THE LABOUR PARTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3972, 29 April 1930, Page 19

THE LABOUR PARTY.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

INDUSTRIA L LEG ISL AT lON PROBLEMS.

WELLINGTON. April 21

With 115 delegates in attendance, said to be a record in the history of the movement, the fourteenth annual conference of the New Zealand Labour Party was opened in the Trades Hall to-day. Sitting morning, afternoon, and evening, the delegates hope to conclude their deliberations by Friday. An official report was issued. Tlie major portion of the three sessions was taken up with formal business. The conference is being presided over by the national president (Mr J. Thorn). “This conference,” Mr Thorn said, “is another milestone in the Labour Party’s journey, a point at which we can take stock of events.”

The conference at the evening session adopted the report of the party representatives on the National Labour Legislation Committee. The report stated: The question of a reduction of the temperature in mines was submitted by a deputation through Mr P. Fraser. J.1.P., to the Minister of Labour (Mr W. A. Veitch), who replied that he could not accede to the request. Tlie reply was referred to the parliamentary party for attention. In respect to seamen's electoral rights, it was decided to co-operate with the Seamen’s Union, the Cooks and Stewards’ Union, and the Merchant Service Guild in approaching the Government to amend the present law in the direction of providing greater facilities to enable seamen to exercise the franchise at elections. The committee was approached by the New Zealand Workers’ Union in connection with the continuance of the Act restricting the making of awards in rural industries, and representations were made to the Government that the restriction Act should not be extended. The committee arranged a deputation to the Government urging that the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act should be amended so as to allow workers to recover back wages irrespective of the period in which they had accrued. The Minister promised that an amendment in the direction proposed would be submitted to Parliament during next session.

PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS EXPLAINED.

WELLINGTON. April 22.

The election of officers, the consideration of remits relative to the constitution, and the adoption of reports constituted the business transacted to-day at the annual conference of the New Zealand Labour Party, which is being held daily in the Trades Hall. The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Mr J. Thorn (reelected) ; vice-president, the Rev. J. K. Archer (re-elected) : secretary- and treasurer, Mr W. Nash, M.P. (re-elected); divisional area executive-—Messrs M. J. Savage, M.P., W. E. Barnard. M.P., J. S. Montgomerie. W. J. Rogers. J. Whittle, W. Taylor. T. Parfitt, F. R. Cooke. J. R. Snedden, F. Jones, and J. Alsweiler. The conference adopted the annual report of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and, on the motion of Mr F. R. Cooke, seconded by Mr M. Fagan, the following resolution was carried:—“That this conference, having received the report of the Parliamentary Labour Party, records its

appreciation of the magnificent wick of its members during the past year, and in particular its splendid efforts on behalf of the unemployed, and expresses continued confidence in the members of the party in Parliament.”

According to the official report of the proceedings, the motion was carried, with Mr 1. Kennedy’ dissenting as a protest against conference deciding to vote without further discussion. Referring to the Labour no-confidcnce amendment concerning the salaries of public servants, the report explained that prior to the party coming to a decision on the proposals it would place before the House, its executive met representatives of the executives of the various public service organisations. When, ultimately, the Labour amendment was drafted, tlie report added, it embodied what the representatives of the public servants had agreed would be satisfactory to their organisations.

- Defending the attitude of the party towards the Reform no-con fide nee amendment, the report stated:—“ W'e took up the attitude that we could vote for the rejection of the primage duty if no other issue were involved: but the Government’s land and income tax proposals wore to some , extent in line with the Labour laity’s policy, and we wore not prepared to vote them out. Besides, the main question involved was not either the primage duty or the land and income taxes. The decision that had to be made on the noconfidence motion was whether the Labour 1 arty was to place the Reform Partv bacn on the Government benches. In view of the Reform Party’s past legislative and administrative record and the people’s emphatic rejection of both that party and its policy in 1928, we were not at that stage prepared to take the responsibility of placing Mr Coates ami his supporters back in office. Consequently we voted against the amendment, which was defeated by 48 votes to 24.” "It is understood that this is a preliniinary to the abolition of conipulsor.v military training,” said the report in deafing with the recent cancellation of military’ camys pending the meeting of Parliament. “If that is the case it Till represent a victory’ for the Labour movement. which has advocated the abolition oi forced militarism from its inception.”

RESOLUTION ON MINING DISPUTE. WELLINGTON, April 24. The Labour Conference carried a resolution supporting the miners of New South Wales and calling on the Laboift movement in New Zealand to respond wholeheartedly to the app’eal of the miners of Australia for financial aid in their struggle, which, says the resolution, "is our struggle, the position being that the miners are holding back what otherwise would have long since developed into a general attack on the standard oi living of the workers throughout Australia and Nvw Zealand.” FURTHER REMITS. WELLINGTON. April 23. Unemployment was the main topic of discussion at the annual conference of .he New Zealand Labour Party, which vas resumed in the Trades Hall to-day. The action to be taken regarding the reports of the Government Committee on Unemployment was determined after a lengthy discussion. The conference decided that an open industrial conference should be called, and from this gathering a committee should be appointed to meet a committee from the New Zealand Labour Party for the purpose of considering the reports and the recommendations so far as they affected the welfare of the general public and the workers of New Zealand the joint committee to furnish a report of its conclusions to the Parliamentary Labour Party. On the same subject a remit was referred to the Parliamentary Labour Party suggesting that it should consider Cue value of a reduction of working hours in industry as a contribution to minimising the number of unemployed. The morning session was devoted to a discussion on the question of proportional representation. The result was a decision to defer for consideration until the next annual conference the motion proposing the deletion of proportional representation from the party’s platform, the National Executive being instructed to get into communication with the Labour and Socialist Parties and other organisations in al] countries in which proportional representation is operating or lias operated with a view to obtaining the fullest information as to the working of the system. The information so collected is to be available to all affiliations at least one month prior to the date of tlie next conference.

The conference in the afternoon carried a remit supporting the repeal of the sections in tlie Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act which exempt county councils or road boards from the general application of awards and local authorities and public bodies carrying out relief works from the provisions of awards, industrial agreements, or agreements under “ The Labour Disputes Investigation Act 1913.”

“We have been much concerned with the position of teachers in schools in which there has been a fall in the roll numbers,” states the annual report of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Association. “ The economic state of the country, the lower birth rate during the war period have detrimentally affected the attendance of about 12 schools in New Zealand, thereby seriously affecting the grade, salary, and superannuation allowance of a number of teachers. We have made endeavours to obtain an interview with the Minister in connection with this matter —so far without success.” Forty-six different nationalities were included among the 242.249 patients treated at the Italian Hospital, London, in 19'28, and only in rare instances was it found impossible to get a member of the staff to understand them. The house surgeon, a Pole, is said to speak so many languages that he is never quite sure until he tries whether he knows the one that is needed or not. When persons of some littleknown race with a language that baffles everyone arrives for treatment they are induced to demonstrate their symptoms by pantomime. The hospital staff have more or less unconsciously worked out a code of signs which seem to be generally comprehensible. and fingers and facial expression arc called in to take the place of words.