THE VICTORIAN LABOUR PARTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10421, 20 April 1897, Page 4

THE VICTORIAN LABOUR PARTY.

Is' New Zealand, those who call themselves Liberals have been successful, so far, in attaching to themselves the Labour party, and have always been exceedingly jealous of any idea of the Labour party setting up for itself. That was manifested the other day, when the Government organ at Wellington, which leads the chorus throughout the colony, assailed Mr. Ben Tillett in terms which might be called abusive, and which drew from him the remark that he had been treated courteously by the press, except by the New Zealand Times, from which he had a right to look for different treatment. The Labour party in Victoria, however, have been acting on their own account. They endeavour to win as many seats as possible for their own men, and, as a matter of course, tlio seats they are most ready to attack, and with the best chances of success, are those held by members of the Liberal party. The President of the Trades Hall Council has recently stated that at next election the Labour party iu Victoria would make itself heard as it never lias been heard before, They were anxious, he said," not only to retain every seat they now had, but to win several which were occupied by Liberals." The programme which has been adopted by the Labour party of Victoria has not been fully disclosed, but certain of the objects have been published, and these are: - All revenue duties to be abolished; high tariff duties to be imposed sufficiently to stop imports ; revenue to be raised by an all-round land tax; no more freeholds to be permitted ; a State Bank for the issue of paper money." The remainder of the platform is partly known, one certain plank being the nationalising of Industries, so that all men may be employed by the Government. It is surmised in Melbourne that the putting forward of an extreme platform, and the threat of attack on Liberal seats, is simply a device to make the Liberal party advance in their turn, and to commit themselves to extreme measures. Our own Liberals are in somewhat of the same fix. They are driven on further than they care to go. But they will find that there is no stopping place for them till they get to "straight-out Socialism."