THE NEW MACHINE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10684, 3 February 1913, Page 1

THE NEW MACHINE.

MASS MEETING LAST NIGHT

SPEECHES BY THE LEADERS

GREAT ENTHUSIASM

The unity of the forces of the Labour movement was celebrated last night by on© of tho moat enthusiastic meetings ever held in Christchurcb. His Majesty's Theatre was packed and many people had to stand. Every speaker was cheered and applauded, and tho speeches were interrupted frequently 'by outbursts of enthusiasm. At the opening of the meeting the Socialist song, "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying was sung by a section of tho audience. Mr F.. Burgoyne, president of the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council, was chairman, and on the platform were representatives of all sections of the Labour movement. v

The chairman, in opening the meeting and introducing the two speakers, said that the recent conference in Wellington was the greatest and most important conference held in the history of Labour in New Zealand, but at tho conference to be held in July it was hoped that at least 300 delegates would bo present. Labour had been divided, but now they .were working shoulder to shoulder, and if they worked _ unitedly they would defy any opposition that could be brought against them. Mr Hobert Scrapie was greeted with a tornado of cheers and applause. He said that he was pleased to be able to deliver tho message of unity to the people. In common with the move-ment-in other countries. Labour, in New Zealand had been divided against itself, but now it was unified and hao: forgotten all its petty differences. The recent congress had been called by the Federation of Labour, and a noble response had resulted. Every delegate had gone .to the conference anxious to understand the opinions and views of others. The congress had come to decisions f on fundamentals, and Labour '. was united. The capitalistic Press had done its best to keep Labour divided, but tho capitalistic Press had no power now with the workers. The workers had been divided because they did not understand each other. Two organisations had been determined on. One, the organisation for industrial work, was called the United Federation of Labour; and the second, tho political, was to bring into being a new party,' the Social-Democratic Party. Tho employers were well organised, and the Massey party 'was well organised, and Labour had to organise. r ' We talked to Bill the other day," Mr Semple continued, " and we told him some truths. (A voice: " He"* didn't like it."Y. Before the party was elected he said he would give the working man a square deal, and this is the square deal ho gave us." ....- Here Mr Semplo produced a baton, which he declared " .Bill" had adopted j to carry out his policy. The batons had been turned out on the Waihi Company's premises, and bad .been placed in each free labourer's hands. "Shall I call them ' scabs P'" asked the speaker, /and he was greeted by a great cry of assent. Mr Massey, he added, had said that he would give the. workers a "square deal," but the workers did not want him to givo it to them, because now that thev were united the workers would undertake the administration oi the " Mjuare , deal" themselves. (Cheers.) Ho folt that the time had como to settlo their differences among themselves, and to oppose the common foe. The Massey party would introduce compulsory arbitration, compelling each man and woman to sell his or her labour at a .price fixed by the employer. Then there was the " Conscription Act." There were brave boys who had defied the Act. One boy had refused to comply with the Act, and had been told that he would have to forfeit his civic rights. Mr Semplo said that he had a son approaching fourteen years, and already the authorities were trying to get at him through his boy. They had asked him for the boy's age, and then had written to the schoolmaster for the boy's age, butthe schoolmaster had' replied that he would not single out any one boy of his class. His wife, too, had been annoyed, Mr Semple said, and added that such things, surely, should impress upon workers the necessity of setting aside petty differences and fighting in one common party for one common purpose. All the forces of Labour would be united in July in one party for the common good. * New Zealand was in the hands of the worker, arid it was possible to assure freedom for their class, to make cleaner the v world, and to give freedom and opportunity to'the toilers of the future/ (Cheers.) The chairman read a telegram from' Duuedin, signed by Mr Munrd (Socialist Party), Mr P. C. Webb (Federation of Labour) and tho Hon J. T. Paul (United Labour Party), endorsing the decision of the Conference and concluding; "United we\are' invincible." ' . Professor AY. T. Mills, who, also was received with a storm of applause, said that it was now time to v give formal notice to those "friends" of Labour to whom Labour had been responsible for its i existence, that Labour was growing) stronger and would soon be ready to be j self-supporting. ■> The Labour movement had b&come so strong and so wise in its day and generation that it was going to ba married. All the arrangements for the marriage were not complete, but the date was fixed and tho ceremony would be celebrated as soon as possible after tho first week in July. The Unity of Labour meant that Labour in New Zealand had fought its last fight in its own ranks and that .it would' never again fight the foes of Labour with a divided front. No power under heaven or in political circles could now withstand the voice of Labour. He had been told during the past eighteen months that the Federation of Labour would not secure the unity of Labour, but the answer had been given at the recent conference. Though the Federation had on its hand? great financial burdens, it had voted to a man for a second conference in July so that all sections of Labour could join the same movement. He joined, with Mr Semple in saying that the Federation wanted unity no matter what the inconvenience. It hod been said that the United Labour Party only talked unity to embarrass others and that when it came to a show down the party would not be willing. The party was not well represented at the recent conference, but would be at the next. Mr Edward Tregear and the speaker had been summoned hurriedly and had been in a ticklish position. The capitalistic Press had stated that the-y would be disciplined for their irregularities. The " Press " and the "'Dominion" had disapproved of the action of Mr Tregear and himself in attending the conference. (Laughter.) The 'Wellington branch of the party, however, had confirmed the decisions of the conference and had pledged itself to be represented at the next conference. Christchurch had followed suit and now" Dunedin was in lino. The last day of division had passed, and the dawning of the day of triumph was at hand. The party had been fighting. (Laughter.) "That wasn't fighting," he. added. " You wait till th<? real row enmos along." Corning to the question nf W'**, Mr Mills'taid that tho Fed.era-

tion had fought too Jong and too strenuously to drop its-name easily, and tho United Labour- Party would not yield-'lts name, but the present name had been adopted present organisation the Socialists, the Federation and tho Party had, not yielded any of the fundamentals. He had been'asked why tho various parties had been fighting. That was what the con-ference-had revealed. They had discovered that they had been fighting for the same ends and that the things they had fought each other over were mere matters of method and procedure. Ho had been in Christchurch before, talking about having one party, combining tho industrial and tho political functions, but lie wanted to realise his ideal of a united party, and ho wanted to realise it in tho quickest way. If it was quicker to do the journey in two waggons instead of one, then he was in' favour of harnessing up the two waggons at once.

