LABOUR LEGISLATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1196, 1 February 1895, Page 36

LABOUR LEGISLATION.

ADDRESS BV THE lION W. P. REEVES.

A public meeting- was held in the Skating Rink on Friday under the auspices of the Federated Trades Union Council, for the purpose of heai'ing an address by the Hon W. P. Reeves (Minister of Labour). There was a very large attendance, a goodly number of ladies being amongst those present.

Mr Allan Ward (president of the Council) presided. Mr W. L. Rees also occupied a seat upon the platform. The Chairman opened the proceedings by explaining that the address to be given that night was in response to a request from the Trades Council.

Mr Reeves, who was warmly received, said some considerable time had elapsed since he had addressed a public meeting in Wellington, although there was a time when they had been accustomed to meet pretty frequently. The late Mr Ballanco had always set great value upon these opportunities of meeting the people face to face, and had ever regarded them as a far better means of advancing their political education than through parliamentary debates or even through the newspapers. As for himself he appeared before the people of Wellington that night as Minister of Labour to talk to them upon legislation in relation to the cause of labour. It would be his endeavour to show that labour legislation, so far as it had gone in Hew Zealand, had done good, was doing good, and might be made to achieve greater good still. OBSERVATIONS ABOUT AUSTRALIA.

But before entering into that subject he would take the opportunity of saying a few words about his recent visit to Australia. He was received with the utmost kindness and courtesy not only by the Governments of the several colonies but by the leaders of the various labour organisations there. The greatest possible interest was manifested in New Zealand and the work which the Liberal Labour Party was carrying on here. He could not help contrasting the feeling of respect now exhibited in Australia towards New Zealand with the feeling which he found to exist there on his previous visit five years ago, when the New Zealand visitor had to sing rather small and to feel very humble indeed.. The feeling which prevailed towards New Zealand now was one of respect tinctured with admiration. In his various addresses in Australia he told, without exaggeration or colour, what the work of the Liberal Labour Party here had been, how it had been carried on, and what the results appeared to be. NEW ZEALAND EAR AHEA’D OE AUSTRALIA. He found Australia to be politically a generation behind New Zealand, and the people there, in hearing him describe what had actually been achieved in New Zealand, wondered greatly at it, thinking almost that he was describing a counti'y in Utopia rather than a sister colony. The difficulty experienced by the Labour Party in Australia was in finding a political party with which they would be justified in allying themselves, and in some instances there was an ill-advised disposition to narrow rather than widen the bounds of the labour platform. South Australia, although in population smaller than Victoria and New South Wales, was head and shoulders above them in Liberal progressiveness. It had done a very great deal, indeed, in the direction of placing people upon its lands. Already 12,000 human beings had been placed in village settlements under various systems of tenure. Mr Reeves proceeded to give details respecting those settlements much the same as those which he communicated to a New Zealand Times representative upon his return from Australia. LAND FOR THE PEOPLE. He was much impressed with the success j which appeared to be attending some of these agrarian experiments, and he had every reason to hope something of the same kind would be undertaken ere long in this Colony. The means towards this end had been provided last session in the passing of the Land for Settlements Act. Under this measure land would be obtained for settlement in the neighbourhood of the large centres of population—by friendly arrangement where possible, but if necessary by invoking* the compulsory powers of the law. He hoped to see a number of blocks acquired and set apart for village settlements and artisans’ allotments. Indeed, before many weeks were over the Government would make a beginning in this direction. NEW ZEALAND LABOUR LEGISLATION. Turning now to the labour legislation which had been passed in this Colony during the last few years he had no hesitation in saying that New Zealand had the best code of labour laws which any civilised country possessed. He gave full credit to the last Government for having introduced legislation in the interests of labour, but what he claimed for his own Government was that they had taken up these Bills, improved them and passed them. They had gone much further in that direction than their predecessors, and in fact were only about half through the work they had sketched out for themselves. They hoped in the next few years to pass as i many good laws as they had succeeded in passing during the last few years. Mr Reeves went on to point out that if the labour laws were to yield the best results they must be studied by the workers, and their administration must be closely watched. INDUSTRIAL CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION. After referring to the Factories Act he passed on to indicate the advantages of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. He showed that non-registration of societies would not prevent them from coming under the operation of the Act, while registration conferred certain advantages which should not be neglected.

