LABOUR PARTY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1110, 25 April 1911, Page 5

LABOUR PARTY.

AMENDED CONSTITUTION AND PLATFORM. An important item on the agenda paper of the New Zealand Labour party Conference, which has just concluded at Christcluirch, was consideration of the constitution and platform drawn up at the inaugural conference of the party, held at Auckland in July, 1910. Neither document was altered to any great extent.

The only clause eliminated from the constitution was that providing that a sitting member of Parliament should be the selected and endorsed candidate of the Labour party, provided that he joined the party prior to the next general election, subscribed to its platform, and pledged himself to vote as directed by a duly constituted caucus meeting.

As to the platform a clause reading: "Leasehold tenure, with right of renewal and periodical revaluation every 21 years, except for heavy bush and swamp lands," was amended by striking out the words from "except" onwards.

It was argued by those who supported the amendment that the revaluation provision would sufficiently protect the interests of tenants even in the case of bush and swamp holdings. Improvements in clearing or draining these lands, it was stated, would bo included in the valuation, with ordinary improvements. In its original form the clause gave rise to a certain amount of misunderstanding in politicaj circles last year, the Labour 'party being accused by its opponents of inconsistency in making an exception to its general advecacv of the leasehold tenure.

A plank in the platform approved at Auckland road: "Right of the people to restrict or abolish tho liquor traffic by a hare majority vote at local and Dominion option polls." This has been altered to read: "Eight of the people to decide all questions referred to a referendum on a bare, majority vote." Save for the alterations detailed above, the constitution, objective and platform of the Labour partv retain the form in which they were framed at Auckland last year.