NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1432, 6 May 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

A case of trade union tyranny which recalls the case of Inspectou Fuller was the subject of an important decision by Judge Denniston in Greymouth on Friday last. A Mil. Blanche, a foreman employed by the Union Steam Ship Company sued the Greyinouth Wharf Labourers' Union, which, he contended, had conspired to compel his employers to discharge him. Mr. Blanche had incurred the disfavour of the Union through what it alleged was his manner towards the unionists under his supervision. The Union passed a resolution giving tho company forty-eight hours , notice to dismiss Mr. Blanche, but the Grey mouth I manager of the company refused, aI- I though he offered to' transfer him to the clay shift. This offer was refused, and at another meeting the Union decided to adhere to its previous demand. The manager then dismissed Mr. Blanche, paying him a month's salary. In the course of his judgment in favour of the plaintiff, who was awarded £75 damages, Mn. Jvstice Penniston said: "There can lie no queetion as to the fact that tho action of the Union showed a total absence of any notion of fair play or sense of justice. The man was accused, tried, condemned, and sentenced at a meeting called without notice of any such business." He was satisfied that the Union had conveyed an illegal threat to the company. There is a strong likeness between the Union's treatment of Mil. Blanche and the Tramway Union's trpatment of Inspectoii Fuller. It is astonishing that the trade unions should be unable to realise how ill they serve the best interests of trade unionists by violating those principles of fairness and justice winch all can understand. There is really not a grain of difference between the tyrannous and unfair attitude on the part of trade unions and the frankly unscrupulous contempt for c;ood faith displayed by some of the '. lenders of the Federation of Labour. '

In some respects the. PniMfi Mis*iSTKit readied iu his Balchitlia speech a level of originality quite uncuimiioii for him, although it is licit quite the level at which most politicians would care to find themselves. The two chief features of his speech were his neglect to declare his policy and his neglect to reply to the criticiemß and chnHQnKCS which bis jjidiswotiatu of upaucjl kou&ht U£au

him. His reasons fur thifi doublo m:gli'ci. him) delightfully funny. .llu would not (lelivi'i 1 it pulii'y k|iwi:li, In; explained, lil'ciiuhii il. would In 1 , l.ririi to pieces. We: lumi heard ninny irnsoiih iu'viiiHvd liy ]i(ili<.ii'inii.s (or Ijicir sill'lKM'K (111 Hlll'cilic. points, hill, illis reason is eiiUrely in",v In us. Kvery(ini) knows, of con ran, l.lml, if i\l'ii. Mackhnzik had a dolinile policy In; would lie. pnmd enough of il, and of himself 1.0 proelaim ii, everywhere. UoW (liil'S he ex|>eel, lo gel, 01) will , I) Ihe time conii's when lie HMiijily imixl, deehire liin policy i His reason for refusing lo reply (!) l,iie. uril.icisiim and fiddressml 1.0 him is a inoi'ii hiiinoi'oiiH l.hiiiK Hi ill. They were not, 1,0 Hiippow, In , . Hitid, llml In; could nol. hiiiiihli liih rril/ira lo siniUiereens; liu!, lie in really too liusy Hiivin/j; the c.oiintiy! lie. caiuiol,, apparently, (liri|icMHi! with a ningle one of thoHii l)ii.ii(|ii(!l.H Miiil, arc, so essential 1.0 Hoiind government, and devohi Mil! tinii! ho saved to the pulvoriniiiK of his critics. Perhaps lie is wine, for nol.hiiiK could have jjcnri more fi'iilili; than hin rambling evasion of tliii iiimph' request that we p'lifc to him to name, those members of this Opposition who sent Home wniln of ! dimpair with the. express object of injuring the flotation of the iivc-mil-I'om loan. Ho riinde <i clear accusation, and ho was asked to substantiate it. He replies by saying that somebody, boiiio iinin or other, wrote llomn Homo sort of n. letter sharply criticising the W.-'.nn Government. Mit. Mackenzie will be wise if ho sticks closely to the business of banquets; political controversy is not his forte.

Last month a cable message recorded the interesting fact that the city of Milwaukee, which haa been under tho rule of the Socialist party, had emphatically decided that it had had enough of the experiment. It has been exceedingly difficult to obtain authentic news of the effect of the Socialist administration of the city, although it has not ever been denied that the expenditure had increased enormously. The people of Milwaukee, however, know boat the sort of administration they are getj ting; and at the election on May 2 the Socialist Mayor, Mr. Emir, Seidel, was defeated by Dr. G. A. Badino, the non-partisan candidate, by 43,117 votes to ;50,200. Tho ordinary political parties sank their differences, and united against the Socialists, and they did so with such enthusiasm that the voting was the heaviest on record. Of the thirtythree aldermen elected, twenty-six were "non-partisan" and only seven were Socialists. The fact that the votes cast exceeded the highest previous total vote by 20,000 is regarded as highly significant and a convincing proof that Socialist politics have only to be tried in order to effect a cureof the delusion that Socialistic administration can be beneficial to any community.

Some weeks ago we noted the action of the Japanese Government in deciding to call together a meeting of representatives of the three religions active in Japan—Buddhism, Shinto, and_ Christianity—with the object of finding something like an amalgam religion upon which the State could rely. It appears that the proposal wasdropped, but that a kind of unofficial meeting was held, at which wore present seventy-two representatives from nearly all the principal sects of tho three religions. The result was not very sensational, consisting as it did in the mere "unanimous adoption of a platitudinous resolution" that the various sects would do all they could to assist the Government in its efforts to bring about closer co-operation between the Government and the religious bodies for the bettering of social conditions and their spiritual advancement. People are now wondering what was the motive of the Government in promoting the meeting, and a widespread assumption is.that the whole affair was an aftermath of the Kotoku incident. Dr. Kotoku and others were arrested, charged with plotting to murder the Emperor, found guilty _ and executed. Kotoku's offence, it is explained, was not only high treason against the State but also against, the Church, for according to tho Shinto religion the Imperial ancestors are,sacred, and not, less so the Imperial person. Thereafter an order was issued that school children should be more strictly educated in religious matters and should at fixed periods be taken to worship at the shrines. The belief seems well grounded, a Japanese correspondent states, that the Vice Minister's proposal was intended to bring # religion to the help of the State in combating Socialism.