The Dominion THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1914. LABOUR HERE AND IN AUSTRALIA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1976, 5 February 1914, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1914. LABOUR HERE AND IN AUSTRALIA.

Mr. Holsias, Preiriier of New South Wales, who k at present ti visit ! to New. Zea'laii.d'; is recognised as. one of the. ablc-st of- the L-alierar leaders of the Commonwealth, and bno of.tho iiiost personally popular with the general public. The ree<mt success oi the New South Wales Labour party at the general elections there . was stated to bo largely in the nature of a personal triumph for Mr. Homun, H* had returned'; from a visit to England to find the party in a state ftf disorder, with Ministers carrying em the government of the country under extreme difficulty so far as the conduct; of the business of Parliament was concerned, unpopular ■ throughout, the country; ■' and .fast losittg their hold on their own supporters in the dec-, torates. He took up the reins, of office,-and so skilfully handled matters that he not only rehabilitated the Labour party, kit at tlie elections which , followed shortly aftej unexpectedly and .completely routed the Liberals,, wfe at tlie ftiderll elections a little time before had triumphed ovoji' Labour in New SouthWales, and had hoped to repeat this success at the State elections.- In these -circumstances, it is of special interest to dote the views expressed by Mr. Holijajj on the questions of Labour as compared with, the violent- preachings of our. friends of the Red Federation in New Zealand, Me. Holjian is one of those Labour leaders who realise the futility and. the folly of the Syndicalist idea and the resort to. violent strike rnethods. In the course of an. interview, in which he briefly outlined the growth arid development of the Labour movement in Australia, he niaies it very clear that he attributes such success as his party hns met with to eyblutionary rather than to revolutionary methods. \ The. Laboiir niSvement in (Australia, he reinarkiSd, has beeu a strlefly constitutional one. "There am a few -isolafed voices taisetl here and Uwfei.trpftiw thit action bp tak?n eti other than Parliamentary lines, bat they ar« crowijig Uvret and f«wer very rapiiUy.. About six vews ap;o we hAtl-a great dtrisien of fcinniflft trade unions as to wli«tl)«r wejr should concentrate behind the Pa-rlialneii-tary party/or fifrike <mil oti sMvie fre£h Syndicalistic iltet.hotl. In those (kys Hi* propiiijanrla of the I.W.W.—iiji Affl*ri*Aa organisation devoted tn the genern-1 strike' —was making much headway, Tvji.ii.ee it must be confessed thftt the Parliamentary parties w«re not. . Thev vera jn Opposition in almost «vcry State in Australia, and for the tint* beiiHr ifcoy' w>re i;nnor tent to effect any inmvediato pain in tho lot of the worker. During this period there was n g-roAvintr teiideno.y to issprt that legislation could not .benefit ' the worker, and thnt nil, the general strike—cj-nld.' Wo did not have any experience of rt csnpr.il stfiko, W we' had n sreat many strikes, jiiast of which failed." , Later on, as 11R, Hcfj.UAK points out, tho party began to win Parliamentary successes, and today in Australia the advocates of Syndicalism and the general strike, against action on Parliamentary lines, are in a hopeless minority. In New Zealand, the strongest, section of orgail 4 ised labour has just had brought home to it the folly of Syndicalism, and now appears to bc i giving more active attention to political action. But it has no leaders worthy the name, r aud it will ■probably bo years before it makes any s'-cal progress in the direction of Parliamentary achievement. A t-ombination of civ l cumstanccs. recently enabled fche more powerful of the Lnbotir parties here to win two by-elections, and this may hive a'beiicficial effect in encouratcinft organised labour to s«k its ends by-means of political action rather than by constantly promoting Industrial strife. Sa Iftji.p. as the rank and file are- ready to *übot> dinite theii iudgment to the domin-

aiicc of the class of mischicf-iaalcing firebrands who at present hold s\vay over so many of the- unions, there is little chance of progress.being made on sane And sound lines. This advent of a Hoemax in the fighting ranks of Labour in .New Zealand might put a very different complexion on ' the political outlook of that party; but with a petty, narrow-visioiied band of professional strife-makers and self-seflkws masquerading as leaders of Labour, the prospect is not nn inspiring one for those who hate the cause of the party genuinely at heart.