LABOUR AND—UNITY?

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 221, 22 October 1914, Page 6

LABOUR AND—UNITY?

PROGRESS REPORT OF LATE CONFERENCE. DO THE MINERS DISOWN THE J REDS? {From a Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, October 21. This is a progress report. Last week, as stated >n The Sun, the John Bigg Conference duly commenced. It is claimed for it that the meeting was fairly representative of the trade union movement in Wellington City. Officials from upwards of thirty unions were in attendance, with. and without authority to commit their The chairman, Mr Rigg, took the precaution at the outset to get or u no" from every delegate present as to whether he approved of the proposal to form a Labour Representation Committee. He was not satisfied with the - usual show of hands or '' carried on the voices," but insisted on an expression in each and every case. When business proceeded far enough to allow of definite impressions, it became clear that the voice of the Federation of Labour was more noisy than numerous. The federation officials, including two candidates, Messrs Holland and Fraser, clamoured for the mass meeting as the means of ending all difference of opinion as to. the wishes of Labour., On the other hand, the trades hall sentiment was opposed to relying \ipon the noisy' declamations of any meeting. The mass meeting during the last twelve months has been a fruitful source of disaster. COJ&MITTEE OF SELECTION. Where definite conclusions were rived at they were in the direction of allowing the committee as constituted to decide the seats to be contested. The trade unionists are quite willingthat in the event of any dispute as towho should contest the seats, a ballot of all the unionists, should be taken. In their desire to effect a settlement it might almost jbe said that they threw discretion to the winds, because they agreed at the outset "to withdraw their , candidates, Messrs Hindmarsh, MeLar- , en,* and Moore and submit these names, I together with any others who might be--1 put forward as Labour candidates, to • i a ballot of the unionists of the city. ; This rather noi.pulssed the enemy, who- , stuck manfully to their task of tryingto peisuade the big majority that the mass meeting was the thing. So soon as it became clear that the decision would not rest with any turbulent gathering of free and independent electors,. Ithe Social-Democratic Party representatives began to cool off in their enthusiasm for amity. Delegates then predicted that there would be little further parley, and that the old disruptive tactics would be continued. A NEW i ELEMENT. .v : A new element, however, has nor Come'into the dispute. ; The' Federation, of Labour and the Sdcial-Demoeratic Party have relied in the main upon the financial support of the .miners. Thisweek a couple of the miners' representatives, Messrs Dowgray and Fagan, have been visiting Wellington. It isriow quite clear that the miners will not stand for the policy of Hickey, Holland and Co. If these men wish to retain, the support of the miners they will have to mend their manners. Although we have been led to' believe that thereddest of red Socialism is born and bred on the West Coast, the miners arepractical enough to know fiat their own special representative,-Mr Webb, isi a member of Parliament only by virtue of the support of the Liberal Party _ Without doubt "the plain brown language which the miners' representatives have introduced will have a chastening- effect upon the ambitions of" some of the "intellectuals" of the--, Social-Democratic Party. Don 't be sur- ■ prised, .therefore, if -it is found;.that Mr H. E. Holland'will not solicit, the- , support of the Reds- in Wellington On-, , tral. Nor is it likely that the funny, little gentleman whose name was an : ] nounced as a candidate for WellingtonEast will carry his campaign any fur-, ther. It may be that the Liberals havenot been able-to seleet a man for Wel-lington-North. Mr P. Fraser, .therefore, will be allowed to heave -somerhetoric at the Attorney-General. however, will be Mr Fraser ? s share of" the Wellington North seat. Or, possibly, Mr Holland, who must stand somewhere, though the heavens fall,will be sent north. NO RUSH TO THE U.F.L. So far as it lias gone, the proposal' to put forward Social-Democratic candidates for the Wellington seats has; had the effect of convincing the workers that the officials of . the SocialDemocratic Party and the Federation of Labour are Ishmaelites. Before theseI candidates were announced, the Wellington Trades Council passed a motion to refer the question of affiliation with: the Federation of Labour to the various unions. Immediately after the Social-Democratic candidates were announced this motion was rescinded, and ! it was decided to inform the Federation of Labour that the matter would come up for consideration after.it had been shown that the constitution was accept--'able to the unions whose delegates | drafted it at the last July conference'lt is now stated that the only- unionsaffiliated to the Social-Democratic Party are the Bootmakers' and the House- • Wives' Unions —the latter a union by courtesy. r. There has been no rush of unions to join the Federation of Labour, not even of those unions whose delegates carried the proposals 'for unity with* much cheering and : applause some, months ago. It raav be safely said that the wholeand sole desire of the Wellington unions just now is for ''some scheme that" ; will'give sonie semblance of unity to their political ambitions in the coming elections. As the '-Social-Democratic-Partv has bungled so badly, first in nominating candidates and then in refusing to accept-'the vote of the trade unionists as to who shall be selectedLabour candidates, they have put themselves right out of touch with tradeunionism. JOHN PLOWMAN.