Howard on the P. and T.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 295, 25 October 1922, Page 11

Howard on the P. and T.

'■ In liis. speech on the r'ght-of the P. 'arid' T. Officers' Association to 'affilthe Alliance of Mr. E...--J.; Howard (Curistchurch '.Couth},alter chaffing the Prime Minister cfcoTit ;j\m banqaet speech and -urglag }.:<mourable H embers, not to take a spfeecjh .delivered after -yftrious leasts had--.Keen drunk at a certain shiyoo too seriously, said that the question before the House was not as to whelijpr the Liberal Parjy was a. loyal party or whether the Peform Party would join with the Labour Party, it was this: Why was the Post and Telegraph Association prevented from doing' something that all other citizens In the Dominion were permitted to do? It .was not. a question as "whethe the Alliance of .Labour was a fit and proper organisation for the Post and Telegraph Association' to join or not. The question to answer was why should this section of the community be prevented from exereis'sg an the liberties, the rights and privileges that other sections of the communities were permitted to exercise? AH citizens were bound by the laws of the country in wh'ch they iiyed. Par- | liament was not above the lav/. Par-! J liament had to comply with the law.! i Cabinet was not above the law, Cab- j I ine;:- had t o comply with the law. The ; Prime Minister was not above the law. J and neither could the Prime Minister !or the Postmaster-General do an unI J awful act. Thu Reform Party could i join the Alliance of Labour if the j Reform Party- so desired and'lho Al- | of Labour would have- them. J TJi>9 liberal Party could join the Ai- | iiance of Labour. In the eyes of the j lav/ the Post and Telegraph organisation had all the rights and privileges that the Reform Party had or the ! Liberal Party. The Post'-and Telei'graph Association d:'d not ia.sk- that \ they should be perra--tted to do someI thing that other citizens w,ere not ■permitted + o do. All they asked was ! that they should be permitted to enjoy ! and exercise all the rights and privileges that other citizens were permitted to enjoy. The Alliance of Labour was a lawful organisation. It had been organised and registered in a lawful manner. The Post and Telegraph 'Association was a lawful organisation, organised and registered in a proper manner. All other citizens were permitted to link up w";tli the Alliance of Labour. The Amalgamated' Society of Railway Servants \v.ore part and parcel of the Alliance of Labour. Tho Post and Telegraph Association would comply with the Law. If a law was put upon the Statute Book which said they could riot jo:n the Alliance of Labour, they would abide by the law, but at the

same time they would try and get the lav/ altered. All they .were aslc-ng-WA3 that their liberties should not be interfered with by the PostmasterGeneral in an unlawful manner. Il was no good trying f o side track the question. That was the question we had to answer and we ought to be prepared to answer it.