"THE INTERNATIONAL."

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1458, 18 October 1872, Page 2

"THE INTERNATIONAL."

[From the Thames Advertiser.! We have heard a great deal during thelast two years from Europe of the In* ternational Society, ami of its great and wide-spread influence, but of what are its objects and aims it is. difficult ta ob.tain any distinct idea. It is known to be a combination of members of tileworking classes in different countries, with the view of improving their social condition, of lightening their labor ami. raising their wages, claiming for the working-clashes preponderating political influence, the abolition of all class, legislation and distinctions, and the establishment of equality of conditions, in society. These we gather are die obj<'cs m-.t before themselves by theleaders of ihe International, but apparently a wide divergence exists as to hovi these objects are" to. be achieved.. Some members of the body,, and the preponderating numbers in some countries, aim at the establishment of com* munistic principles. We heard of theInternational as causing strikes » France before the war; it has mam* fesled itself in Germany, whence* indeed it sprung; in England it includes a large number of intelligent working: men. The Society is credited.

-with the outbreak in Paris after the capitulation, and also with being at the bottom of the formidable strikes that have lately taken place in England. These accusations are probably untrue, but undoubtedly the Society has great influence, and as some of its objects accord with the tendencies of the age, it will be able unquestionably to point to some measure of success. In dealing with such a Society, England has one mighty advantage. On the Continent, it is a conspiracy, in England it is merely a " movement" of more or less strength. In England, the members meet in the face of day, discuss their " platform," and have their newspaper, while in Prance the passion for repression on the part of the authorities, and the in&tinct tor conspiracy on the pait of the people, convert the Society into a standing menace to any administration. Almost as a consequence of these different systems, while in England the members of the Society seem never to dream of any other means of attaining tbeir object than public discussion, organization to assist in cases of strike*, and the reasonings of the International Herald, the idea that seems to present itsell naturally to tho French members is a contest at the barricades. By the reports which have been published of the first annual congress of the British section of the organisation, which met lately at Nottingham, we are enabled to gain some idea of what it is that the British Internationals aim at. Not one of the delegates present was known to fame, but we may mention that the colonies are represented by " W. E. Harcourt, Democratic Association, Victoria, Australia." Here is the first rule of tho Association, and it is certainly harmless enough for evil, if also so vague as not to be of much efficacy for good:—"All societies and indiduals adhering to the association must acknowledge truth, justice, and morality as the basis of their conduct towards each other, and towards all men, without regard to color, creed, or nationality, and shall cultivate a spirit of equality and fraternity." After discussing their rules and organisation, the members of the congress, inslead of setting on foot any revolutionary machinery, simply resolve that the rimo has come for the formation of a third political party in this country, based upon the claims of the laborer. In supporting this resolution, " Citizen Clarke," representing Dundee, said that England was the " richest country in the world, but that it was the one in which the producers got only a mere sustenance," and added that what the members of the Society wanted was "a fair share of what their labor produced, and that life should not be left a cheerless struggle for existence." The members then turned their attention to the construction of a " platform" for the association, lo be composed, of course, of different "planks." Th.) first of these "planks" is:—"That this congress adopts the principle of political equality, based upon adult suffrage, * with prepositional repre sentation." It was explained that it was meant to include women as having a right to vote. The most revolutionary of the "planks" is, " The nationalization of the land, and all the instruments of production." The association will have to work for a long time before they achieve this object, which is one of the most impractical and knotty planks they have taken. Then we have all " The abolition of all hereditary titles and privileget," and next a most potentous plank—" The abolition of the office of justice of the peace." We venture to ; ; ay that if ever a section of the Inter national is formed in Kew Zealand, this will be a popular part of the programme, for somehow it is generally behoved that justices, as a rule, have intellects below the average of humanity. The citizen who proposes the motion at Nottingham, very concisely put the matter in a nutchell by aaying that they wanted trained independent judges." On the whole, the English International Sooiety reveals itself as a not very formidable affair, and as not differing very much from the Chartist assemblages of twenty years ago. Many of the objects the Society aims at may we think lairly bo stigmatized as impracticablej but when

we look at what lias been attained of late years ia improving the condition of the laboring class,- it might lie rash to say where the line is to be drawn beyond which there ia no possibility of advance.