BRITISH LABOUR PARTY.

Grey River Argus, 21 November 1928, Page 6

BRITISH LABOUR PARTY.

EXCLUSION OF COMMUNISTS OFFICIAL BAN ENDORSED At the Labour Conference at Birmingham the question of Communists in the ranks was finally dealt with. By an overwhelming majority, the conference accepted a recommendation put which, in future, the following persons are ineligible as delegates to national or local Labour Party conferences or meetings, no matter by whom they were appoii ted:— (a) Persons acting as candidates in opposition to duly endorsed Labour candidates. (b) Persons who are members of political parties declared at the annual conference by the National Executive Committee in pursuance of constant decisions to be ineligible for affiliation to the Labour Party.

Mr Alexander Gossip (Furnishing Trades Association) led the opposition to the executive’s proposals. He maintained that at the present time there was far too much indulgence in heresy hunting. “T believe in being loyal to the principles which I have held for over forty years,’’ h* said. “No one is going to dictate to us whom we shall appoint as our representatives. We have been definitely instructed by the exe.utive committee to choose the men or women from mong us regardless of the communist paity or to any other organisation. If we want to give anyone the cold shoulder let us give it to those who are well-known enemies of the working-class movement.” Mr Wfliam Richards, another of of the representatives of the Miners’ Federation, also took his stand with the-executive. “The people who are guilty of heresy hunting are the people we are going to deal with in this resolution,” he said. “Mr Ramsay MacDonald has been subjected to heresy hunting from platform to platform all over the country, and we are attacked by heresy and false ; tatcments. ”

Mr Herbert Morrison put the views of the Executive Committee. He sailthey had no intention of crushing the minority. “We are not going to control every word you utter,’’ he said “We are nc;t. going to do with you as the Russians have done with Trotsky. All we aje adking is reasonable loyalty to the party. We would not have brought this before you if it had not been necessary. We are going! tex interfere with the big trade unions,” he added amid some opare going to; h! Ip us to do it.” A delegate wanted to Know how long the pnniskment would last, and met with rebuke from Mr Lansbury: • ‘As long as the person docs not conic to the"penitent form.” THE SIMON COMMISSION

MacDonald made a vigorous reply to Mr Fenn' r Brockway, if the Independent Labour Party, who moved the reference back Vo that section of the report dealing with the Simon Commission. Mr Brockway and other speakers mam tained that the Indian people did not want the Simon Commission, and that it wWiCTbe the duty of the Ixibou' movement in this country to considei their wishes. Mr MacDonald pointed out that ac had asked the. Indians in Lomion to discuss the Question with himself and the Labour members of the Simon Commission, and they had declined. “I am not to take my views of the Indian opinion from some of the Nationalist memH-trs who are much less inclined to favour the Indian bottom dog than we are ourselves and our representatives in India are,’ he said with sonic warmth. “As lijng as I h<’ld any position in the Parliamentary party and 1 kffow I am speaking from m v book—wb ar* not going to take any instructions from any outside body unless we agree with them. Tf'the ultimate responsibility rests with us we arc not gening Vo go about and say, ‘lf any mishap has happened wv arc awfully sorry, but we rLieeived instructions from India to queer* this inquiry, and in obedience to certain resolutions that have been passed we felt that uur hands were tied behind our backs that we could takl • no- action at all unless first of all somebody who professed to speak in the name of India, gave us instructions to do so. ’ “That will never be done. We will do our level best t'o consult India as we did before Wc aite still consulting Indi;F<rh(l‘are in favour of union aud cooperation, and everything that arises while the Commission is out in India that will enable u<s to build a bridge and keep it, you can depend upon us and the mj.lmbcrs of that commission to do it.

On a card vote the reference back whs* A beaten by (nearly 3,000,000 to 150,000.