THE LABOUR WORLD.

Southland Times, Issue 14577, 18 November 1910, Page 7

THE LABOUR WORLD.

PROBLEMS AMD DISCUSSIONS. (By "Worker.") '(Brief contributions on matters concerning- tlie Labour Movement are inviScci ; local items are xjarfcicuiariy v/elcoiiie). —Meetings.— Friday—Carpenters and Joiners. Saturday—N.Z. Labour Party. The Invercargill branch of the New Zealand Labour party will meet in Aliens Hail on Saturday evening. The principal business wilt be tiie appointment of omce-bearers and the fixing of tue amount of the annual subscription. Mr R. Bieen, Secretary of the Otago Trade;-* and Labour Council, informed me during his recent visit to invercargill that a branch of tlie New Zealand Labour party has not yet been formed in Lunedin, but that a meeting uir that purpose; would be called within tlie next tew weeks. in connection with tlie Osborne Judgment it is interesting to note that me amount ot tlie levy made by Lie British Amalgamated Society of Kaitway Servoiits for Parliamentary purposes was one shining per year per member, and on allegedly high moral grounds Mr osborne plungetf his Society i:uo ihou.•ands of pounds of oxpen-e becaue it decided to support the Labour party instead of, as it had been doing, with Mr Osborne's consent, helping LiberalLabour candidates with its funds.

Tlue great strike of London dockers, which took place twenty-one years ago. was celebrated recently by a dinner held in London under the auspices of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside, and General \Vorker;i Union. Mr Ren Tilled provided, and in submitting (he toast of the evening. "The day we celebrate," referred to the great .strike and the part whk.ii was then taken by the Right Hon. John Rums, tie said that Miliums gave of his best during the period ne was with them,, and they all had nothing but gratitude for him and the work lie did, but whilst they recognised the importance of tlie office Mi .Burns r.eld to-day, they said that, so far as ,i is contribution towards human good v. as concerned, ho did more good for humanity and tlie world during the five or >ix weeks lie was connected with Hi at strike than lie could do in h'is (.•resent position." Mr Tom Mann said, •■The Right lion. John liurn< "old good work during the great strk:e. He was a great man. f will leave. It at that."

One constantly hears it reiterated itli wearisome monotony that Labour

is ungratetul because il M't'ins to lorgel what the Liberals have (tone for it in New Zealand. Now 1 think it i.- a fair thing to Mtiark that the. point is that most people seem to forget what the Labour party has done for the Liberals. Kvery thing that Hit' Liberal parly has clone for Labour lias been tendered as a bribe to retain its .support, and now Uiat Labour insists on doing thing;; for itself instead of ,going on its knees to the Liberals, the cry of ingratitude is raised. . livery thing- that has been given to the workers has been in most cases of Hie nature of a sop extracted at the bayonet's point. We are becoming- very tired of that sort of treatment, and as we have been repeatedly told thai "selfinterest is the ruling passion in the human heart," we are turning that

•ilatement to practical account, arjd endeavouring to promote our interests by doing things for ourselves.

If ten or a dozen Labour candidates were returned at the next election, it would mean that these men could be used for organising purposes throughout Xew Zealand, and especially in the country , districts. So far the country districts in New Zealand have been practically untouched, and in consequence the vast majority of country worker* are on election day not workers, but Liberals, or Conservatives. In Australia the Labour party has been most successful in the country, and this has been the result of continued organising effort.

Some of our Liberal-Labour members will tell you that we ought to leave the town constituencies alone and go out and organise the country workers.

When I hear this sort of advice f invariably feel compelled to a-ik, What are these same Liberal-Labourites doing' in their spare time ? When Parliament is not in session, why do they not go to the country districts and organise ? No, they prefer to 101 l about at home, watch others do the work and receive all the bad knocks, but when a victory has both gained (hey are always ready to take a lion'.-! share of the kudos. Then at election lime they swell their chests and point to tiie good Hint ha; been done tor the workers by the Great Liberal party, whereas anything"' that has been conceded the workers has been the result of hard work ant! persistent agitation on the part of the workers themselves. All this I waddle about the good the Liberals have done makes me very «ick v very tired and darned wild.

The lion. J. T. Paul, in his; last Labotn Notts in Hie Olago Daily Times, 'leals at considerable length with "The curse of divided forces," and he delivers himself of some well-timed home truths. K the workers would only follow the advice of .tried leaders like Mr Paul, there would soon be a solid Labour contingent in Parliament. At. the present lime there is a number of revolutionary Socialists or l.W.W.'s ("International Workers o ft he World." who preach the pernicious doctrine of a general strike) who are doing their level best to create dissension in the ranks of Labour, by preaching.a gospel that ought to appeal to no-one with any common-sense. In Southland we lire not troubled with this brand of Labourite (Thanks be '■'). and i feel sari that if they visit these parts on mischief bent they will meet with a very coid , reception. The Trades and Labour Council's platform and objective is quite good enough for us.

