The Dominion. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1913. THE CHURCH AND LABOUR PROBLEMS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1883, 17 October 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1913. THE CHURCH AND LABOUR PROBLEMS.

To find a permanent and satisfactory solution of the industrial problems which are at present attracting so much attention throughout the civilised world is probably the most urgent task which the present generation is called upon to undertake. We live in a time of widespread unsettlement. There has been a general overthrow of old ideas and customs, and the world is now eagerly engaged in a rather disorganised search for satisfactory substitutes. It is a period of reconstruction in which the way is being prepared for the coming of a new age. The industrial revolution may be said to have commenced in England about the middle of the Eighteenth Century, haying been caused by those farreaching economic changes which accompanied the rapid development of manufacturing industries. The whole balance has now been changed and England has been transformed from an agricultural to an industrial nation. The 'wonderful labour-sav-ing inventions, the establishment of great factories, and the collecting of the people in largo manufacturing centres introducea a new state of affairs, and the old relations between employer and employee became inadequate to meet the changed conditions. The unsettlement was intensified by the formation of big companies in order tfyit business might be done on a more extensive and economic scale, and this has to a large extent obliterated that personal element in the mutual, relations of master and man which had previously been a characteristic feature in the industrial life of the country. These great changcs aro responsible for the appearance of a-new set of problems regarding Labour and Capital. Stato interference in various ways has become necessary, factory laws havo been passed, combinations of workers and capitalists havo sprung up, and labour disputes have become a_ more or less chronic element in the industrial life of the community.

Such far-reaching changes naturally and inevitably involved a readjustment of many traditional social, political, and moral ideas and customs. The various aspects of individual and national life act and react on one another, and the moral law cannot bo excluded from business any more than it can from any other form of human activity. It is the recognition of this fact that justifies such discussions as that which has just taken placc among the members of the Christchurch Anglican Synod on a motion "that it is a moral obligation on the Church to study the Labour movement with the deepest sympathy, and to further tho cause of* Labour by every possible means." The first part of the motion contains a very reasonablo and proper suggestion. Knowledge and sympathy arc necessary elements in the formation of a right judgment on social problems; but it is by no means obvious that it is tho duty of the Church "to further the cause of Labour by every possiblo means." Does the "cause of Labour" mean all the demands of Labour? It is quite possible that some of these demands may be unjust, and if so it is certainly not the duty of tho Church or anyone clso to "further" them. Then again the question arises as to whether even just demands should be supported by "every possible means." Does the end justify the means? Is it right to do evil that good may come? The proposition that it is the duty of tho Church to further the "just demands" of LaJjour by evcrv

"legitimate" means would probably meet with general acceptance. Though the general tone of the Conference was decidedly sympathetic- to the Labour movement, the second part of the motion was rejected in favour of the words "and to use every effort to bring tho social teaching of the Christian faith'to bear upon tho solution of the various problems involved."

It is inevitable that the Christian Church, as one of the grcat_ moral influences in the life of tho individual and the nation, must be prepared to givo a lead on the broad moral aspects of tho burning social, political, and industrial problems of tho day; but such matters should be approached with adequate knowledge and a full sense of responsibility. The Church would make a serious mistake if it formed an alliance with any political party. It can 'serve a far more useful purpose by standing outside and above all parties and sections, and insisting upon great moral principles as binding on all alike. It is very fashionable just now to point to the shortcomings of tho capitalist and to call him hard names; but it requires some courage to rebuke the democracy to its face. Tho real friends of tho workers are not those who are always prophesying smooth things, but tho men who frankly and fearlessly, yet sympathetically, point out where they are going wrong, and remind them that other people have rights as sacred as their own. Labour has moral obligations as well as Capital; duties as well as privileges. The moralisation of the Labour movement is an urgent necessity if disaster is to be avoided. This has been .pointed out in a very convincing way by M. Anatole Lehoy-Beaulieu, who declares that "moral forces are required capable of. strengthening .consciences and uniting souls." Ho goes on to say that "contemporary collectivism has contented itself with being a species of economic materialism. By so doing it has not shrunk from, running counter to the noblest and sublimist aspirations of the human heart. It has persuaded itself that in this lies its strength; on the contrary, it is this' which consti- 1 tutes its weakness, and will end by causing its defeat." Dean Carrington was right when bo told the Christchurch Conference that they would make little progress if they approached these social problems from the point of view of political economy. That method should bo left to others. It is the duty of the Church to secure the application, as far as possible, oi the fundamental principles of Christian morality to the _ relations of Labour and Capital, " and to every other phase of human life and conduct.