LABOUR IN POLITICS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1400, 28 March 1912, Page 6

LABOUR IN POLITICS.

SOME PRESENT DIFFICULTIES. COMING CONFERENCES. : .AN INTERESTING STATEMENT. Labour politics in New Zealand at the hioment are in a state of confusion that will take a lot of disentangling. In Parliament threo men returned as Labour 'representatives appear to bo more or less •'closely identified with tho "Liberal" '■party, though they still insist that their . iown party retains its separate individual existence. The roiuainiug Labour niein- : (l>er, Mr. Hindmarsh, is regarded as a (faithful .adherent of tlio Now Zealand party, to which body_ ho is pledged. In tho country tho New Zealand (Labour Party which, broadly speaking, is un offshoot of tho Trades Councils of the ' stands aloof from tho Fedora- , ition. of Labour, which has sprung quickJv into prominence. Next month the labour party and Trades Council adher'ents aro to hold a conference at Christ'church, and in May there is to be a Federation of Labour conference. Jm■portant developments are expected to l'ol- : -low, hut) at the moment it is impossible to say whether the outcome of the conIterances will bo an aggravated split ill the Labour ranks or mi attempt to form a united Labour party on a national basis, i'l'ho facts embodied in the following outline of the position were obtained from lone who is probably about as well qualified as any man in Now Zealand to express nu opinion upon the pvospects of labour.i 1 The Unity Scheme. ■ ' \ The conference at Christchurch next >i)ionth will be attended by delegates from (the Trades Councils, the branches of tho fLabour. party,'ami'unions which are interested in the "unity" scheme'propoundI'cr by Professor Mills; It is probable , [that all. four of tho Labour reprcseutaKives in Parliament will attend the! eon■'ferenco. ■ It'is not generally expected that l'ro■fessorj Mills's "unity'' scheme will, come •;to anything. Briefly, it is a proposal 'that tho various unions of tho Dominion (should federate in trade groups and that [these groups in turn should bo organised t'into a Dominion Federation. • Tho for- ; rmatidn of an organisation of. this kind ■ {.would entail a great deal of work, anil (probably a considerable outlay, and it is 'doubtful whether tho Trades Council • 'party, are endowed ; with tho militant'•energy necessary to carry it out: Tho 1 'nuthority mentioned above contrasted tho , lighting 'spirit of tho Federation Labour- ' 'itea with the mare timid attitude of tho '•Trades Council adherents. Tho latter, ijio remarked, had talked a good deal ; ' inbout Professor Mills's scheme, but seemTd hardly inclined to back up their talk !.withWork aud cash. It seemed to him, 'the Labour man continued, that the fed-' 'cratidn was gaining ground all the time. This did not necessarily mean that svn- :. "ilicalism was growing in favour.. The ' attitude of .the federation, ed, was being very rapidly modified. Its leaders were becoming aware, of weaknesses in their methods and beginning to realiso that they must adopt a more moderate tone and outlook. Granted a ' change of this kind, the federation could offer to the workers of the Dominion a Btmple form of organisation capable of ■ rapid and easy expansion. Industrial or- : 'punisation, under the federation, would be ! 'pimply a' general federation of unions. i 'At Dominion conferences, each trado would be'represented, but there would bo none of the elaborate and expensive organisation contemplated under tho "unity"' . -Bchenic. : - A National Party. !' i In tho case of tho Trade Councils and • '.the Liibotiriparly the separation of indus--1 'trial and. political organisation is moro ,-nominal thah:-real, and tho opponents ot the system allege that the Labour, party 'ns it" exists is - a sectional organisation ■J (representing trades unions) rather thaii a f'national party. . A party (moro or less identified wifli the ; _Vfederation) ■is growing up, within the. ' .Labour ranks, which aims at building up in national Labour party—an. organisation ■ that they imagino will attract tho pro- . 1 Sessional man, tho small .shopkeeper, and the small farmer, as well as the tradesman and labourer. The fate of this ns.piration in tho immediate future will dei ;pend to a great extent upon the decisions - arrived at by the forthcoming conference. • • If the Trades Council faction adheres to its present sectional attitude, a final breach with the federation is practically certain to follow. If, on .the contrary, „ 'an attempt is mado.to.map ,o]it a'national -.party organisation on broad lines, negotia- . ; tions between .tlio two Labour .bodies | would probably follow, and the natural 'cutcome.Jwould be united' action. . T:u The Broad Fact. \ \ 'At the moment it is difficult to assess tlio relative weight of the forces that are at work;in the Labour movement, but the ■ln'oad fact is clear that ft. party exists which considers tho New Zealand Labour ■ party as a sectional organisation having : ipraotically tho same scope as the Trades - Councils, of the Dominion. To this general xulo thero is ono exception. In Auckland -- the Traces Council has been all but captured by.tho Federation of Labour. The advocates of a national party consider that the' Trades Councils have outlived their usefulness, and aro incapable of serving as a base to a political party, Indeed, tlioy hold that political organisation must : in any-.caso bo distinct from, and,independent.'.'of, industrial organisation. - 'It seems that tho alternative to acceptance of theSo views ' by the existing Labour jparty is a bitter struggle.between opposed Labour sections. If such a struggle does eventuate, it is probable that the present Labour'members, with tho possible exception of Mr. .Hindmarsh, will join the advocates of the national party. Tho Labour . man above-mentioned stated,-in-brief, that the advocates of the National'party aimed, .at focussing the energies of all workers, including pro-, ji'essional men, small farmers, and shopkeepers, 'on ono political objective. Only mi this wav, ho considered, could Labour |l)ccomo a dominant political force.