THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Saturday, November 28, 1908. CAPITAL AND LABOUR.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12411, 28 November 1908, Page 2

THE COLON IST. Published Every Morning. Saturday, November 28, 1908. CAPITAL AND LABOUR.

TpE whole world will watch with sympathetic interest the working and outcome of the experiment initiated by Sir Christopher Furness at th« Hartlepool ship yards, with the object of finding the solution. of the constant friction between master and "servant, which in Britain even more thian in other countries at the present time, threatens to; paralyse and throttle industry and production, until some lasting remedy and settlement be found. The admission of the employees to. a form of partnership —a coalition in a way of capital and labour— working with a common incentive for a common object, is perhaps the commencement of a fu]l realisation to' Come in . time of ihe prophecy uttered long ago by John Stuart Mill> the great . economist : "There can be little doubt that the status of hired labourers will gradtH ally-tend -io itself to the description of wbrkpeople whose low moral qualities-render them unfit for anything more independent/ and that the 'relation of masters and workpeople will be gradually superseded by partnership iii one of twcT -forms—-" in some cases association of the labourers with the capitalist; in others said --jperlxaps finally- ixx - «11,1-.associ&— tioil of labourers among themselves." We liave already a realisation of the of this prophecy, in -combination of labour, and nowhere in the world is that movement attracting more attention or bringing the' general problem to a head so rapidly as in New Zealand. The first proposition is coming about more slowly, but it making sure prbjgress, if slow. The principle of par'tioipation in the profits of enterprise hty^>ihe .workpeople-; is - still regarded jjeyerywhere -as an experiment • to be 'approached only with, great caution, and naturally so, but it offers means of determining matters in dispute between the parties to enterprise — capital'Jand labour— in ar" more : advanta^ geous manner than will" ever be possible by^ihe methods usually employed to-day. Harmonious relations will never be a standing order of affairs while each party views the other with suspicibn 'and distrust; in " removing -this undesirable spirity it" is reported that the profit "sfia'f iftg'of the semi-partnership prinr ■cipiehad been remarkably successful j. where it has been fairly and properly tried.. Annual labpur dividends have Ijeen proved "to be' the foundation: of a system which has had remarkably

good results in regard to the relations of workmen to their employers, and in placing the workmen on an equitable and independent footing. Private enterprise has set tho example, but unfortunately the field has not grown. Self-interest has been the factor which has retarded a great and beneficent movement. Selfinterest has failed so far to iearn the lesson that lifa is not made up sufficiently of material possessions, but that righteous stewardship is nobler than mere ownership. The Tottenham, and Edmondtpn Gas Company (England) have offered ;tlie entire staff "a 'bonus of 4J per cent on wages, the percentage to vary with the price of gas, and one half of the bonus to be invested in stock of the company, while the other half may be invested or drawn by the recipient at his option. From experiments in siihilar profit-sharing. systems all that rational trades unionism contends, for has been realised. A French employer, who organised a system of participation in profits, thus remarked on his experience: "Certainly participation is no universal panacea, nor the last word of social well-being, but I do not hesitate to affirm that it constitutes an incontestable advance upon the existing system of the organisation of labour. It will load to an understanding - between capital and labour to a reign of peace and harmony, under which, without encroaching on the rights of property j it will be possible to give to intelligence, to activity, and to devotion their legitimate share." In regard to the offer made to their employees by/Messrs Furness, Withy and ' Company, of Hartlepool, to either sell their shipyards to, or enter into a corpartnership with, the unions connected with the. trade in that district, it was unfortunate that ■ that same suspicion and distrust on the part of some labour leaders militated against the acceptance of the offer in the ' spirit that would mate for the success of tho experiment. This instance, however, would afford a trial of a sufficiently extensive nature to determine the efficacy of the system in. practice. At the least it should be infinitely preferable to the existing basis of "capital and labour.