LABOUR VISITORS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1018, 6 January 1911, Page 6

LABOUR VISITORS.

—*- —— • ; AT THE TOWN HALL. ■ K INTERRUPTION BY SOCIALISTS-

£\- There was a lively meeting in the Conof the Town Hall last even•7 wg when two members of tho New South "U lies Labour Ministry addressed a large Ci'audience on the subject of Labour, and

Tlie speaker were the Hon. G. v?- S.rßeoby (Minister for Labour and Eduoa--tion), and the Hon. W. A. Holman (Attor-uoy-General). The proceedings were any-, -g tliiiig but orderly. The Socialists of AVelhad assembled in strong force, and ** the speakers, Mr. Holman in particular, subjected to continual interniptions. vi: Both, however, showed a ready command

' iv of the situation, and easily made headway i Sagainst the.tide of ■ ;Mr. E. J. ■ — Carey, president of the Trades Council, [ 'occupied chair. him on the ; besides the speakers, were Mr. -E Tregear and Mr. AV. Knogt. •

Tho First Speaker. The chairman having briefly introduced 3'Mr:: Beebv rind' Mr.. Holman,-Mr. Beebyvi'.began bis address. 'He sketched the ainis Sniid .progress of the. Labour movement in "S Australia, from tlie period of its mcepiS.tioii some eighteen years ago. The movement, ho stated, had receive.d-its inspiration from the great - maritime strike, which is'SO;well Remembered m New £ea- < land by the present generation. -, Super'li venjng on this, certain journals, particu-'H-larly those of New South Wales, bad ads'vised Labour, if it really had grievances, •'£ to., seek political representation. The.advice was followed, ...and from tbat tuxie J f there had been a steady revision of platSforrn and of ideals until,. ultimately, Labour became the big factor in the politics y\of the Commonwealth, and in some of tlie j£. State. Parliaments: One matter which the speaker -desired; to emphasise-was that, •i although tile Australian . Labour Party ,2; owed its origin and inception to. the trade ;-:J.tinion movement, its scope had gradually -i-jwidcned-until .rep'reSented; every qf'the'eommunity save that section .whose, -'—'members desired" to exploit o men. They had 'in New South Wales, as " 'ill this Dominion, strong differences, of opinion a£ to tho methods by which certain ideals (shared in common) were to be ' attained. .Every-.town-in Australia con- • t:»ned men who believed that.Lahour -" 'should be. organised, outside the political i.,-,arena, until, it was '~ strong; enough to 'completely re-organise fociety. The maiority supporting tho Labour partv . held, "however,-that now that ,it ■ had-become a constructive power, the.true policy was to ascertain what was tho mext' npssible sten, and to take it rc(v - gardloss of cost. 7£ho.-essential difference :,;Jfioftreen tho Governments of twenty years ■ ego and Labour parties of to-day !:.'nfas' that "tho latter-had completely e5--leaped from the domination of . vested inThis old Governments,.' in con- ' , jsidering a-'now land'.law. or. any. legis- ; dilation affecting property, had asked how r . r .it' would affect., the landholders or other i' . The. Labour-. Govern■i;. .incuts; of tho .Commonwealth and. 1 New -•btSouth Wales 'wore totally indifferent to - vested interests. They held that if' dO or (50 people had, niider the laws of the . .'ijia'st, got hold of nature.l resources of consideration for their interZests should not be allowed to; affect pro- . igress. The Governments. now in power .■vrere able to push these peonle aside, and , igo on with their, work... . They'had as- ' iserted, and would-nroceSd upon the prin- ; ciple that no man sTionld hold tho natural' ; ' resources of the country out of. use while -.others., desired ;to use them'.' Conclud...lijig, .Mr. • Beeby". stated'" that ; tho only .between the .dominant' Labour. .parties and tlie friends who opposed them ■'.'to-day. was that the latter .'believed that'

; J necessary changes could he effected at a' i The' ends which they all de;i,. sired . wouljl be attained as rapidly as possible by keeping in pov;cr Governments free from the dominance of-Tested interests. . , ■.

