Labour Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XX, Issue 37, 1 July 1892, Page 2

Labour Notes.

A BRANCH of the Australian Socialist League has been forced at Broken Hill. In the report of the meeting held for th^ purpose, as given by our contemporary, the Barrier Miner, we find a good deal that is not very reassuring. Th 3 sophistries of the SjciUists seem to be making headway among the workingmin of tbe colonies. One of the speakers, for example, "maintainel ihat the mines ought to be tbe properties of the people. Tiiey were placid there by God Himeelf and were the people's by right, yet they allowed a baud of legalised robbers to coma tnere and usurp their properties." The following decision of the Pope's Encyclical will probably apply to the case. " And to say that God has given the earn to the use and employment of the universal human race is not to deoy that there can be private property. For God has granted the earth to mankind in general ; not in the sense that all without distinction can deal with il as they please, but rather that no part of it has been assigned to any one in particular, and that the limits of private possession have been left to be fixed by man's own industry and the laws of individual peoples." A protest entered by the same speaker against the proposal to work the mines by contract appears better founded, and we may agree with the cry raised in sjpport of him—' 1 Sweating, sweat ing."—" People," said another speaker, " who alleged that Socialists were anarchists and revolutionists did not know what they wer • talking about." It ib much to be feared, nevertheless, that it is they wLo agree with the speaker that are in ignoraDce. "It is clear, ' cays the Holy Father, " tLat tbe main tenet of Socialism, the community of goods, must be utterly rejected ; for it would injure those whom it is intended to benefit, it would be coatrary to the natural

rightsr ights cf mankind, »nd it would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonwealth." A oew and agreeable development of British colonisation is illustrated by a station for coloured lepers which has recently been erected in an island off the Northern coast of Queensland. The reintroduction of Kanakag, no doubt, will largely help to supply this institution with inmates. Lat us hope the same step may not result in contributing to the erection of a station for white lepers in the same colony. The possibility, nevertheless, is of itself quite sufficient to justify the classes who are unable to take more costly measures for their own protection in their opposition to the renewal of the slavetrade. Feeling in Queensland evidently runs high on the Kanaka question. Even in the mildest and most innrcuous quarters, where hardly ever before was heard even a faint whisper of remonstrance on almost any subject, folk are showing an angry spirit. We are told, in quite a " cheeky " tone, that those people outside the colony who protest against the matter alluded to do not know what they are talking about, and ought to mind their own business. Of course we know all abont that little sum in the bank, and we have been waiting for many years for the person whose business it is to bring it to us. But we have the sight of our eyes for it as well as tbe bearing of our ears. Kanaka labour in Queensland means slavery and cannot mean anything else, and it is tbe business of every civilised being to protest against that. As to the Imperial Government, if they were to send a man-of-war to the islands to sink every labour vessel she came across they would be acting in tbe cause of humanity, and the precedent ttms established would be one on which they might well be congratulated. Certain farmers, we are told, have been fined in the Mackay district for letting Kanakas milk their cows, and this also, in quarters hitherto remarkable for their mildness and innocuousness, is looked upon as a grievance. "The farmers are indignant." Of coarse they are, and co will all those privileged classes be who, by some accident or another, are obliged to abide by the letter of tbe law and abstain from employing their slaves as it pleases them. Do cows in Queensland give boiling milk so that a white man's fingsrs cannot draw their teats? We should not be surprised if an affirmative answer were given us. Tbe indignant slaver, however, is a timehonoured character. His anger does not count for much. A heated debate, indeed; almost enough to burn down the House we should say. It occurred the other day in the Legislative Assembly at Brisbane, when the Premier asked one of the hon Members if be was aware that some of his friends and supporters had been seriously discussing the question of murdering certain Members of the House. Naturally tbe Hon Member replied that he was aware of nothing of the kind. The Member in question was Mr Thomas Glassey, the Fame, no doubt, who recently refused to attend a meeting held for the purpose of trying to obtain the release of the union conspiracy prisoners. Mr Glassey based his refusal on the fact that the release was sought for as an act of grace rather than an act of justice. It is much to be feared, if we may judge by this cablegram relative to toe heated debate, that the prisoners mu9t remain in durance. Neither justice nor grace seems likely to do much for them. DacideJly, and I in more senses than one perhaps, things in Queensland appear pretty hot. M. Deschanel, a commissioner sent by the French Government to inquire into tbe condition of labour in the United States, pronounces it much better than anything of the kind in France — where, nevertheless, labour holds a higher place than it does in other European countries. He expresses himself as follows :—": — " lam afraid the time is a long way off when we shall see such a system of labour organisation flourishing in France as you have established here. The trouble is the French labouring classes are too poor to undertake to carry out such a complicated system. I may go back and tell them of all tbe wonderful things I have seen that their fellow workmen in America have accomplished and they will reply :— ' That is all very well, but how do you expect us to do anything like that here in France? Where are we going to get the money ? As it is we can hardly find enough to get food for our families aud clothing for our children, and if we pay the rent on the day it is due we consider ourselves in good luck. What is the use, then, of telling us to put into practices the American ideas? If American workmen can afford to do all that you Bay, why, so much the better for them, but we can't and won't.' I am very much afraid that is tbe only reply I would get, and, when you come to think of of it, what they would say '8 true." It speaks well for the disposition and prospects of labour in EnglisL-9peakiog countries that the alarm attendant oa the approach of May 1 was not felt there. The event, moreover, justified the feeling of security, as everywhere the meetings held were remarkable

