LABOUR IN SYDNEY.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 15312, 13 August 1923, Page 6

LABOUR IN SYDNEY.

WIR M'GIRR'S RESIGNATION,

LETTER TO EXECUTIVE.

Mr J. J. G. M'Girr, one of the Labour representatives of Sydney, has resigned from the A.L.P., following upon the command by the central executive that he should present himself before the Sydney Electorate Council, in conjuction with Mr P. J. Minahan, M.L.A., to explain his failure to attend Parliament regularly.

Mr. M'Girr (who was appointed leader of the State Parliamentary Party when Mr Dooley was deposed, but was himself compelled to retire by the Federal executive), writing from Sunrise, Parkes, under date July 31, has unburdened himself to the new A.L.P. executive as follows:—"Your letter of July 26 has reached me, and I consider same impudent and Impertinent. The ©omtents of such a letter, coming from a body which only a few months ago defied not only league and electorate control, but also A.L.I. executive control, are amusing'. Yon, as an executive, to a great extent reflect the Parliamentary Party, and vice versa, except that your executive is largely controlled and comprised of "Pommies" and newcomers to Australia, while the Parliamentary Party is largely composed of nervous weaklings, who, when they had •power, were afraid to do anything for the workers; they refused to stand for a basic wage, a motherhood endowment, and would not even stand to the workers to the extent of a penny reduction in Sunday tram fares. It strikes me forcibly that if the workers of Australia are satisfied with the present reactionary leader and deputy-leader of the Parliamentary Party, then they require promises rather than genuine reforms. I find the Labour Party as now constituted has lost sight of its Australian sentiment and instinct for which it originally stood. That being so, I care not for your dictates, and herewith politely tell you to go to h I shall wait until Labour is properly constituted again. There is no Labour Party now, and you will find this at next election. In lieu of the Labour Party in Parliament, a body secretly controlled by the Nationalists, masquerading as a Labour Paryt. exists. A body of timid, nervous Tories, who are at heart conservative in 'the extreme. I am glad to be free of these mediocrities, and during the next 18 months in Parliament I shall content myself on every opportunity I so desire with showing the workers the history of some of their supposed representatives in Parlament. I do not propose to belong to any party, but to be a free-lance on behalf of the youns Australian workers, whom I have always been proud to represent, and I shall lead a party for them should they ever so desire it. I therefore forthwith tender my resignation from the Labour Party, and in doing so I can say that which most of its present members cannot say—that I have never gone back on a Labour principle during my 20 years' service to the movement, and that I am an Australian, of which I am proud, and that I shall stand for my native country for all time against all you interlopers.—Faithfully yours, (Sgd.) GREG. McGIRR.

Nothing Official. The secretary of the A.L.P., Mr "W. Carey, said that he had not yet received any communication from Mr M'Girr. "It may be in the office," he said. "No," said Mr Carey, " I have nothing to say about the matter. I have no official • knowledge of it yet. There will probably be some 'remarks' made at the executive meeting."