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Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 12857, 1 February 1913, Page 5

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THE LABOUR CONFERENCE AND THE GOVERNMENT.

PRIME MINISTER INTERVIEWED

A PERTINENT QUESTION

MR MASSEF'SETTLES MR SEHPLE

' (Per Press Association.: WELLINGTON, Jan. 31. A deputation from the recent Labour !onference waited on the Prime Miniscr to-day. During the proceedings ome plain and occasionally heated talk ook place. Mr Tregear urged an amendment to ho Arbitration Act so that when a mion had cancelled its registration it hould not be possible for a small minirity to form a union and prevent the ncinbers of the old union from joining, rfo also said the Conference wanted an tmendment to prevent honorary mem)ers of a- union being able to vote. Chose defects, he urged, endangered the vhole success of trades unionism in , Sew Zealand. , Mr Semple said the employing class had bottn successful in smashing an nganimtion at Waihi with the assistance of the Government. Mr Massey: I may as well contradict chat statement at once. The employers had nothing to do with it. The Government was called upon to enforce1 law and order, and the Government did it. Hie employing class had absolutely nothing to do with it. Mr Semple: The employing class was responsible for the smash. Mr Massey: I give the statement an a;ldj'j ite, contradiction:. If w<t (were caled upon by the other side to do the same thing, w^ should do it. Mr Semple: We can bring a volume of evidence to prove that your Government did nothing of the kind at Huntly. A small group of men not working there at the time visited Huntly for the purpose of forming this small organisation against the wish of the men working in the mines. They had, he went on to say, asked the Department to produce- the list of names of the men who asked for registration. That had jbeen -refused. 'Thd inecessary mee-fc-ings were, he declared, never held, and he defied the Department to produce the minutes of those meetings. However, the union was formed. The executive of the old union were discharged because the men took one day off. The repi-esentatives of the Federation v.isited Huntly and advised the men to return to work. The men returned to work in spite of the fact that twelve men had been victimised. However, the other side went on with the formation of the small union, and met the directors in Auckland, but he complained that the representatives of the new union who met the directors knew nothing about the conditions of work and the majority of the practical men. working at Huntly were not consulted. "Your Government," he added, "chartered ;a train on the Sunday to Huntly hv.'fih 80 police. There was no stribe." Mr Massey: Are you ouite sure of that? Mr Semple: Yes. There was no violence committed at Huntly. There was not one act of violence committed by tho men, and thov were working peacefully. Mr Massey: The constables were sent at the request of the citizens of Huntly, jvho -appealed to us for protection. Mr Semple: Will you ''.produce that informaiion? .. -. Mv'Mawey: I can produce it, qi necessary. The Huntly ' citizens appealed to us for protection. Mr Semple: Against what? Mr Massey: Against'"the possibilities that were expected in the future. Mr Semple: Yon can't say where one net of violence was committed by the Waihi miners. Mr Massey asked whether the conference had spoken for the trades unions of the Dominion. . . .......... Mr Tregear said h e did .not speak for the Federation of Labour. Mr Massey: Does Mr Semple belong to the Federation of Labour? Mr Semple: I do. Mr Massey: Does Mr Mills ? Mr Semple: This was a conference of one hundred delegates representing the trades union movement. Mr Massey: Convened by the Federation of Labour? Mr Semnle: Yes, and responded to by forty thousand trade "unionists. They have sent us along here to enter '.their pretest against .the law. The minority, he urged, had no right to have a voice in the business affairs of their organisations. The minority ought not to be able, backed up by the policeman's baton, to force antl coerce the induistlrisf democracy to comply with the wishes of a small group of men, aided by the employers to do this sort of work. Mr Massey: Do you say that the Government was wrong to administer the Act- as it found it ! Mr Young: It w«s not administered fairly. Mr Massey: Then you say the 'Government was to blame? Mr Young: Yes. 1 Mr Massey: Then I must contradict your statement. j Mr Semnle: I say the Government comes out before the country and talks about the democracy. They say that tlio democracy should rule, that the colony should be controlled by the people . Wo soy that .-thfl" right should- be- < xtended to the trades union movement and that the majority should have -a-righj;. to carrv_.put thjO^o^vn* affairs. That j-ight yptf^ffijhfed. them by the employing cliagMs^"^■ 0:' .., > ■'-'•'■ Mr Mii-iVpy: Tf yon toll mo exactly how you \v;u>t tko law amended, I will be ablo to ro;>ly to you. j Mr Semnlo: I can produce abundant evidence to prove that the employj ing ola-^5 is right behind the smashing of the organisation. Mr Massey: Ft '.loesn't matter what you say or think, Mr Semple. I had ! in the first nlnco a request from a member of the1 union organisation at Waihi asking mo for protection. After that n deputation of representative working men .risked for protection, and there was nh:-o n numerously signed request from Wiihi ask ing for protection. He s:i.L'crrstod that Mr Semnle should say how ho wanted the law amended. » ~\ir .S-ainnle: 1 am showing you what the law means and how it has "destroyed I our organisation. We want the Law ami onded in such a fashion that the major- ! ity shall have the right to control the ! business of an industrial organisation. ( Tr.nt section was pointed out to you be?fore Parliament prorogued, and you agreed to amend the law. Since then .v:>u have shelved the proposal. i Mr Massey. T. said that Parliament would-' hare an opportunity of consider:i'.v< tho matter. Parliament will have an opportunity of considering the : whoa m-nttfr noxt session. ! Mr Semnle said that the trade union movement found itself faco to face with

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a state of affairs that meant wholesale coercion and the destruction of the organisation, and they had decided to do anything and every tiling to prevent that kind of business. "When you went before the people during the last election, you used the expression "a square deal.'"

