UNITY CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1410, 10 April 1912, Page 6

UNITY CONFERENCE.

A CONSTITUTION DRAWN UP,

The Unity Conference put in a long day's work yesterday, and did not, conclude its deliberations until midnight. At that hour it completed its review of the constitution and platform of the projected "National Federation." To-day the amended constitution and platform will be laid before the Labour party conference and the Trades Councils' conference. By these bodies the work of the Unity Conference will either be endorsed or reported back to it with suggested amendments. The Trades Council delegates are to meet at Parliament Buildings at nine o'clock this morning, and the Labour party delegates at tho Trades Hall an hour later.

Mr. W. H. Hampton (chairman of the Labour party conference) took an opportunity yesterday of inviting delegates to attend a "smoke social" at the Tiffin Kooms this evening. The visiting delegates aTC to be entertained by the- local Trades Council and tho local branch of tho Labour party. Mr. Hampton will preside, and probably some Ministers of tho Crown wifl attend.

Mr. W. A. Veitch, Labour member for Wanganui, has come to Wellington to attend the Unity Conference, but does not mean to attend the Labour party conference. Mr. J. Eobertson (Otaki) and Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh (Wellington South) are attending the conference as visitors. Nothing has,been heard, as yet, from Mr. Payne. It is reported that the "Unity Conference yesterday unanimously decided to retain in the constitution of the projected National Federation the clause exacting a pledge of loyalty from candidates and members who stand under the auspices of tho party. The only pledged member of the present Labour group is Mr. Hindmarsh. Messrs. Veitch and Eobertson havo declined to take tho pledge, though the latter approves in a measure of the system of rfcall by referendum. He thinks that an Act should be placed in the Statute-book, giving one-third of tho electors in a constituency tho right to recall a representative in Parliament.

Mr. Hindmarsh holds that the pledge he has taken does not differ in any essential respect from the unwritten pledge that members of all political parties are expected to subscribe to and maintain. Ho remarked last evening that the only difference between the Labour candidate's pledge- and tho pledge taken by every rank and file member of the Labour party was that the candidate undertook to assist IV> selected candidate in his electorate ij he should not himself bo re-elected. [The proceedings of the Labour Party Conference will be found on page 3 of this issue.]