The registered societies would have v a voice in the selection of the members of the local Conciliation Boards and in the nomination of assessors to the Arbitration Court. He felt confident the decisions of the Arbitration Court would be righteous in themselves and respected by the community. He hoped the Arbitration Court would have as little to do as possible—that its authority would be invoked as seldom as possible—that it would, in fact, be like the birch rod hanging on the school wall to frighten the boys into o*ood behaviour, and not very often applied. He trusted the local Conciliation Boards would do nearly all the work under the Act, and that there would not be much occasion to appeal to the authoritative national tribunal —the Arbitration Court. He earnestly hoped the days of strikes and lockouts had passed away for ever. THE WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY. Mr Reeves next proceeded to deal with the Shops and Shop-Assistants Act. He hoped the Saturday half-holiday would become universal in the Colony. In his opinion it should be the duty of the Government in all cases where the local bodies failed to fix the weekly half-holiday to select Saturday for that purpose. As the point had been raised, he might say he was clearly of opinion that hotel assistants were entitled under the Act to a weekly half-holiday. If, however, it was desired to compel the closing of public-houses on one half-day a week, provision would have to be made to* that end in the Licensing Act, and the most suitable time for closing would bo the same day as that observed by the general public. THE NEED FOR THE SHIPPING AND SEAMEN’S ACT. Mr Reeves went on to treat of the Shipping and Seamen’s Act and to show how unjustified was Mr Duthie’s recent assertion that it shut out the youth of the Colony from the occupation of seamen. If the Act wanted any vindication the terrible shipwreck of the Wairarapa furnished it. The admissions made at the official enquiry about the boat drill showed the necessity for the provisions made in the Act for ensuring the utmost attention to these-, and other precautions for preserving life and minimising danger, Reference was then made to the Conspiracy Act, and great stress was laid upon the urgent importance of workmen making themselves acquainted with the laws which directly affected 1 them. FUTURE LABOUR LEGISLATION. As ior the future the skilled artisans of the Colony were anxiously awaiting a Masters and Apprentices Act, and he would do his best to obtain it for them. Its object was to ensure that the main reason for taking male and female apprentices should be to teach them a trade, and turn them out competent workmen and workwomen, and that they should not be used simply for the employers’ purpose as cheap labour. Fie hoped it would ensure a sound technical training for all apprentices. Then there was the Labour Department Bill, which, although perhaps not urgently called for, was bound to be very useful. In order to make the Labour Department as effective as it ought to be it should have similar authority and power for collecting data relating to all matters connected with labour as was possessed, by the Labour Department of the United States. Were it endowed with this power there would have been no necessity to set up a Royal Commission to obtain evidence as to tariff reform. Another measure that was required was an Eight Hours Act, based upon what was known in England as the trade option principle. This would enable the workers in each trade to regulate their own hours, and«" they might be trusted to do so without ruining the employers. A Servants’ Registry Offices Act was needed for the purpose of placing the inspection and regulation of these establishments in the hands of the Department of Labour, because in the hands of the local bodies the present Act was virtually a dead letter. Then as to the Undesirable Immigrants Bill although it had been received with howls of execration he intended to persevere with it. He intended to keep on talking to the people of New Zealand about it until he had converted them to his own way of thinking. The measure was simply an affirmation of th© principle that the people of this Colony have a right to select those whom they take into permanent partnership. The State had undertaken already to perform a great many services for the people—he trusted it would ere long be prepared to give a pension to those in old age—and it had a right, in the interest of the people, to check any influx of alien races like the Chinese, and to prevent any indiscriminate inroads of destitute workmen from outside. The United States of America had already done all that he had attempted to do in this Bill. Mr Reeves closed his speech by replying to the objections that labour legislation had not brought prosperity to the Colony. It was never expected that the labour laws would raise prices or that they would find employment for everybody. New Zealand with its labour laws and Democratic Government was not less prosperous than other producting countries, and it was certainly less depressed. The Minister resumed his seat amid loud and general applause. Mr Haggett (Typographical Society) moved a very hearty vote of thanks to the Hon Mr Reeves for his excellent address. Mr Reeves and his colleagues, he said, had proved themselves to be the true champions of labour. The resolution was seconded by Mr Kershaw (Bootmakers’ Society), and was passed by acclamation. Mr Reeve* acknowledged the compliment, and on his motion a vote of thanks was passed to the chairman.