LABOUR AND THE WAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 3334, 6 February 1918, Page 16

LABOUR AND THE WAR.

Sir Auckland Geddes, Director ■ of National Service, unexpectedly accepted am invitation to speak at a meeting of the Mersey engineers. He spoke for four and a-half hours, and then epent two hours aditional in answering hecklers. Hia patience and candour impressed the crowd, who gave him an ovation at the close. Nevertheless, a resolution against the Manpower Bill was carried. ' Mr Henderson has issued a statement to the press, urging the Government to withdraw its refusal to meet representatives of the Society of Engineers separately, and also appealing to the workers not to embarrass the Labour leaders or jeopardise their uniting in an international movement. He declares that democratic diplomacy has begun, and opines 'that the Allied Labour Conference to meet in London on February 20 will achieve an agreement amongst all Allied working classes and parties upon a policy to secure a democratic peace, such peace to come when the Governments are resolutely 'told that peace must be made at once on such terms and no other. Mr Henderson adds: "Information in my possession shows that the industrial situation is graver and more pregnant _ of disastrous possibilities than at any period of the war. A crisis of the first magnitude js threatened, the workmen's temper is dangerous, and the Government's unyielding attitude is bringing the country to the verge of an industrial revolution." He appeals to the workmen to realise the gravity of the situation and to stop threatening to strike. "Unless the Government declares an armistice and negotiates," he adds, "the ac'tipn of the working classes of the Central Powers may precipitate a crisis when the arrangements we are making for concentrated action by international democracy in the direction of a general peace are rapidly approaching completion. The Press Bureau states that an official reply to Mr Henderson controverts his ,laim. that the Government admitted the engineers' claim to separate treatment. The statement concludes; "It is necessary to realise that this is not a difference between .the Government and one or more unions, but between the unions themselves. It is well known "that other unions resented the Government meeting the Amalgamated Engineers separately previously. Tho Government now agrees to meet the Amalgamated Engineers separately other unions agree. No question of procedure must obscure 'the man-power issue. In order to maintain the armies in the field, fit men must be withdrawn from munition works. The diluted labour alone is insufficient to provide the necessary number." - The Daily Mail prints a special article on the Labour position, in which it saya that the best observers believe that most' of the anxiety existing to-day regarding British workers is -without foundation. The restlessness is largely superficial, and _is duo to the long and continuous overstrain and the ever-increasing prices and hardships. Strikes are to be expected, but are unlikely to extend or bo- prolonged unless the position is mishandled. Eighty per cent, of the trade unionists are supporting war to victory, , and Bolshevism anq pacifism have made but little on the British trade unions. THE SOCIALISTS. Difficulties have arisen in connection with the Allied Socialist Labour Conferences to be held at London on 'the 20th inst. Tha French minority section refuse to partfek onto unites delegates from Russia and Italy attend, and the Italians insist upon

