LABOUR NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 11 May 1901, Page 4

LABOUR NOTES

Tho Socialist movement is making great progress in tho French islands in the West Indies,

A recent invention enables the marble carver to strike (5000 blows a minute, as against 30 by the hand process. The shoeworkers employed in a big factory in New York, went out on strike for three weeks, but tho hunger and distress in their families made them c ipiluate on the 21st of last month.

Tho Socialists of America arc running a daily paper in New York called the Daily People. It is tho property of the Socialist Labour Party, is the organ of the militant working class, and is edited by working men.

Tho chief feature of tho American elections apart from the racial conflicts to characteristic of ibat curious conglomeraion of races, tho Austriau Empire has been tho success of tho Socialists. In Vienna, while tho Anti-Semites polled 20 per cent less than in 1897, the Socialists poll was increased by 25 per cent. Fifty years ago tho proportion of men and women working for wages was as ton to one; now it is as four to one.

The Sydney Wharf Labours’ Union which is some 1G months’ old, has a membership of over 300 and a credit bank balance of .£750.

Social Domocra*s have made great gains in Germany, last reports giving over 70 Social Democrats elected to tho legislature in the principalities.

Troubles have broken out in Calabria, tho southern part of Italy,' owing to the misery which the peasants are undergoing. They demand the pareclling-out of feudal lands in order that they may cultivate them.

During the bearing of a case by the Colling wood (Christchurch) bench three weeks ago, a girl stated that she had worked 94 hours in a week for 7s. On one day she put in 21 hours from 4 am. to 4 o’clock next morning. Her employer, a baker, admitted that she worked 8G hours and that he had stopped balf-a-crown out of her wages for tho registry office fee. Ho was merely fined 5s and costs for a breach of the Factories and Shops Act.

Tho Toscin, Melbourne's Labour paper states that in tho Federal Senate the La hour Party has nine seats, there ar twenty-five senators who are friendly or neutral towards tho Labour and two arc hostile. In tho House of Kepresentatives Labour has 15 seats, 54 members are friendly or nemral towards the Labour movement, and 6 are hostile. The 8 hostiles named >iro Messrs Knox (Victoria), Barton, Lyne, M’Millan, Bruce Smith, Gould, O'Connor (New South Wales), and Sir John Forrest (Westra'ia.)