NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20367, 23 September 1929, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

CHANGING ENGLAND

Recent industrial development in the South of England is producing grave evils, according to Sir Edgar Bonham Carter. The report for 1928 by the chief inspector of factories describes the remarkable growth of industry in the South of England during tha last few years. It states that in .the southern division of the Factory Department the number of registered factories has increased by over 3000 in the last eight years, and that somo of these factories are of great size. "It may bo a good or a bad thing that the South of England is being industrialised," he remarked, " but what is clearly bad is that most of the new factories have been located without any regard to the interests of existing or future residents in the neighbourhood, or of adjoining landowners, and that in the location of many of them the convenience and health of their own workers, and even tho eventual interests of the industry itself, have been ignored." It is estimated, so states the report, that between Acton and Slough there are now 150,000 workers, compared with only 60,000 five years ago. And the report proceeds to describe tho serious difficulties in housing tho workers which have consequently arisen. On tho other hand, at Becontree, where tho London Counly Council has provided admirable houses for a population larger than that of Plymouth, thero aro practically no factories. One has only to motor through the outskirts of London to seo that the evils which characterised the industrialisation of most Midland towns during tho last century aro now being repeated in a modified form in tho South ofEngland. These evils are preventiblo and should bo prevented.

TIMIDITY OF POLITICIANS

The results of the last gcnoral election wcro discussed by Mr. Bernard Shaw in an address to members Of tho Independent Labonrt Party summer school at Wclwyn. He said tho Liberals, were not very inspiring becauso they were mado up half of Conservatives who had always voted with the Conservatives and half of Liberals who were only halfconvinced Socialists. From tho point of view of window dressing there wns ono rule, namely, that if one was going forward as a Liberal or Conservative or Socialist one must go forward as a wholehog one. Tho reluctant Socialist or Conservative had no chance. Tho Liberals were still in a state of general reluctance. Even in the days of Gladstone, when they did somo remarkablo things, especially in other countries, they wero very much ashamed of it and wero always trying to persuade people that they were not Liberals but were really good Conservatives. That clement was to be found in the Labour Party. Many members wcro more anxious to convince the public that they did not mean anything so wickod as Socialism than they were to make Socialism popular. In tho general election tho Labour Party had had a curious success. It was not exactly popular, but it was the only party that was not unpopular. They must not suppose for 0110 moment that it was because the great mass of tho people had become Socialist. Tho Labour Party was not a solid party. It was partly a trade union party and partly a Socialist party, and there wore already, and there would be in increasing numbers, members of it who wanted to have a political career and joined the party they thought would givo them the best prospects. They were not undesirable people. They were often vory clever. They worked hard and they would do anything for anybody who would help to get thorn on with their career. But the main divisions of the party were Socialist and trade union. Its leaders were Socialists, but tho great mass of membership was trade union, and that was saturated with capitalistic ideas. It had adopted the capitalist idea of getting tho highest prico for its labour and giving as little as possible. A real Socialist government would not permit a strike. The one thing that would be compulsory would bo labour.