Mr Massey: And I expect a square deal from square men.

Mr Semple: Wo have nevef got a squaio deal from you. We have got moro bumps from your Government than the workers of the country have got during the last rifty years. The men were crucified, and cowed by the policeman's baton.

Mr Massey: I won't have that. Pro^l eeed with your address without any I rcferenco to Waihi. We are responsible i to the people of this country, and are 1 prepared to answer for what took place at Waihi, and if your friends acted in. the same way again, they would get exactly the same treatment. That is plain talking. Mr Sempie: You can't put up anything against me and my friends and prove that we broke the law in Waihi. i"i are charging me and my fellows with something we never did. 1 absolutely defy your Ixover-nmeirc to prove ■ tli.iii any man who suffered in Waiiu broke the law. I Mr Massey: 1 say that the doings ] at Waihi were "a disgrace to civiiisa- j tion, and such as no respect-able men j and no i>atriotic men ouuld approve oi. Mr Semple: There was a disgrace, and we are prepared to prove where j the disgraceful business wars committed. ! \\ c have asked for a commission of in/quiry, and will prove our case. Teil us whether your Government intends ! to amend the law so that the democracy j will have the same privilege as political j unions, and that the worker will be able to say whether he wants arbitration or not. "1 am against arbitration," j he added. i Mr Ataissey: Now we know where we v.ye. * j Mr Semple: I am talking about my ' own case. Mr Massey : You are speaking on behalf of the deputation. I want to .] know whether the deputation agrees j with you in the statement that you 1 are against -arbitration. ! Mr fcJemple: That is only my personal opinion. Mr W. T. Young contended that the law was not administered impartially at Waihi. One of the Waihi miners came j t-y him with his two children and said he had received notice to quit Wai hi. ; The man approached the police and asked for protection. The sergeant -. said, "You can't get police protection. I You are getting back a bit of what 1 was given." Mr Young went on to ( contend that notice to cancel registraj tion should be given, as a resolution from a special meeting of the union. ' Another request was that where the majority of those engaged in a, certain industry could, be registered isuch a ! provision would have prevented the formation of what he contended was a bo- , gu-s union of miners at Huntly. i Mr Massey: We believe in the Arbitration Act and are going to stand by it. I Mr Parry, of Waihi, asked if the Government could produce any -lawlessness which justified the action the Government had' taken. :" Mr Massey: I repeat, the police were sent to Waihi on the appeal of, I believe, a large majority of the people at Wsihi, who asked for protection; ag- i ainst 'the ; nlob thajt* was L cotttinua-lly threatening them. We have the language, and we are ready to give -it to the public at any time. The Government was justified, and did no more than its duty in connection with Waihi. Mr Hickey contended that there was no necessity for a vigorous immigration policy, and that the Labour movement in New Zealand was against the Defence policy. Mr Massey pointed out that the Government in registering a union was merely administering the Act in regard to the Arbitration Act. It was the intention of the Government to introduce an amending and consolidating Act next session. He had a number of am-r-ndments in view and ready to- bring down as soon .as the House met. He invited the deputation to give evidence be-fore the Labour Bills Committee. Every opportunity would be given to them. Meanwhile, he was not going to express an opinion on the point raised. As to the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, he would submit the resolutions of the conference to the Labour Bills Committee. He thought there was a defect in the Act, and he wanted to remedy it. In regard to defence, he did not suggest that the Act was perfect, but he wanted to be perfectly clear and perfectly plain with them. "The Government of this country intends to stand by the main principles of the Defence Act. Anyone who looks at what is going on in other parts of the world will understand the reasons for placing it on the Statute Book. lam strongly of opinion that the great majority of the people are in favour of getting the country into j a position to defend itself if occasion arises." As to immigration, an attempt had boon made to prejudice the Government. The Government had done what it considered necessary to induce the proper clas of immigrants to come to New Zealand, namely, farm workers, men who would in time become farmC 2's;' s; 1^ w e ..}J*ere'' going" vtb avoid, depr^ r '"iib'riT we ntirst increase' the number #£ producers, llie beople all ■round' were' calling out for labour and, moro population, and it. was {he"dutyof the. G,<>vr ernmejnt; to supply the' demand. But the Government was not doing that with the object of reducing wages.