the British Socialist party's participation; The last-named party is indignant because it has not been invited. American Socialists will not participate. WAR FINANCE. Applications for war bonds, which opened on October 1, aggregate £323,388,325. Sir Edward H. Holdcn (chairman of tho London City and Midland Bank) states that Germany's total borrowings are £5,100,000,000, and Britain's £4,900,000,000. Germany's issue of paper money before tho war totalled £144,000,000; it is now £984,000,000. EVADING THE BLOCKADE. Tho United States Government seizure of Hugo Schmidt's secret papers reveals the fact that Germany frustrated the British blockade by sending hundreds of agents to • enemy countries to establish banks and buy raw materials. The agents purchased United States cotton, British South African wool, and Indian jute. The papers show that Germany bought 1,000,000 dollars worth of materials from unsuspecting Americans, British, Italians, and Scandinavians. NEWS OF OUR BOYS. .'{New Zealand War Correspondent). The New Zealanders have been busy improving the sector they at present hold. Fghting activity has died down and recently the enemy artillery fire has been much below normal. Our guns, however, remain fairly active. The casualties have decreased considerably. There has been active sniping from tho enemy lines, though their shooting is not good. Our snipers and machino gunners give the enemy little - chance of approaching in the open. Both machine gunners and those in cnarge ot . trench mortars fire on low-flying enemy planes, often forcing the pilots to climb out of range. Our patrols are continually reconnoitring No Man's Land, going out by night and also in daylight. Opposite our lines, on the German front, Is a derelict tank, occupied by an enemy outpost. Several Germans going and coming were' killed and wounded here by machine-gun .and rifle fire. Finally our artillery got on to it and finished the poet. Our men wont out and found 12 enemy dead inside the tank. Some had apparently been wounded by bullets, and had crawled in for shelter, and th'jse- and some others had been killed by the shock of our bursting shells, which fell all around. Recently, after a sharp 'trench mortar bombardment at half-past one o'clock in the morning, four parties of the enemy, numbering about 100, attempted to gain our trenches. By the time they had started our men were standing to arms, and quickly got to work with rifles and Lewis gun 3, with the result that only one party got as far as our wire, and none entered tho trench. In this little brush our artillery distinguished themselves by the promptitude with which they responded to our S.O.S. signal. Their first shell burst on the German position before the S.O.S. had burst out, and the barrage came down almost immediately. The attack had, however, been already repulsed by local fire, but the infantrymen were delighted with the promptness of the artillery response. Tho enemy in their advance threw some bombs, but most fell short. When daylight broke eight enemy dead were seen lying outside our wire, and besides these bodies there were many other indications of casualties. GENERAL ITEMS. The Military Medal has been awarded to 158 New Zealanders. An issue of 60,000,000 five-shilling notes in Britain is imminent. Tho Birmingham Liberal Unionists and Conservatives are arranging to combine in one solid party. The second reading of the Non-ferrous Metals Bill has been passed in the Houso of Lords. In the House of Commons Mr Bonar Law said that he had no intention at present of issuing 5s notes, but a small stock was being printed in readiness for a possible silver emergency. .An explosion occurred at a munitions factory at Moulins, Franco. Ten persons were killed and many injured. The strike fever is extending to Holland, as the result of , food scarcity and other hardships. The workers' secretariat has decided to call a general strike for the 4th of February at Amsterdam. Canadian immigration officials announce that negro labour from the West Indies, instead of Chinese, will be imported to solve the Canadian labour difficulty. Labourites are opposing the introduction of Orientals. The court-martial of 8010 "Pasha" is exciting the most intense public interest. It is expected that important facts hitherto unpublished will be revealed, and especially the name of the French politician who, it is alleged, was in communication with Bernstorff. The Belgian Socialists have .appealed to their Swedish comrades, pointing «out that 65 per cent, of the steel used for German war material originates in Sweden, and without it the Kaiser would be unable to prolong Belgium's martyrdom. A suggestion has been made that the Allies should relax the blockade of Sweden so as to permit that country to import wool and other raw materials in exchange for a larger share of Sweden's iron ore. The Government of Holland has stopped all Dutch shipping from departing, for fear the Germans may seize those sailing to America, pending the settlement of outstanding questions between Holland and Germany. Persian advices state that owing to the Russian and Turkish Governments announcing their willingness to withdraw their troops Persia declares void the treaty of February. 1828, and other treaties which Persia, yielding to violence and to menaces of occupation, was forced to accept in tho latter part of tho nineteenth and tho beginning of the twentieth centuries. The South African Legislative Assembly has appointed a Select Committee to report upon making provision for returned soldiers, particularly as regards training and assisting them to return to civil occupation. Dr Hortzog opposed the proposal, on tho ground that it was not in the interest of the country to do anything to encourage the continuance of the war. AUSTRALIAN NEWS. Owinpr to tho slackness in recruiting the Seymour Military Camp, Victoria, has been closed. Tho Australian casualties to date total 277,851, including 43,395 dead, 114,717 wounded, and 66,362 sick.