We have been advised by cable thai Mr Peter Bowling intends visiting New Zealand at the invitation of the Miners' Federation. Now we all sympathise with Air Bowling when he was clapped into prison and decorated with leg-irons ax the instigation of the reactionary Wade Government, and our indignation thereat was expressed as forcibly as we knew how. But I doubt if Mr Bowling's visit to New Zealand will be productive of much good. He 'is one of those who is sure that industrial Unionism and the general strike is the only way to industrial salvation. lie is one of those men who has never lost an opportunity of decrying the Australian Labour party and describing its Parliamentary candidates as "bounders cm the make." His efforts in New Zealand will only tend to antagonise the sections which are more than sufficiently antagonised. In short, bo is. as the Hon. J. T. Paul aptly describes him, just the sort of man who will not help to consolidate the warring sections in the progressive army. Air Rowling doubtless believes that lie is right. But if there be anything in Socialism approaching the brotherhood of man it is unfortunate that so many Socialists of the revolutionary school are so fond of indulging in vituperative denunciation of other men at least as honest as themselves.

A protest has been made by the Victorian White-workers' Union against the providori in the amending Factories Rill which will allow children over Ri years of age, who are not obliged to go to school, to work in factories.

A report is current (says "Unionist" in Wellington Post Labour notes) to the effect that prominent Auckland Unionists are moving Iri tlie direction of running Air ,1. Alack for tlie Parnell seat at the next general election in tlie Labour interest. Air Mack is general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, ami the railway vote is a bigfactor in the Parnell electorate.

One of the terms accepted by the Alasler Butchers in (lie settlement of the recent slaughtering dispute it, Svdney, was that none but Unionists should be employed. Accordingly, 100 nonUnionists were ' dismissed and their places filled by Union men.

Mr G. X. Barnes, British Labour leader, considers the political organisation of Labour of infinitely greater importance than the industrial. His firm (and obvious) opinion is that Trades Unionism is not played out, and Iliac workers owe all the improvements in their condilions to Trades Unionism, and not to freetrade.

All effort is being marie in In liriir-; aiiiiut a combination of all Trade Unions. That the workers are in I";ivniir of adopting such a course is evident by Hie resolulion • l,';at was passed at Hie Trades I'nion Congress. Jlr Tom Mann is actively enjraKod in endeavouring to create this combine nmon-.rs!. Trades Unions, as he believes thai: it is the only possible way of fighting the capitalists, lie has written ;i series of pamphlets on the subject, making it clear that energy is being wasted'liecause of the sectional character of the Unions. "In order to fisht," he says, "we must have working class; solidarity. The present system of one Union for each trade, or wor-e still, a number of Unions in one trade never acting together and frequently riKlitlnj,' each oilier, is an excellent plan to ensure the continued ascendency of the capitalist class. The si ru<.;>;le.s of ihe future will have Id be seientilical I v. The relationship of l.rnion lo Union r,.,,syndicalist purpose: must be equal to an amalgamation of all Unions in any one industry. Without this (lie capilal-k-.1.s are certain to win." Industrial syndicalism. -Mr Jhmn con.seriuenUv contends, must be the ba>is of all future inilustrial activity for purposes, and not .sectional" Trade Unionism. In order to propoxate these principles il has been decided to hold a conference in London on November ~f>. r-ha\e received advice from Sir .1. I;. u«i'.ilai'iis that bP ivill reach Itivercar-

gill bv the first express on Salurt.ay next, and he has asked that an open-air meeting be arranged for him for Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. As the Labour party meets on Saturday evening, other arrangement-; will require to be made for Mr Mac-Mantis, but full particulars will appear later in the Southland Times. I have to thank tlie Hon John Rigg, Wellington, for a copy of his pamphlet. "A Cross of Gold: The Currrncv Question K::n!.ainod." It deals with Rn-, abstruse and complex, question in si ch <x manner as to bring it v.-Jthin the un«lei standing of any person ill or \in«u > _« telli«ence -" Klaborate definitions ai e ortiedin order to give place o he ose of simple language which to the hrymaa lends itself to better purpose in conveying a knowledge of the and operation* of money *™. ' l ' s I)p f n „ powerful influence upon the u ell-bem-, of every person in the communit> T can eomiden tly recommend to m • ers this pamphlet, whicn is on sale .u (Id per copy.