BRITISH LABOUR PARTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14699, 6 December 1909, Page 5

BRITISH LABOUR PARTY

ITS AIMS AXD ASPIRATIONS. ADDRESS BY MR WILL CROOKS. An address on Labour by a Labour member of Parliament docs not pi\>miso much nf general interest. Dili, an address by Mr Will Crooks, the representative of Woolwich in llio liiitish llou-'e of Commons, promi-vd much, and when he rose, at 8 o'clock ln>t evening in His Majesty's Thune to speak on "'lb? Labour Movenice.:, in Ureal Britain" be found himself before an audience that villi difficulty found, lueommodaticn in the big building. Mr J. liiown, president of the Trades and Labour Council, was chairman, and in introducing the speaker ho said that Mr Crook.-, wa.-i wvl! known as a man who had risen to a prominent position by sheer grit and force of eharxwr. Ho was known. !co. as a mini who had never turned hi.s back c-n h : s comrades, but who had fought with th-tn always. They were glad to welcome also Mrs Crooks, who was known as a hard worker among her people in Poplar. London. " MARVELLOUS " CABLEGRAMS. Mr Clocks remark*! ihat when lie loft Home he hid b-3rn under a solemn promise not to indulge in any public sprakiiit,'. therefore be 'iicped I hey would not rfgaid the prf-ipnt. ■gaihering as of tlio nature of a public- meeting, iic was there, first, for ill-'. l sake of hi; health: second, in order to vi-ir certain relations; third, to learn—and 'c.e was learning. He was glad that be had come, and had been able to introduce bim.-f!l to them. They now knew him better than was possible through the r.owsp.ipets. wiih thoir imirvePotis and wonderful cablegrams. Tlio cablegrams were not new-' v--.if.-ii as the people were entitled to: ih.;y were simply the opinions of a few unimportant people in London. Surely the odiior of a newspaper, or his staff, was quiiis able lo oxprws opinions in the leading columns of the paper without being sent cut. from London at- 5s a. word. " Three shillings a word is 100 big a price to pay for some of the things you get c.n this side—l give you my word for that. Now, at Home wo have a press—a marvol'ous press! Sometimes I read it: sometimes I only hear about it." It was impossible to say what kind of treatment 01)3 was gl'-illg to gel from the pre.*: Eome-lim-'S it was one thing, sometimes another. Really it did not matter very much, for ono at Home had the great blessing of free spc.vh. and could go cut- among tlio iwop.'s on-r.-elf and not be misunderstood. Hemight ha described in many ways, but he. objected to it being said that he' had rieeit from the ranks. He had not done that: he was still in the ranks of the men, tho toilers, standing [cur square against the gnovances under which working men the whole world over were compelled lo sudor.

A CHANCE TO LIVE. I!o hail been a monitor of a Trades Union since he was 14 yews old. All ■through his life ho ltd 'always felt thai, vli?y .-.hoidd i!o something so tliat everyone would get a fair chanso in life, and he believed that by combination only were, they .•ib.o (owl at the employer's tabU andurguo 110 mailer out with him honestly. Hut if they wore not, organised, and tha'employers were, them (ho workers would h> avued oul. Organised labour could dictate tortus unorsa.;iiied labour was helpless. In jhe early days of labour orguniealicn they haei! lo prepare petition', for the people in power, asking for certain thing*. Theealways started, "Wo, your humble petilioaers, and conelmleil "We will every l"' ;| y '—a fetatement concerning- which h'o had doubts. And always came back the .same answer, acknowledging the dcon■"out which would "Ik- laid l, e f„ ro (lle proper authority "-which -invariably was ho stoker. D f! ,utation« to Cabinet Mins-fci-3 wore equally wwuccWid, and finaJlv jheyckeded that tho only way in wllich hv • J;J- "n '*■ thsn ™ h ™ understood was b> -*ndm,j Uror own Kprcrcntativcs into tta House of Commons, and litis they did MluraJly no one in the House was Z'. ™Wy Jjh.il to «» them. "tC oh tu Mav> i V m »™ «»!•» • i,'-n? ! , 'a' ihoy ~,<?m? Humph 1 o,; -lol'I ol ' tl,e3 ! a ' M not Ml»»w<« to sit h"t they feel shamed? No-,,),. f fe ai . I]o Ujoy have, cheek enough for any hK" Before they got on to the floor of tl,„ me l,r n ™ b «'} M ™olutiZvv ;; o'v '^-co, | n r re 0,,t f r evolution .« h^h"ch?^; brtOT^'»^

