A GENERAL STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1958, 15 January 1914, Page 4

A GENERAL STRIKE.

K-The.latest ; ncws from : South' Africa .indicates.'that .'.the;;, industrial i crisis 'is.becoming more serious,..and, ,judg : ing by.-present indications/:'a ajctermiried- struggle'for-mastery, betweenthe ...Government and the revolutionary section of the.comnmnity appears to •be inevitable.'"' The ■■' authorities .have, taken the extreme step of placing :' portions" :of ,-thc ■*■ country under- ■ martial ; ,; law, - and -. ■ the Trades', and Labour Federation has - proclaimed . a .general.', strike.. The burgher forces, which" include many men who took part in the recent war, arc a resolute body of men who will probably take very drastic measures to restore order if the strikers resort to violence. This factis fully realised by the Minister of Defence who has openly stated that the burghers are not likely to. tolerate what the Imperial troops endured without firing last July. As we have already pointed out the danger of the position is intensified by the trouble among the natives employed at the mines, and the possibility of a Kaffir rebellion. No doubt some" of the workers have grievances, and, if all other means of securing redress should fail, they may be justified in refusing to work; but no civilised Government can permit any section of the community to set the law at defiance by methods of intimidation and deeds of violence. The South African authorities are evidently determined to meet force with greater force, and to suppress with ■j, strong hand all outbreaks of lawlessness. In this they -seem to have the whole-hearted support the burghers and law-abiding citizens, and in view of the fact that many of the strikers are armed a situation has been reached which is verging closely on a state of'civil war. The gospel of anarchy is being preached, and excited men are being urged to challenge the authority and supremacy of the State. Such methods cannot, of course, do the' workers any permanent good, and when the struggle is over they will probably learn by bitter experience that they have been the victims of reckless leadership. An appeal to reason and common sense, backed up by the steady pressure of public opinion, •will almost invariably lead- to "the eventual- 'triumph of a j ust' 'ciKisb: whereas violent short-cuts, threats and intimidation tend to alienate public sympathy and. block' the way of reform. . The genera! strike.' has been trice! and has failed in New Zealand and in other countries, and it is doomed to failure in South Africa, but it may last long enough to cause much suffering and privation to those who hope to benefit by it. The progress of events in connection with the present labour upheaval in South Africa will be followed with the greatest interest in New Zealand in view of the fact that we have just passed through a similar crisis, though fortunately of a less dangerous character and on a much smaller scale.