The Knights of Labor Meeting

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 33, 2 September 1890, Page 3

The Knights of Labor Meeting

The public meeting held in the Assembly Rooms last Saturday evening undpr the auspices of the Knights Of Labor was very largely attended, and considerable -V interest washianitested in the proceedings. Not only: were the" laboring classes," in the limited sense; of the; term, there m. full 'force, but the traded business, farming and ,; professional occupations generally of the < town and district were well represented. : { Mr- : F.-Y.;;ljethbridge;(the: Mayor), in acr cordance with the advertisement, presided, and ; after a; few introductory'- ;remarks v; called upon ;Mr Tremaine to address the :-\'.;"-'meeibitig.'.--.''; : . ;'.;■:.,,';. This gentleman apologised for not being a -.great speaker and consequently not so - .well able to 'elucidate the subject as V ; one that, was to follow^ him.: : ■ He briefly "touched: oil some of the principles .'pf the " knighthood^ especially^ the land question, • ..and pointed out that the so-called "rabbit ; " huisahce ' ' had pro yed a blessing to many ■ settlers; as it^had induced large landown- ■ ers to cut up their estates into small farms. ;'The;Property>Tax ;was most unjust, as it ? '-. taxed: improvements. We; had. in New ; Zealand ;^s,P'ooiP^ worth of unimproved; land^ which ought to be taxed for its use- , -able value;' ; He insianoed. ah' individual who had bought a large block at 10s per : acre, and; was cutting it up and selling it ~;at i£s per :acre.\ All paid .the Property. -Tax Whether they ■; '-had land .or not, and • even those who ■ were said :to be exempt. The merchant the : amount of ; Lis Property Tax, and then put it on to his goods; for which the consumer had to jay. The speaker concluded by saying that unless.: we.; got men to go to>Paiiia"rheht - "who would Scarry .-.put these; liberal : measures we "-'were better without them at all, a" remark that was followed by loud "applause. .^i '- : 7^.'<- - sMr next addressed th;e' ; me"etSving."'ahd' : was''-receive4v-with tokens of wel■come. 'His hearers were hot to think he and the. other delegates had come there Tthat night to influence them in selecting *ny man ;tp represent them against their > cwh wishes. He then entered into a gen•*ral description of the aims, and objects ; ;of>tbe^ Knighta ;df Labor. It was ; not -a ':■': trades^ union : -ih- ; tlie . »eneral ac-. iceptatioh : of the^ the; term', and was not for the ''ehebui a'^erhent of strikes which, vwhett over^ left ; things^ pretty much as before. ; The great thing needed wasj legislation for> the j^eatest^ good. for the greatest number, but legislation at the' the present time only tended to make ; t^e rich richer and; the poor poorer (applause).: The;rnain; object of the Knights was to unite all labpr, irrespective of trade, creed, -colpivprsex. ;In : America there were lodges " jcomposed ;fci:tiL - eiy off wi men. He gave ' -ebme account of the origin; rise and marr vellbusly rapid growth of the order, and ; said.;ithat "nois organisation had attained ;^uch : solidarity, then read out some; of the leading- principles of the Knights of -Labor; which '.were in substance as fol;lpvys :-— lndustrial and moral worth, not- ■ wealthy : is ihe true standavd-of ihdiyidual and national; greatness. ;; Workers should , Shave the full eiijbyment of the Wealth /they create in ; the; shape of their share in' "the gainsand honors ofad.vancing civilisation. jßiU'eaus of labor statistics should ; be established to arrive at a correct knowledge of the general condition of the laboring masses. ; The land and all natural ; ■': sources .of wealth' belong to the people, and there ;should be. no individual title to : pps9ession;lexcept pccupa,ncy andxise," the community to reap; the benefit,. through a sJahd tax, of all the unearned increase in - vaiue";;; .Laws .should r bear equally . upon .^capitalists i-,-and laborers, S and all unjust ..technicalities, delays and discriminations: ih the administration of justice should be removed. Corporations should -pay their emplriyees weekly, and the workers' ha ye ; the first lien oh the product pi' theh* labor to the full extent, of, their; wages. There should be .Taws providing, for the arbitration between ■ employers and epiployed, and to enforcethe decision of thearbitrators.; Children should not be [employed ■ Tinder 15 years ; of- age. >A ; co-operative industrial system should .he established such as; wpuld : supersede :the system of -wages^.Bpthsexes should have equal pay. for equal work, and eight ..'hours should be ; ; ':-ihe^.recognised'.'' : .wprkm Employers ' .and employed sh puld Jagree to arbitration , .that the bonds of sympatlfvv between them; may be strengthened, and strikes rendered ■unnecessary. Mr Pirani invited those present to ask him any questions on the subject and concluded a very able aud -forcible' address amid loud and prolonged .applause. Several questions were put and the following is the substance of Mr Pirani's replies : — The Knights of Labor had, in several instances, been the means of mutually satisfactorily settling differences between ■employers and employed. In connection with the Knight 3 there could be formed other trades assemblies affiliated with the main body, and they would gain immense strength thereby. The Knights had rr. '-onnection whatever with any particular union by name, .and they did not approve of strikes or boycotting, but any union using reasonable and fair measures would ha ve the support of the order. They had no hard and fast rules of classification of labor, and had no stipulated regulations about the rate of wages. The Knights of Labor was a brotherhood, and there was no distinction of class. There being no - other question, Mr Pirani proposed a hearty vote of thanks to His Worship for presiding, and this was carried with loud acclamation. This concluded the public meeting, but a great many stayed behind and expressed their intention of joining the order, 22 persons putting down their names at once and nearly all paying the initiating fee of 2s each. The doors were then closed and a branch was formaly organised, to be called the " Unified " Assembly. Bro Pirani, Master Workman,' conducted 'the rites, assisted by other officers. Messrs W. Reading. arid T. W. K Poster were elected secretary and treasurer respectively pro tern, and were authorised to receive the names of persons wishing to join the Assembly." It was decided to hold another public meeting next Thursday evening for farther receiving information from the delegates and the initiation of new members, the meeting to be advertised in the Star. A cordial vote of thanks to Mr Pirani and his co-delegates brought the Assembly to a close.