ARRIVAL IN DUNEDIN. SPEECH AT THE ALHAMBRA THEATRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 16

ARRIVAL IN DUNEDIN. SPEECH AT THE ALHAMBRA THEATRE.

Mr Keir Hardie, member for MerthyrTydvil and leader of the Labour party in the British House of Commons, arrived in Dunedin from Christohurch by the first express on the 9th inst. At Palmerston Mr Hardie was met by the Hon. J. T. Paul, M.L.C., Mr J. F. Arnold, M.P., Mr J. W. Munro (president of the Political Labour League), and Mr R. Breen (secretary of the Otago Trades end Labour Council), who had travelled out from town by an earlier train. These officials representatives of Labour accompanied the distinguished visitor to Dunedin, where, on arrival, Mr Hardie was warmly greeted by Messrs H. Westwood (.president of the Trades amd Labour Council), W. Pattison, I A. Judge, R. Ferguson, Wade, J. Brown. J. Fox, J. Haymes, P. Neilson, R. R. Douglas, and other men prominent in Labour Union circles. The proceedings were quite informal, and on their completion Mr Hardie was driven to the City Hotel, where he has taken up his quarters during his short stay in Dunedin. AN INTERVIEW. When approached by a rep'resentattive of the "Times with a request to accord an interview, Mr Hardie readily consented. " The aim of the socialistic party at Home," he said, in response to a, question, "is the same as that of the socialistic party everywhere else — namely, to make the people supreme by transferring the ownership of land and capital from private into public property. The- party ie making 'very rapid progress both in municipal and , parliamentary elections. We have now some 1500 members in the local administrative bodies and 33 in the House of Commons. The 15 miners' representatives in the House of Commons will join the. party this year, bringing out numbers up to 48 strong. This is being brought about j by a ballot vote of the Miners' Federation on the question of whether or not it should affiliate itself' with the Labour party. The \ proposal was submitted to a vote of the members last year, and was only defeated by 10,000 out of a total membership of 325,000. This year the vote is again being taken, wth the certainty that it will be carried by a considerable majority." Wherein, does the Labour i/arty differ _

from the socialistic party? queried the reporter. "The Labour party," said Mr Keir Hardie, "is an alliance of the. trade union movement and the Independent Labour party, the latter being the socialistic wing of the Labour movement in the Ola Country, and it is to that wing that I bolong, but I am chairman of the whole Labour party." " You would have noticed the cable message appearing in the New Zealand papers a few days ago, Mr Hardie," said our reporter, " outlining an interview with Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman at Biarritz, in which the Prime Minister gave the programme for the coming session, and also stated that the present Parliament had several years of effective work to perform, and would be dissolved by. efnuxion of time. Haye you any opinion to offer on the material contained in that cable?" "Yes," said Mr Keir Hardie, "I have; and it is thin: I do not believe that Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ever gave any such interview. • The Prime Minister of England is not likely to go to Biarritz for health purposes to give a reporter information as to what the programme of the party is to be. I certainly do not think tor a moment that the present Parliament will run its full course. There will be a dissolution either a,t the end of this year or at mid-summer of next year." "The woman's suffrage movement," which was the next question couched upon, "is making considerable headway," said the leader of ihe British Labour party. "The militant section has overcome the sneering stage, and is now being taken seriously, especially by the Liberal press. If_ the present Government does not deal with the question before leaving office it in a certainty thak if the Conser.atives get the opportunity, they will pass the measure and bring about the reform. I am not without hopes, however, that the Government, before Parliament dissolves, will endeavour to pass a very comprehensive Reform Bill which will , include women's 3uffrage. Th© Labour party strongly supports suoh a measure." "Speaking of political parties, Mr Hardie," asked the reporfer, " what ie the relationship of the_,Labour party with the Irish party?" " There is a friendly working feeling. There is no alliance or agreement, but. except on education questions, the two parties are usually found in the same lobby. The Labour party supports Home Rule, and the Irish party supports Labour measures. On the education question we aupport secular education, whilst the Irish party naturally stands for denominational teaching." „ " The general conditions of the working man in Great Britain," continued Mr Hardie, " are decidedly not improving. If they were, you would not be receiving so many immigrants into New Zealand from England to-day. Work is more irregular, and, on tha whole, more precarious, co that* the total earnings, even of the artisan section, are considerably less than the Tate of wages would appear to imply. Therefore the condition of the worker is not improving. That, to some extent, accounts for the rapidity with which our socialist movement is growing." "la what way," said the renorter. " do

you look for r.u. — * at Home?" — . " Our main proposal, was the reply, " for this session will be a bill to confer upon the British subject at Home the right to obtain work from the State. We have 20 million acres <jf land lying idle, -most of it suitable for afforestation. ' "We have another area, quite as large," suitable for cultivation in small holdings. We look mainly to the reduction of the hours : of labour and the extension of work upon- the land ac a temporary expedient to tide over the workers until Socialism has been realised." ' > What will be the other planks of the Labour party in the coming session? " Old-age pensions " was the prompt response. "Universal pensions?" asked the reporter. "Yes," said Mr' Hardie. "At the present time the well-to-do official element has the pension. Half-pay officers and retired civil and military servants are already drawing close on £9,000,000 a from the State funds. We have also a, bill for the creation of wages boards for the sweated' industries — that is, for unorganised labour— seamstresses, tailoresses, matchmakers, and that class generally. The trade union movement will not have Wages boards, believing that they can" do better by using their own-strength"with-out the intervention of the law. In that belief I concur." Questioned with regard to the House of Lords, Mr Keir Hardie said: "The present proposal of the Government^ would have the tendenoy to make the situation worse. What Sir Henry Campbell-Ban-nerxnan has proposed is that the Lords should have power to reject a bill which had twice passed the House of Commons, but would be compelled . to accept it on the third occasion on which it had passed the Commons. In effect, this would mean 1 that every big measure would take three ! years to become law, and as the average duration of a Parliament is only four years, the absurdity of the' proposal \a apparent on the face of it. In this, as in jjost other things, the fatal division which exists in the ranks of the Liberal party renders ' that party ineffective as an instrument of genuine reform. As a Labour party our position is that when we get the right kind of House of Commons the Lords wilt not dare to stand in the way of tegisla- . tion." In concluding the interview, Mr Keir ' Hardy said the condition of the working j classes in New Zealand and Australia was~ I better than in any other part of the ! world he had visited, and he had nothing- | but the very highest terms of praise in I which to speak of New Zealand's climate [ and capabilities and scenery, so far as ha hid had opportunity of experiencing them , during his sojourn in the Dominion.