MR HUNTER EXPLAINS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 72, 26 March 1914, Page 3

MR HUNTER EXPLAINS.

A statement in explanation and elaooration of his message to Sir I Joseph Ward was made by Mr Arthur I Hunter to a Press reporter on Mon-l-'day night. Mr Hunter said that I after the 1890 strike Labor organised .politically and amalgamated its forces. "The new body was known as the Lib-eral-Labor Federation, and it did good work. For a number of years Labor adhered to that organisation uhitil the death of Mr Seddon, when Labor people found that they we're not receiving the from the Government which they considered they were entitled to. Organised Labor then decided to cut the painter, to leave the Liberal party, arid t6 form an independent Labor party. That party was formed at the Trades and Labor Councils' Conference held in Auckland in 1910, and the action oi the conference at that time had been confirmed by each annual conference since. He thought everybody would agree that while the Labor organisations were part and parcel of the Liberal and Labor Federation, they were really the backbone of that body. It was. owing to the* disapproval of the actions of the Ward Administration, especially in regard to the gift of the Dreadnought, the passing of the Defence Act, and several amendments to the Industrial Con- , ciliation and Arbitration Act—all of i which were passed in defiance of the wishes of the Labor party—that resulted in (the withdrawal of Labor support.from the Liberal party at the last election. The whole of the trades 'unions in New were invited to_ be directly represented at the Unity Congress held last July, and a majority of ithe unions responded. The outcome of the congress was the adoption of the platform arid constitution of the Social Democratic party as it stands to-day. ' "On March 12th of this year," continued Mr Hunter, " a meeting -was i held in Christchurch and was attended |by several of the local members of i Parliament. We are given to understand that at the meeting it was resolved to form a Liberal and Labor Federation, and that a committee was set up on the nomination of Messrs G. W. Russell and H. G. Ell. Those j who were present, as constituting the Labor section at the meeting, had no authority whateveu ito speak or to act on behalf of any Labor organisation. They represented their personal opin- ; ions only. _ In any case, this so-called Labor section at the meeting was composed of men who, from the organ- 1 ised-Labor point of view, are Liberals I pure and simple, and1 not Labor men | at all. It was as the outcome of this ■ 4-meeting that we have tak^n the step of .letting the leader of the Opppsi- • »tiori know how the' business will' be } taken by organised Labor.- It would : be just as logical for me to convene ! a roieeting and get any individuals i that may come along and expect them , to' speak on behalf of, say, the Liberalior the Reform parities. Another rea- ' son ior taking the action we have is ' that the formation and organisation •-{ of that federation is liable to mislead | workers who do not attend their union I' meetings. regularly and are largely ! guided by what they see appearing in i the newspapers. If the promoters of j the new body persist in its orgamsaj tion it will only create bad feeling and' s will be likely to have the result ex--1 perienced at the last general election j. —the alienation of the support of La- ! bor from the Liberal party,, for, as I ; sjtated in the message, to' the leader I of the Opposition, the Social Demo- ' cratic party so far are willing to sup-: ;/ port Liberal candidates in every cony stituency/ where there is no Labor j'-nton • standing. ],f the Liberals wish ■* to organise as a Liberal party we have ..j ito objection whatever, but we do ! strongly objecsb to a number.of Libe*-- | als meeting and tacking on the word j Labor to their organisation."