The Star. TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 1904. IRE LABOUR PARTY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7977, 5 April 1904, Page 2

The Star. TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 1904. IRE LABOUR PARTY.

Very little fault can be found with the ord-er paper which is being discussed ot the annual conference of the New •Zealand Trades Councils to-day. With a few exceptions tihe different items on- it bear testimony to careful co»---siderataon on the part of the Council against whose name they appear, and nearly all have some features to recommend .them. Of the desirable proposals the recommendations that the Government should" be urged to introduce legislation providing for the referendum with the initiative, and for the abolition of the Legislative Council, that the necessity of opening up the country by means of light railways should be brought before the Government, that the further sale of Crown lands should be prohibited, that the municipal franchise should be enlarged, that preference -should be granted to Unionists, and that Unionists should be urged to organise with a view of having labour represented on municipal Councils stand out conspicuously as sensible and reasonable propositions. Nor can any exception be taken to the proposals in favour of taxation reform, of the extension of the State coal mines, of equal pay to ma'es and females for equal work, of the amendment in the Electoral Act, of the compulsory stamping of all goods made 'in New \ Zealand, and several of the minor recommendations in the list. But we feel strong- I ly that the Otago Council" made a, mis- | take .in inviting the conference to express its approval of its proposal to form an independent Labour Party. The Otago Council's action was, of course, inspired' by the successes achieved by the Labour Party in Australia. The prospect of labour being in a position to bold the balance of political power, even to aspire to forming a Ministry, is always so alluring that there is an ever present danger of the workers falling victims to it. Thie danger has been accentuated by the recent successes of the Commonwealth Labour Party, which at present I is in the enviable position of being the most powerful party-in the Federal Parliament. But the workers of this colony will do well ' to pause and consider whether they would be well advised to follow the example of their Australian; contemporaries. They should ask themselves whether- they have much to gain by taking this step and whether the gains will outweigh the losses. For owr part, as we have remarked more than once previously, we believe that the gains will not outweigh the losses. The ascendvency of the Labour Party in the Federal Parliament at the present moment may appear flattering to the aspirations of the workers, but will it last? To say the least this point is problematical. Already there are indications that the Government and Opposition contemplate amalgamating to fight the party, in which event the workers can hope to make very little further progress for some time to come. If the work«rs in this colony formed an official party they might flnS themselves confronted by a dmilar combination and the tide of advancement in the direction of their ideals stayed. On the other hand, if they chose to continue to ally themselves with the party of progress there is no reason why . the ticle should not continue to flow ac fast, a* it. has done ever since the day when the Liberals and the workers first joined forces.!