Sir George Grey, the Franchise, and the Referendum

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 42, 22 December 1911, Page 15

Sir George Grey, the Franchise, and the Referendum

By DEUCALION.

Many y«are ago the Writer had the privilege hi listening to an address delivered, bj' Sir George Grey in the old Theatre i Royal in. Auckland, the iwin topic of which was the then recently reformedt' franchise, in wliich the principle of one man on© vote was embodied. It was the only occasion on wdiich I ever heard Grey speak, and the memory of it'is with mc yet. His easy and earnest eloquence, his smooth and flowing'phraseology and impressive delivery were things not easily forgotten. I well remember how powerfully he directed the attention of his audience to the great opportunities that were put within their reach to make or mar the future of the colony. Especially he dwelt in the great possibilities for their future wieill-being that were now placed within reach of the working-class. How, if thoy were only true to themselves, they held the power to so improve the conditions of their existence as to completely revolutionise the relations at present existing between themselves fuid other classes.

At that time Socialism and Socialist propaganda were practically unknown to the workers as a class. The idea of class-consciousness had never been promulgated. The idea of being true to themselves AS A CLASS had never entered the minds of the workers. The nearest approach to organisation that then existed was the isolated craft or trade union, which made no attempt to influence the political action of its members.

Sine© that time great changes have occurred in the ideas and aims of the working-dauss. No longer is political action deemed to. be outside the sphere of action of t>h© New Unionism that is coming rapidly into existence. On the contrary, the unionist of to-day looks to political action as a thing of equal, if not more importance than direct action on the industrial field. One of the great causes of this tendency may be found in the fact that our present political system is so milch a delegation of po\fer to rule, placed in the hands of individual representatives, that they when one*? elected become really our masters. The. question therefore of the bestowal of his vote in favor of the most suitable candidate is of the utmost importance to the working-man or woman, whether he or she realises it or not.

A glaSce down the list of those returned st|g parliamentary representatives gives impression that as a class the workers! have not in the past realised the importance of this matter. Voters, as a especially working-class voters. Have in a large number of cases been indifferent to or looked with a ort <3f contempt on the electoral franchise. They saw but little else in a parliamentary election but a strife or struggle between candidates, and when, they vote, they vote for some popular man. regardless of principles or the means hy which that popularity lias been gained.

Thank's largely to Socialist and industrial unionist propaganda, that disposition ;to treat the franchise lightly is passing away. In consequence of having obtained a better knowledge of the principles governing their economic position and their relation to the ruling; class of the past the. workingclass is realising the fact that to be truly represented in Parliament they nrast li<- represented by members of their own class, who have been, tried and are to be trusted. Above .-ill. they realise that the time has arrived when the making of the laws by which they are to be governed must be more directly in their own hands; that the referendum and initiative is theirs by right; that important Acts such as the Defence Act or the floating of hug* , loans and others too numerous to mention should not be smuggled through the legislature in the dying hours of a session under the lash of the party whip ; that with the referendum in operation their votes will be given for measures and not men ; and that volumes of trashy legislation that now cumbers the statute book and makes work for lawyers and judges. will cease to issue from the place of talk. In future elections, let us hope that the working-class, as enjoined so earnestly by Sir George Grey, will show that they can be true to themselves by being true to their class and returning those candidates who have tmequivoc-a-bly declared themselves to be one class candidates only, and that the worldßg-class.