for their orderliness and good behaviour, la New Tork a party of Herr Most's followers tried to make their influence felt, bat they were speedily disposed of. la the countries alluded to, the peaceful state of things wm the issue of the feeling of the people. la other conn, tries it is to be feared, more depended on the piecautions taken by the authorities. The principal manifestation made by labour in Ireland took place in Newry, where a monster procession of the unions waß held. Resolutions were also passed advocating the eight hours' day, manhood suffrage, labour representation, and the payment of Members. Nothing vary formidable occurred in Continental Europe, but, on or about May -day, there was a good deal of isolated bomb-throwing and explosion of dynamite. Churches, in pome instances, were the scene of the outrages, and a quantity of valuable stained-glass was destroyed — much of it dating back two or three hundred years, and whose loss was consequently irreparable. Working men, or their organs, who favour Socialism, tell us they have nothing in common with the anarchists. But they should perceive that if, on the one hand, they have to deal with the capitalists, and to encounter their opposition, on the other, if they are sincere in their repudiation , they must deal with their would-be friends and bring them to a better frame of mind— possibly the more difficult task of the two. Their position is hardly so plain and easy as some of them appear to believe it to be. If Lord Bandolph Churchill represents Tory views regarding the position of labour, the attitude of the party is a somewhat cowardly one. Ie possibly accounts for the promises recently made by Mr Balfour. In a letter to a friend, a member of the Liberal Unionist party, Lord Bandolph expresses himself as follows :— " The labour community is carrying on at the present day a very significant and instructive struggle. It realises that it now po cßessesc Besses political power to such an extent as to make it independent of either party in the State. The labour interest is now seeking to do for itself what the landed interest and the manufacturing capitalist interest did for themselves when each in tnrn commanded the disposition of State policy. Labour in this modern movement has against it the prejudices of property, the resources of capital and the nnmerous forces, social, professional, and journalistic, which these prejudices and resources can influence. It is our business as Tory politicians to uphold the Constitution. If under the Constitution as it now exists, and as we wish to see it preserved, the labour interest, finds that it can obtain its objects and secure its own advantage, then that interest will be reconciled to the Constitution with just faith in it, and will maintain it. But, if it should unfortunately occur that the Constitutional party, to which you and I belong, are deaf to hear and slow to meet the demands of labonr, are stubborn in opposition to those demands, and are persistent in the habit of ranging themselves in unreasoning and short-sighted support of all the just rights of property and capital, then the result may be that the labour interest may identify what it will take to be a defect in the Conitutional party with the Constitution itself, and in a moment of undiscriminating impulse may use its power and sweep both away." —It is, nevertheless, hard to understand how a support of just rights can be unreasoning and short-sighted. The fearless old motto still seems apposite— Mat jvstitia, mat calum, Nothing can be required of property and capital but a concession of the just rights of others. A polioy of injustice, carried out through cowardice, must necessarily be destructive of the State. Unwelcome proof that the Socialists understand the necessities of their position has just been discovered at Halle, in Germany. Buspicion having been aroused that they were attempting to gain a footing among the soldiers, the barracks were searched, and several of their pamphletß were discovered there. A home for union printers ha 9 been opened at Colorado Springs. The cost of the building was 60,000d015, the nucleus of the fund having beeo contributed by Mr George W. Childs of the Philadelphia Ledger and Mr A. W. Drexell, a member of a Catholic family famous for their munificent charities. Each of these gentlemen gave SOOOdols, The site, consisting of 80 acres of ground, was given by a Mr McGivney. The bnilding ie a very fine one, in the style of the Benaissance. It is looked upon as a particularly pleasing monument of a friendship between capital and labour. m The laßt great event in the labour world of the United States is the lock-out, just declared, of the granite workers of New England — involving at once 20,000 men with the possibility of extension to 100,000. The matter in dispute between the Corporation, the Granite Manufacturers' Association, and the employees, relates to a fixture of contracts. Among the buildings affected are those of the World's Fair at Chicago, which will most probably be much retarded. Both

