LABOUR COLUMN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 15902, 13 April 1912, Page 8

LABOUR COLUMN.

(Published by arrangement with the Canterbury Trades and Labour Oounoil.)

(By D.G.S.)

At the moment of writing the great Unity Conference is in session, and from all parte of the land men and women have gathered to tackle the great problem 'of constructing an organisation that will be wide enough to gather into its ranks all those who seek to put an ond for over to the exploitation of Labour, and powerful enough to accomplish their purpose. There are many m<?n and women of great ability in the gathering, but standing out from all is the central figure, Walter Thomas Mills. I have never seen him display to better advantage his great natural qualities than at this conference, livery one of his draft proposals must pass through the ordeal of keen analysis and criticism bv a body of capable and experienced people, and all present have .been impressed by his earnestness, elouer.ce and 1 ability, and by the . truly remarkable manner in which, without taking notes of any kind, he replies with convincing logic to every objection and every objector, in quiet but impassioned tones, his voice never rising above the necessity of making himself audible) to hkv hearers, .he advocates his cause, and carries conviction by his logic and transparent love for the toiling sons of the earth. How. certain people, in the community, of revolutionary tendency, can find it in their hearts to'persist in' their campaign of calumny against this lovable little man passes iny understanding. it trill not redound-to the credit of themselves or the cause they profess.

There are other distinguished and well known men at the conference, including Professor Picken, Professor of Mathematics at Victoria College, Wellington, who the Students Christian Association of Australasia ; Mr A. Withy, well known in connection with his work as an advocate for the taxation of land values: Colonel Allen Bell, representing the Waikato branch of the Young New Zealand Party, lay preachers, lawyers, writers, teachers, labourers and tradesmen, all aiming at the same goal, the securing of the full product of his labour for the worker; the creation of society conditions that will assure economic justice to all. based upon the social ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange in so far as they are. instruments of -the oppression and exploitation of the people; the adoption of these measures for the benefit of all, and not for the private advantage of a few., The unity of ideas characterising those constituting the conference is manifested by the fact that the objective whose essence is given above. Collectivist and Socialistic in character, gave rise to hut little discussion concerning its essential features. Some of the delegates are hopeful that tho adoption of this objective will serve to conciliate the revolutionary element, but the writer is under no delusion on that score, recognising that there are certain people in the community who are tempera mentally opposed to agreeing with anything of - a constructive character : people whoso forte is destruction and destruction only. , /

The proceedings so far have been markod by great earnestness and harmony, though at the moment of writing tbe platform has only just come up lor consideration, and it is\ possible, or course, even probable, that in a gathering of sixty or seventy men and women there will .be many diverse opinions expressed concerning the value of various proposals as means towards realising the ideal. But we can assuredly rely upon tho recognised tactfulness of our chairman (the lion J. T. Paul) to successfully pour oil upon the troubled waters should such come. A matter that came in lor a great, deal of discussion was the requisition agreement. As has been previously explained in this column, the requisition agreement proposed that instead of Labour candidates for parliamentary honours being selected by the branch of the party, tho platform upon which it is proposed to contest the election shall be distributed amongst the people of the constituency for which the candidate is to contest, and every person signing their adherence to the policy expressed therein shall be given an opportunity of voting in the selection of a candidate. The chief difficulty; pointed out was that tbe carrying out of tlie proposal would involve tire assistance of a very, large number of canvassers, who might not always be available, particularly in country districts. After much discussion a compromise was effected giving discretionary power to the local representation councils to decide concerning each election between two alternatives, (1) the requisition agreement, and (•>> a plebiscite vote of all those affiliated to the organisation.

A matter of great interest to tho Trades Councils is the proposal that they she. 11,' in addition to their present duties, absorb and carry out the work of idle Labour .Representation Councils. The idea has already been approved by the Unity Conference, but has not yet been considered by the Trades Councils

Conference, or by tho local Trades Councils.

The final passage in Professor Mills s report to the Unity Conference is as followsln conclusion I cannot refrain from, a personal word : —I came to New Zealand as n student only. Tho book I had written on ‘ Despotism, or Democracy ’ will be revised, in many ways before its publication because of mv visit to this country. It is now quite,, certain that I Shall return to America for the coming Presidential campaign. , Whether I shall return to this country again to have a further share in the Labour movement will depend very largely on the action taken at tho coming Conference. In any case, whether my departure shall be permanent or only temporary, I shall carry away with mo friendships that I shali always cherish, while 1 snail take my departure with a feeling of amused forgiveness for the jealousy and the bitterness which have sought to defeat m.v work, solely and only by unprovoked and vulgar personalities. I desire to express my sincere thanks to all those with whom I have been associated in this campaign for unity and efficiency.”' ' 1988