N.Z. LABOUR PARTY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15975, 18 November 1919, Page 4

N.Z. LABOUR PARTY.

Thk electors generally, and the friends and supporters of Mr L. Mcllvride and Mr P. J. Brady iu particular, will be interested to hear the opinions expressed concerning the N.Z. Labour Party (of which they are the candidates for Wanganui and Eangitikei) by a former member of the organisation. We refer to Mr W. P. Black, of Dunedin, a gentleman occupying a prominent position in Labour circles in the Dominion, who played an important part in the Huntly miners’ strike of 1913, and induced them to return to work, in face of the opposition of the leaders of organised Labour. Mr Black is a candidate for Dunedin South, standing in Independent Labour interests. In the course of an address on Thursday evening last he warned his hearers about an element in this country which, he said, was fast developing into a serious menace, and which had to be crushed out before any reconstruction, oould take place. He referred to the group of Bolshevists and Anarchists who were parading the country camouflaged as the New Zealand Labour Party. With smooth-tongued professions of patriotism, and a faked-up platform of mild reforms, they were for the time being setting aside their real policy and endeavouring to gain a following as the saviour of their country. Formerly', the most conspicuous figures in this collection were well-known to the people as open and avowed "direct actionists.” They had no faith or belief in political action or any sort of constitutional methods, and yet they had descended to a system of camouflage and sham in ordet to benelit by something in which, they perhaps saw a temporary advantage. He warned his hearers, however, that in spite of all this seeking of political honours these so-called Labour leaders were unaltered or unchanged. The candidate quoted a number of extracts for the purpose of drawing a comparison between the views of the United Federation of Labour and the 1.W.W., and went on to state that there was absolutely no difference between the basic principles of the two organisations. It Was part of the policy of that party to hoodwink and deceive the workers and so bludgeon them into strikes, and that was the sort of thing he was right up against and had been working against for a great many years. Their policy was at all times obstructive, and was aimed at the undermining of all constituted authority iu contradistinction to a policy of reconstruction and usefulness.