WORLD OF WORK

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6315, 16 September 1907, Page 5

WORLD OF WORK

NOTES ON I ABOUT, AFFAIRS AT ' HOME AND ABROAD. (Conducted by "Honosta*.") ('Secretaries of Trades Unionfi and Trades and Labour Councils are requested to forward for publication in this column items of interest to wageearners generally and Trades Unionist© in particular.! A Parliamentary paper issued from the Homo Office during July contains , «e----fcaile of some new Civil List penmons .uaonjj which I find the following:— Mr George Howell—ln consideration of his writings upon Labour subjects, and inadequate means of support, -£SO. . , , , , There is no man living who has tad a longer connection with the Labour movement at Home than Mr Howell. He was associated with the early movement, when much hard, dimcult, and dangerous fighting had to b© done. He was a working bricklayer, has been Parliamentary Secretary of the Trades Union Congress and secretary of the Reform League, and was formerly M.P. for one of the Bethnal Green division©. He ha® written largely on Labour questions, and was possessed of the most complete library of works on Labour subjects, which is now placed in the Bis hops gate Institute. Mr Howell refused to sell hi® library to America. For these reasons. Labour men will rejoice at the Civil List pension awarded to Mr Howell, although it i© altogether inadequate, and but a very tardy recognition "of his writings on Labour subjects.**

Much importance is attached by the Labour Party to the "Right to Work Bill" recently introduced in the House of Commons by Mr- J. R. MacDonald. Xn introducing the Bill, Mr Ma-cDonnk! said:—"The present BUI waa modelled on the existing Law. It assumed that the problem of unemployment was permanent, and that it wae the duty of the State to make provision for it. The proposal was that the Council of every borough, urban district, and parish, should become registration authorit'es The Council of every county, county borough, borough, and urban district, with a population of 20.000 and over, should be local unemployment authorities, who*© duties It should be to produce ochernee for the approval of the Local Government Board, A Central TJnemployment Committee was bo be formed for the purpose of finding work, whm 1 ' should include the making of national roads, afforestation, and the reclamation of waste laud. The central body shouM have compulsory powers for the acquisition of land. Persons of cxrerienc*? in industrial organisations should be allocated to thm. • Belief should not

a voting disqualification. who would not work <vmM b r - re-orb'd to a Court of Summery Jurisdiction."

It i« said that the Christchurch CPy Council lia«s insisted on several of ib« old employees applying for permits fro-' the General Labourers’ Union to work for lass., than the usual scale of wage*'. A committee of inquiry consisting of Mosers .Tames Thorn. D. Sullivan, .aei E. Howard has been ret ii l- * bo mvcst'gntp and report to the Christchurch bi'aurii of the Political Labour League.

Mr James Thomson, secretary of the Belfast Shop Assistant's’ Union, i a V present on a visit to Aus’—nJia, and hey been welcomed by the Sydney 1~1:” Council, Tn the course of a speech on the condition of labour in Ireland, be said h© cam© from a city of which mu*had been beard lately so far as labour troubles were concerned. Shortly he left Belfast there was a bye-election. A candidate, Mr W. Walker, was put forward bv the locml Labour party, and though he was. defeated, Mr Thomson was very hopeful : that Belfast wmreventually send him into the House* o* Commons. He had the pleasure to bchairman of the first meeting of Labour candidate held in the North Division, and had also worked with ’ np to the day of the poll, and he f©R the receptions they received that was.conning round te labour. The great difficulty, however, they had- to eowith was sectarianism. As an instance of tbi* the visitor • said that if Orange labourites held a meeting; say. in the Y.M.C.A. Hall, none of the "Greens" would attend, and the same aft''*, would be taken up by tn© ether section l .f a meeting was h<»ld in St. Mary’s Hall. Air Thomson said that the leagues were hopeful of bridging the gulf that was dividing the two sections, so that they might be able to give full effect to tlm labour vote, *

The A. 5.8.5., in conference, bare come to a very -important, and -at the same time* a wise. and cautions resolution, as regards themselves and the companies. They have given the' Executive a free hand to' negotiate once more with the comnamefc, as against the proposition of the minority, . that.a strike- ballot of the members of . the Union be taken. Apparently the sane'members feel tlyt there never was a;Labour crisis requiring. more careful handling. The. effi* cicncv of the railway system is. almost the very life of the nation. If- it.were extensively, or lightly, disturbed, the consequence® to trade would be dis*ictrous, and the, resentment of the public would be profound and lasting. As no strike can poasibly.be successful- that estrange® public sympathy, it is to bo hoped the Executive of the A.S.R.S, wii-1 he able to com© to some compromise with the companies.

