LABOUR POLITICS

Evening Star, Issue 22351, 29 May 1936, Page 3

LABOUR POLITICS

MR J. T. PAUL’S SURVEY ‘ Landmarks in the History of New Zealand Labour Politics ’ was the title of a lecture delivered by Mr J. T. Paul at last night’s monthly meeting of the Otago branch of the Royal Society. Dr W. J. Mullin was in the chair. Where progressiveness was an early characteristic, said Mr Paul,_ there might bo some difficulty in fixing the first political Labour landmark in the colony. His opinion was that the passing of the Employment of Females Act of 1873, the first Factories Act, could be fairly regarded as the first labour landmark. It was true that, compared with the Acts of yesterday and to-day, it was a very small thing of three operative clauses, but it should be remembered that it became law 63 voars ago. The Act was amended in 1874 and 1875, and in 1878 a Royal Commission reported that the several Acts were and had mainly accomplished the wise purposes for which they were enacted! The author of that Act was Mr J. B. B. Bradshaw, who was first elected to the House of Representatives for the Goldfields Towns and later for the Provincial Council and for Dunedin Central in the House. He wan in_ his time the chief exponent of the principle of legislative eight-hour day. In the Northern Cemetery there is a memorial stone erected to his memory by the factory operatives of Dunedin, and .Sir John Richardson had left on record an imperishable tribute to “ Bradshaw’s Factory Act.” _ After tracing the influence of legislation by men who had a common outlook iii harmony with their fellow colonists, the lecturer dealt with the beginnings of the Labour Party, which, ho claimed, had its origin in Dunedin. Following the General Election of 1890, the first parliamentary Labour Party was formed, ami the speaker described its work and influence. This disappeared in a few years and the ascendancy of Mr Seddon became complete. Various constituencies returned Labour members, Dunedin being conspicuously successful in this respect, but they had no distinct party in Parliament. They were members of the Liberal-Labour majority in the House and owed allegiance to Mr Seddon. In 1898 an annual conference of the ' Trades and , Labour Councils affirmed “ that the time has arrived when the Labour Party in Parliament should assert its independence in all things concerning Labour, and not let the consideration of party be the means of preventing its just claims being con-

sidered.” Beyond the passing of the motion nothing further was heard of the matter. The first definite step towards the independence of .Labour in-.. politics was taken six years later.: when lie (the speaker) moved a .motion in the Otago Trades and Labour Council and later at the' annual conference in favour of an Independent Labour Party. The speaker traced the developments toward a national party, and described the various organisations which functioned ami furthered the principle of independence. .The first total vote in 1905 was 3,478. when no seats wore won; the last was at the recent poll, when the vote was 366.000. and the seats won were 53. On three previous occasions only had a political party in New Zealand equalled or won a larger number of seats than the Labour Party at the last election. Mr Seddou’s first record was 52 seats in 1893; in 1899 he won 53 seats, and in 1905 he captured 56 seats. Mr Massey’s highest total of seats was in 1919, and in 1925 Mr Coates won 55 seats. This is the number the Labour Party now, has. counting the Maori adherents since the election. At the conclusion of his address Mr Paul was accorded a vote of thanks.