the corporation and the men show a determined spirit and a tough straggle is looked for, The prospect of the World's Fair led to a great inflow of labour into Chicago, with the result that there are now in that city some 30,000 men out of work. Ihe eight hours day, however, prevails on the Exhibition buildings and union rates are paid there. The American Federation of Ltbonr has come to a decision not for the present to make any general movement fur the eight-hours day. The introduction of machinery into the cigarette factories of New York, wbicb took place six years ago, has reduced the number of girls employed there from 6000 to 700. The McKinley tariff is said to be unpopular among the employees because of its effect in forcing them to use stock less easy to handle, and which, owing to its brittleness, delays them at their work. The rate of payment bas lately been reduced. It had formerly been Idol 10 cents a thousand* from which it fell to Idol. A further reduction to 70 cents has issued in a Btrike, which still continues. The average of a girl's earnings had hitberto been from 3dols to 3Jols 50 cents a week — little enough as it would seem — hardly sufficient for the reasonable and frugal comfort required. Among the measures proposed in tbe Governor's address is one for the appointment of boards of conciliation and courts of arbitration to cope with industrial disputes. The check which tbe Governor's address asserts to have been given to the exodus from the Colony and the excess of arrivals over departures are attributed in the address partly to the efforts made by the Bureau of Industries in promoting the circulation of labour. A telegram under date Auckland, June 25, runs as follows : — A large meeting of the Tailoreeses' Onion was held at Wesley Hall. Six hundred persons were present, including several leading citizens Miss Morrison addressed the meeting, which was of an enthusiastic character. The union now numbers over 500 strong, and about 50 are yet to be enrolled, Mies Morrison considers that with careful management tbe union premises to bo quite as large and successful as the Dunedin union. Strong public opinion is secured in favour of Miss Morrison's mission. Tbe committee are busy compiling a new shirt log to meet the requirements of the Auckland trade, which is very extensive. The log will probably be presented to the employers at the end of next week, and Miss Morrison expects it will be accepted. In reply to a deputation who waited on them last Thursday, in the interests of 2GO unemployed, whose names were on the lists of the Labour Bureau at Christchurch, the Ministers for Labour, Lands, and Public Work?, explained that 60 of the men in question had been provided for at Hanmer Plains and at the Bealey, in making roads and bridges. Twenty others were to obtain work in preparing Quail Island, Lyttelton, and Somes' Island, Wellington, as quarantine grounds for stock .

Mykbs and Co., Dentists, Octagon, corner of George street The guarantee highest class work at moderate fees. Tt eir artificial teeth give general satisfaction, and the fact of them supplying a temporary denture while the gums are healing does away with the inconvenience of being months without teeth. They manufacture a single artificial tooth for Ten Shillings, and sets equally moderate. The administration of nitrous oxide gas is also a great boon to those need ing the extraction of a tooth. Read — [Advt. The Socialists have seventy-two political journals in Germany. La Liberte, of Pnbourg, Switzerland, referring to Lord Salisbury's Ulster speech, siys :—": — " In the presence of such on address one does not know whether to be indignant or to pity the man who has made use of language so monstrous." "Do Roman Catholics help you ? " was asked Mr George T. Angell of Boston, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and he answered, " Immensely." He stated that one Catholic lady gave the society 5,000 dols and others generous sams. Some years ago when the society asked the School Board for the privilege of addressing all the public schools of Boston for one hour on kindness to lower animals, it was a Catholic lawyer who moved that the rules requiring the matter to go over to another meeting be suspended and that unanimous consent be piven to the request, which was done. " Among the most constant at our directors' meetings." Bays Mr Angell, " is Patrick Donahoe, founder and proprietor of the Boston Pilot and Donahoe s Magazine, whose name and good deeds are as well known to Catholics in America as those of George Washington." Not less active in their generous co-operation than tha laitj are the clergy. Only last month the Rev William Orr, rector of St Paul's Church. Cambridge, sent a check for 25 do s as a testimony of his appreciation of the society's noble work. Archbishop Williams ia a vice-president of both ihe Society for the Prevention of Crnel'y to Animals and the American Humane Education Society, to each of which he is a generous contributor.— Pilot,