May Day Demonstrations.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4771, 11 October 1893, Page 1

May Day Demonstrations.

Mr H. H. Champion, writing to the Pall Mall Gazette with reference to the discussion at the Zurich' Congress on May Day Demonstrations, cays : — All were agreed that these should manifest the desire of the proletariat, not only for the eight houis day, but also for the emancipation of the workers of the world, and for the cessation of wars. But the bolder spirits wanted further, with a view to theatrical effect, that the demonstrations should all take place on May 1, and that that day should be generally observed as a holiday. Now, in England the worker prefers not to lose a day's pay, and likes to demonstrate on the first Sunday in May, In Scotland in many parts still be has religious objections to semi-political •excursions and alarums on the Sabbath. In Germany he can and does celebrate the occasion on the evening of May 1, but the employers will not give the men a holiday, and if these stop work in a body they become liable to ' prosecution under a recent Act. In Austria, again, in spite of grave difficulties, they have succeeded in keeping the day as a holiday, and com_plain bitterly that the refusal to do so by -their German brethren makes it ljucli harder for them. The Australian dee* r gate, who supplied the low comedy elomrnt as usual, insisted on under threat -of leaving ths Congress, declaring that Australia (with its population of about one-third lees than Greater London) was more important than ten Belgiums. ( It turned out that he was only anxious to unbosom himself of the ridiculous remark ■ that May 1 would not do for Australia, as in point of weather that date corresponded with Nov. 1 in these latitudes. So it seems he rather forgot, or, perhaps, had never heard, that, as a matter of fact, April 21 has been celebrated for the laat forty years in Victoria by open-air demonstrations in memory of the establishment of the eight \hourß day by some of the building trades in 1856. Finally, everyone agreed to do the best they could to make Labour Day a simultaneous manifestation on May 1.