- Some rears ago Mr Bette, of Inangahuift. initiated the idea of federating tV various Miner®* Unions, but apparently the scheme did not meet with the approval *of the majority, as nothing more he® since bf-cn • heard of it. The Wr’t" I'', 1 '', Coal Miners* Union, which approved Mr Betts* scheme- of throe years ago,- has decided to : revive the suggestion 'andTmeh it to a successful issue. After fully discussing the proposed scheme at a recent meeting, the said union ■ instruct its secretary, Mr. B. Manning, to communicate with the other miners’ unions' in New Zealand, t.o get all the information' possible on the subject of federation, and report to a future meeting. **

The new Workmen’s - Compensation Ant has Just come into force in thCountry, and already employers, of !a- ---' tour are settinrr about re-a’dj nsting economic responsibilities. One of, the chief rah concerns, in T-midon has intimated to onmlTyre-, that fat will have to nay one penny every working day to cover the cost of insurance 1 necessary-to cover the risks of the company. 'Bus drivers (n the same employ have had, since July first, their money reduced, by eixnence a day. That an employer, should’protect his own interests is. of course, ‘only natural, but surely this I act is too heavy a nrice to pay for insurance. - But little things like these are teaching the workers the uselessness of all such paliative measures.

The confidence with which Mr W. D. Hnvwood. of the Western Federation of Miners, looked forward to his acquittal of the charge of murdering Governor Btnnnherg is shown in the following letter which he sent, from prison ,to the fifteenth annual convention of the Miners’ Federation then meeting at Den-

Denver. June 12.—The fifteenth annual convention of the Western Federation of Miners, now in session here, has received’the following message from Wm. n. Haywood, its secretary, now answering triimped-np chargee in Boise: "Harry Orchard ia the greatest liar of the twentieth century, as every man ho has implicated _in his confession stands ready to testify. I am determined to take the. stand and show where he has lied. There will be nothing in my.

case but an acquittal. A hung jury will not do. I demand complete vindication. If your convention had boon six weeks later I would be with you, for by that time I will be a free man, "William D. Haywood."*

Circulars have boon received by almost every union in the colony from Messrs McCullough and Slater, the rival candidates for the position of Workers* Representative on the Arbitration Court. Mr Jack McCullough is strongly recommended by the Trades and Labour Conference, but Mr Slater, the present holder of the appointment, has many supporters among the unions, and a keen contest is anticipated. The result of the election will be made known some time next month.

An Edinburgh member of the I.L.P. made a most accurate forecaste of the recent bye-election at Jarrow, placing all four candidates, not only in the correct position on the poll, hut in- giving the number of votes recorded. Mr Pete Curran polled votes, whereas the forecast gave him 4700, or just two votes more. The Conservative candidate received thirty votes more than the forecast, and the Nationalist candidate twenty-two votes more.

The Auckland Farriers* and General Blacksmiths* Union has drawn up a set of proposed working conditions based on the Wellington Farriers* award, and the Christchurch Blacksmiths* Agreement. The new union already consists of thirtyeight members, and they intend to ask the Master Blacksmiths to confer with them on the proposals.

The Labour movement has apparently invaded India. An Englishman, who for many years was a resident in India, interviewed the other day on the question of the present social unrest in that country, made the following statement: "The Labour question is at the bottom of it all. The natives are not satisfied with thmr woqes, their hours, and their means of obtaining employment. \ They have, therefore, started to organise themselves into unions, and are making the fight a racial one simply because in that way lies, so they think, their best hop© of success,**

The Canterbury Trades and Labour Council’s .annual report, just to hand, show’s that a net profit of JROO was mode on the new" Trades Hall for the past year. Wellington Trades Council don t seem to have sufficient business ability to run even a fruitetall successfully.