"A LITTLE BIT TOO THICK."

Press, Volume L, Issue 14888, 30 January 1914, Page 7

"A LITTLE BIT TOO THICK."

At tho Glasgow Labour Congress, Mr Ramsay Macdonald. M.P., declared that tho cynical conclusion of the South African war, which resulted in the spending of hundreds of millions of money, and the sacrificing of thousands of lives, was that trade union leaders had been deported. It was not easy for British M.P.'s to intervene. It must be remembered that South Africa was a self-governing colony, and any interference from Downing street would be immediately resented, even by the victims of tho tyranny, but members of the British Labour Party could raise the question of Lord Gladstone consenting to martial law. Tho matter was beginning to get "a little bit too thick." He had always thought that under the British flag there were certain inviolablo rights and liberties, including tho right to striko and the right to picket. They were now told that all that was nonsense and humbug and moonshine, and that a self-governing colony could make or mar the Empire's fair name. If there wns no Imperial authority invested with powers to stop this sort of thing, it was about time they had it. If thoy were going to allow self-gov-erning colonies to do this, he would say candidly that he' would far rather they were under a foreign Power.