The State might properly exist to defend and protect personal rights and to preserve and defend the common good. There were people in the community who lived by reason of the services they rendered—the- countless millions who toiled; ancj there were others, numbered', in telis whero - tho toilers wore numbered in thousands, who lived by reason of special privileges. These special privileges were', harmful whether inherited or achieved, by the holders. TJhc industrial and political warfare was between those who were exploited and ■ those' who were the agents of. those who exploited. The State, with its powers, was used to'assist the party of exploitation. One of the most harmful holders of special privilege was the Squatters' Association. It drew its resources out of a groat land monopoly, and it had organised and financed a political party. Thanks to the agency of their subsidised newspapers, and to the action.. of men who had entered tho House to oppose Mr Massey and-had then turned to his; assistance, the squatters, the land monopolists, at present had control of the government of the country. They had put into power a Government that had given tho policeman's'club over to the.Employers Association in anlindus'trial dispute. Not only that, but a Government that had turned the Arbitration Court over to Judge Sim.(Cheers.) The'squatter Government of Now Zealand had made the Arbitration Court, created to settle disputes, ah injury ,to the workers, an instrument to use in industrial disputes on the employers' behalf by the registration of bogus unions for the purpose of disrupting and destroying the older trade unions, of the country. Did the people wonder that Labour had united after such methods had beert adopted, It was no use escaping out of the hands of one'monopoly to fall into the strangling grip of another. Labour was" now united, and its power .would be used to crush irrevocably all land monopoly. The beneficiaries of..special' privileges could now' cease gloating over the divisions of Labour,. and could cease speaking honeyed words to divide the workers?. In the coming industrial warfare, the party would have <no * business with them,. Labour had her divisions bridged, her. forces collected , and her alignmont ready. There was now a solid front, and Labour -was only waiting, for the surrender, of her opponents at the ballot boxes. ' : '

A"i tho July wo'ulrl not be a trade union of fifty members that would not bo represented. Every branch of tho Socialist Paitv and of the United Labour Partv would be represented, and would discuss and adopt a programme to get going the two organisations already agreed on. Letters would be sent to.the newspapers each week. Those papers which were' friendly to- the ..movement could publish them, and those which were against it. and published false information, could discover what liars they were. In future, representatives would not sit in Parliament by special permission of the masters : to make unauthorised statements on behalf of Labour, statements for- Mr Jamos Allen to quote on the other side of the earth, committing the dominion and the party to things it had refused to adopt. Men would sit in Parliament because the majority in their districts sent .theny there. They, would represent Labour. If the workers did their work, the next election would.not only.put Mr Massey out, buti it would put Labour .in. They could see'the great'future. "All of New Zealand for the workers of New Zealand." The future would not mean that the-young, men would be trained to leave New Zealand, but they would be trained 'to stay in the dominion. with wider opportunities, making New Zealand the greatest country on the face of the earth. : The boys would not be trained in the use of the murderous instruments of war, but in the use of the instruments of industry and of social service. The record of the present day showed that men came to the dominion and went away again, led to the couatry by lying advertisements that promised foreigners what could not be given to native-born boys. In tech-V nical'colleges he had heard>-of boys who had got good' jobrj in Canada, Jil\\stralia, England, and even Germany. New Zealand had as much land;as' Japan, had a better climate, and was as rich in natural resources, but the' world feared Japan, while England looked on New Zealand as a stupid de£ pendency where she could carry out military' experiments that she feared to attempt among her own people. (Cheers.) There was no reason ' why. New Zealand should not- have a population of ten millions, but that population could not be gained .by promises that could not be kept. New Zealand could work to greatness, not in military mastery, but in industrial success and iu happiness. If the .people desired that they should pledge themselves to the pafty represented at the meeting. (Cheers.) Mr E. J. Howard moved: " That this meeting of Christchurch citizens expresses its intense satisfaction at the splendid results of tho Labour Conference, and while endorsing the decision to amalgamate the forces cl Labour, pledges itself to do all in its power to assist in bringing tho movement to a successful issue and thereby to help to win New -Zealand industrially "a-n.d politically for the working classes." Mr D. G. Sullivan seconded the motion. In the course of a brief speech he declared that the "Press" and the " Dominion " and other carping critics were grieving at the fact that Mr Semple and Professor Mills could be present on the same platform.

The motion was carried unanimously, amidst applause. Mr Howard then moved: "That this meeting of Christchurch citizens is of the opinion that militarism has always been against the interests of the and therefore condemns it. and is prepared to recommend to all workers- the Hardie-Valiant resolution calling a general strike on a declaration of war by any of the great Powers: that wo declare our determined hostility to the form of conscription placed on tho New Zealand statute book, and demand it;; immediate repeal and ako the immediaii> stoppage of criminal prctM.cdiii::--against; our youths."

'[The motion was sooavidod by Mr T-i Hunter and carried tnmninH: i-?y.

Cheers wove thou given for tho movement,... followed by liootii);. v I' 1- the Prime Minister and General GodU'y.