: Cayenne? -:Eblnian r 'who followed his colaVleaguc, complained early in his address 'that the .progressives in /Australia were" .ihampered by an earnest,., eager wing ' 'ivhicu should -bo. an influence leavenini; ,V,'the wholo lump, but ■; which, . instead, T fi'gured ,as a sort of cayenne, pepper. • ihis statement drew", from a "section 'Vvfqf the audience a storm of. protest. ' No doubt, ilr. Holman resumed, this v a very healthy stato of It "*' was .'presumably the function' of. the. ex- , tremis.ts to see that th'o. Labour party -... stuck to its work,'and it would doubtless; fulfil the task. In any. case, tlio attitude of ■v the Labour- party towards the reaction-

..Varies, was ono o£ irreconcilable hostility '~:..Th0. enemy had behind them the banks ;/:■ and squatters of New Soutli Wales, all the monopolistic combines of the . State. v-'As against: them, the Labour party was free • from all vested interests,; and, • in. ' happy position that, wherovcr it saw ..fathead, it could hit it. The speaker pro,,.posed to -outlino thc-'methods approved by a majority of the Key; South- .Wales -V" labour, party. This was an ago in. which ;,„wie majority must rule., From the year 1S!)2, when the .speaker first met. Mr. ..... Jlecbv, the.-or.o goal which they and a dozen other men had-steadily kept in view was to convert .a majority of the people •to their-view.. They had in New South ■t;.;.Wales-a body of men .who : had attempted to- secure recognition of their^rights' by *'i-.a general strike of a' minority- of the ? people. •'(What rot!) >. general strike, of; the mathen?" asked Mr. Holman, as he '-.continued on, apparently undisturbed by •v a hostile clamour.

r-v, Quiet was restored as tho speaker point--ed out that, a "general ..strike" ' could Jiflvci;, l>o effective while a majority of thlb people were opposed to. the aims of the strikers, whereas, if the strikers were » majority,, they could much more "heasily/gain' thoirends at tho ballot box. "How many times have you changedyour; coat?" was a question' that came soon afterwards from a member. of' tlie audience. ' ' ■ : - Mr: Holman contented himself with pointing out that if he were a candidate .seeking the support of his audience the question;might merit his attention.-LUn-der the circumstances; it', was irrelevant. The real question was; Which was the' readiest way of getting a large measure ■a of.- Justice for the workers? .".Industrial.organisation" suggested an f.tinier jector.

'Like a an Assagai. ;' Industrial, organisation against' organised • capital, Mr. Hobnail remarked, without the additional support of legisla- _ tion, was like a man with an assagai ... against ono with a Maxim gnn. Industrial organisation had been tested in the ■ miners' strike-in New South Wales."No -.-..strike had ever been more loyally sup-. ' ported. Yet it failed, and why? ''Betrayed by the Labour' party," suggested someone in tho hall. .... "No," rejoined .Mr.. Holinan, "but be- ■" cause a Government was in poiver which r.-< was: opposed to tho aims of . the organised workers. Because they had a labour ? party of 3SJ men and wanted one of 1G to control tho ( position." . !.• =:■ ■.j Folly of Strike. . For years, he continued, men like Mr. -•- Bfreby and himself hod been going rouud tolling those men that it was better to • spend .£SOOO in political organisation than .£50,000 in organising a strike. For this they had been denounced by all kinds of , chuckle-headed and shallow-pated people, but the lesson hod gone home. The Newcastle district now returned four Labour members to tho State Parliament. 'For the past six years, 'Mr. Holman continued, the Labour party had been steadily forging ahead, though powerless to affect legislation save at the will of its. political opponents, and steadily refused publicity by tho daily papers. It was during this time, that the demagogue, . apd the cosmopolitan, revohitK>rsr.v, in"ternational Socialist, had his day. Meantime the Labour parly was working hard in obscurity, and true to the old red flag. "So are wo"; "Carey's not," came at this stage from the audionce. How Not to Do It. Members of the party had obtained their seats, said Mr. Holman, not by : f lunging round . the Queen's . Statue iii V Sydney,, and delivering inflammatory ! speeches, or by attending meetings at the i. Trades Hall and passing resolutions ' "Rough .or. you, Carey!" > Not. by these methods, but-by going < out into tho highways nnd byways and S carrying the. good old red (lag into all ' eorts of holes am! corners, the party had ■ gained its imuieriisit-A-objective.

Later in' his address Mr. Holman elaborated a charge that tho extreme Socialists, instead .of .'engaging, in'.active.'"work, had shown a tcndoncy to disturb tho atmosphere in solid Labour seats. They had left it to Labour men -to. contest new seats in . country districts which the Socialists had entirely neglected. Mr. Holman concluded.by an appeal for an abandonment of interweino strifo in tho Labour ranks. They had opened a new era in Australia. "If-you in New Zealand desire :,to 'do the-same," said Mr. Holman, "our only word" must be, unite, as^wb'haVe'/doiie".'