"OVERWORKED" LEGISLATOR bring d„ v, , hi II T , hcy . I'wniscd to :. t ,i " ;: (1 fl i ,i ' i '/ , >—., waited liaroilv L Tl-? f lbotl '\ P"i'[y then the slaAlor of fl- • '' n ' o<, ' 8,, d ■»!nml. Tie vout I,' comshoot, and Ic B bWok discovered ( ~" I'? wove m„ch overworked, and wanted, ffi. *>}. They .m,oh regretted that "owinMo assure o b„,inc» t-hey would bo ".abto iS tl., T 7" 1 Bboat «"" *' ■i-Kt I tie Labour people. " Your hill will not be lost sight of." said the Co™-e i-'i tirair nicest, inwn-r • " U „.;n , rv' i?. ,s , '? {?F"'i Government," aid Mr (I,C ll0 P<* Of the jaoplo by promising to bring down a biH I'. "V 1,0 ,ill » llJ «' !!'» fable. That h S'iL?" U " y Govcrn ""*' ««d« th" Yet thh fearfully overworked Govern. So 1,1'" hod /« ««IJour., hccaitto of . it.,, IS™ ll o, i Uo . 0 «»r aftorI-,., 1.l "m ° lllclll b«S wished to it anxious lo f-v. t|„ ' '."-'VSl'io they W ere rava ihe ri"!,i i A „' ~ lo „ liljl « men a »i' £, tJtr*'* l ; nncl Men |, v do,in ' "" a wn "!8 common thin.; to he.-, , ' W3fi »° «>'• onlv vi ,e,l n • tlwt tU * Hn'Mi « lat ,'t re r. Hlt,n,f lrj<, ° «•'■ I a p..,. otic,, order: ho searched for new «r ««.■ people he knew and loved. ,W |" l * ll> - a "J W could .not l-o tJOLji v.itn money, and. never would be. , H - as M,, W( . s t„| in Britain that thai was_ llie caw-fey were libelled. They noen only look at their papers to learn that, and to lourn lion- tha wishes and wmiir/T.t:: of the S rc,U British people were misronveiibd ,„ the catics-at & a word. 1 !"•'}■ liad 77 million acrw of land in Britain nnd soOO people cMtrolled W millions of 11. lnirty-cighl million people had no land iii- all. Of course, the aristocrats were always crying cut alxmt foreign complications, and the possibilities of an invaiicn: and t-liey were Mio first lo cry, Get off our land! They had enough laud to giro each person two acre?, and enousli, too. to procure feed to keep throe times Ih-» population. Rut the land wits tied up. ''Vou l>? careful how you jet. your lr.T^l so: that is ray atlvioo to you." concluded if ' , V Kr> ' s *- a,K ' the au(l- ; «nw applauded wiMly. l; You'may wa.nt it." ;ivu!. rwoplo .it Home were to lalk a'o-ut anylhin-' and ex-

know," some one had said (o a poor, unhappy old woman. " That vcu should think ■ i !?, Ur , , Kln " aml ,!l ° British Empire} Tho old woman gaped unooniprehondingly. "N'ah. don't como it!" she replied. " Don't you know that, you're a member of tho great Empire on whioh tho sim never selof" "Humph! 'E noveir shines into my lack court, nohow," said tho old woman. Ph:it was the position in n nuts.teu. In; Empire was a great .and glorious thin/r-liut why rave of Empire "Mil tho people were degenerating—wcro wretched and consumptive, and riekoltv and hungry. It. was for happiness in tho cottages of England that the v were fighting. ' ° THOSE LORDS. Mr Crooks went on to deal with trio question of providing funds for the assistance of the unemployed, He showed how the Hudgct made provision for this - o ■natter will, which Iw has already dealt since coming to Dunlin. Ho proceeded to refer to the House of Lords, which had "«>wn out tho litulget, 'nie. Lords had done thal-thoso hereditary r.obodice, those p rol)l0 blio rcpiveenU<l onl m and land. They had thrown out tho Jiudget: they would lock up their land while tlw people starred. Slay tho blood ol tlieir liberty-born forefathers perish in, heir veins if over they gave up this Jißht and surrendered to tlio Lords. those ,no„ before him-l-hcv whose tattlers KTi-o driven from tho Old Country so that it. might make deer forests for i the "gentry "-they |;„ow the position, ami realised how tlw Lords, bv their high-tia-v.ded action, were delilwratolv sottiit" at if nation the expressed wish of tho prople. lliey had passed measures; with. out consulting the peop-.e. "Oh, what do ho people l;no,v?" ask tho Lords. Did they wonder that the Lords , vcro moc l {CC ] and ridiculed? Thev were not worth fivo mitmt.es consideration anvwliero. Mr Crcoks went, on to describe the long '?",. La "" r ' lart - v htl[l ' m thp IIo «So pt Commons, how it. frequently triumphed in Iwrd-won victories, and how it slowly ww, in the face of strong opposition and hitter ju-cjUMtcos, to an influential and prominent, position in the Govcrnmont of tho country. lie told of how tho policy of the Labour party was to fia.vo and educate tlio children and bring happiness into tho homes of the workers and maio tho live, of the aged poor a little brighter and a little more comfortable than was tho case, now.

At. the conclusion of his address the meeting, on tho motion of Mr W. Warron accorded Mr Crooks «, heariv vote of thanks.