor is not more strongly represented in Parliament is that you are too critical of the men wno are put up on your behalf. I want you to note this — that there is no man put up by the Labor Representation Committee who will not fight your battles if lie is put in. You listen to this and that candidate and compare them, perhaps to the disadvantage of the Labor candidate, thinking him not so capable .as the other candidate. Don't he misled by that sort of thing. You will not find your fine .gentleman fighting for you when it comes to the pinch. If you will not vote for the man who is chosen as a reliable man to stand for your interests you will thereafter have to take what you get, and you will deserve all you get.” A number of questions were answered. A collection was made for the election fund, and a vote of thanks to .Mr Munro, coupled with an expression of confidence in the Labor Party, was moved by Mr J. Riley and carried unanimously.