A PASSING PHASE.

Waikato Times, Volume 120, Issue 19991, 15 September 1936, Page 6

A PASSING PHASE.

The Minister of Education, when speaking in Auckland, made an appeal to the trades unions to co-operate with the Government, and when lie did so Mr Eraser knew that in several places men had refused to work on Saturday and that other interruptions had occurred. Probably the Minister, with his long political experience, realises that the process of adjustment and of re-adjustment v’ill take some time, and it would be a remarkable thing if all the changes that have been imposed were carried through without any misunderstandings or differences of opinion. There are amongst those who were so ardent in their support of the Labour candidates people who thought that success at the polls meant securing practically all that they had demanded in the matter of working conditions and rates of pay. They have had to learn that compromise has its value, and although a few appear to think that they can obtain by direct action what they failed to get through the established Court that is a passing phase. There was, however, a weakness in the position taken up by the Minister of Education, not in any way attributable to him, but caused by the statements of his colleague, the Minister of Labour. Speaking at a social function organised by the Trades and Labour Council in Wellington, Mr Armstrong said that “in a year’s time, if any industries have been refused the 40-hour week that ought to have received it, that can be remedied by Act of Parliament, without reference to Flie Court.” If that expresses the mind of the Government then it is not difficult to understand the opposition shown by some workers to awards that either do not provide for the shorter week or allow for so many hours to be worked on Saturdays. They obviously hope to secure their demands “by Act of Parliament without reference to the Court.” According to Mr Armstrong there is no reason why the Government “ should always be dependent on the Court for guidance.” If that is the considered view of a member of the Ministry, then Mr Fraser should not be surprised if the tasks of adjustment are more difficult and more prolonged than it was at first anticipated. The approaching by-election explained the really far-fetched statements of the Minister of Education with regard to the future of democracy in the Dominion. The idea that if the Government were defeated “ democracy will crash with it,” is amusing. It did not crash before Labour entered office, and it did not crash when Labour Governments were defeated in other British countries, including Great Britain, so why should it crash here? Mr Fraser surely was speaking with his tongue in his cheek when he said that if the Labour Government failed there were “ forces that would step in and not bother about the ballot-box or any of that sort of nonsense.” Just where and what are these mysterious forces that could assume the governance of the Dominion in such a surprising way? It used to be said that a movement known as the New Zealand Legion, was based on Fascist principles, but it really does not matter what it was based on for no one has heard anything about it for a long time. It seemed to die quietly. The fact is that there are no such reactionary forces, and the Dominion will continue to be governed, as Mr Fraser asserts it is now governed, “ with the consent and the help of the people generally.”