Labour Movement.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 April 1913, Page 3

Labour Movement.

PKOKiiSSOIt MILLS IX IiEViIN. Professor Mills, representing tho Labour Unity movement, delivered an address in last night, Cofore an audieuce of about one hundred. Mr .Robertson, M.P., presided. Professor Mills, in the course of some introductory remarks, said he was not present that night in tho attitude of one out to attack tho laws, nor did lie stand before them in the attitude of one out to light everything. His point of view was that a man should he judged by what he was in favour of, not by what lie was opposed to. What the country needed was help, not hindrance; if tho Lord had wanted only kickers he would have turned . out men who were constituted chiefly of feet. lie submitted to his audience that "justice between man and man" was the foundation of New Zealand's needs— of the world's need. That wa.s what the Labour Party offered New Zealand; the labour movement was the only one in New Zealand that was founded upon broad principles that covered the ground lor the whole of New Zealand, not merely a platform to suit some corner or some small section of the people. The professor went on to speak of the need for proper remuneration for all kinds of labour; what was needed was not the much- I (pioted "living wage.'" but "industrial ju-tico.'' Rewards corresponding with the services rendered were what was just; the man who rendered big service should get big reward, and the man who did nothing should get. just that much; if he got more he was getting the goods of others and some real worker was going short of reward. Tho workers ;>f Now Zealand were going short to-day. He noticed that the hmployers" Federation estimated the wages paid annua 11 v in Xew Zealand as £0,000,000. "\y e H, ], 0 accepted those figures and drew their attention to the fact that the increase of -nnimproved land values last year in New Zealand Mas three times the value of the whole of the wages paid. And it was not the man who cultivated Innd who benefited by the higher price of land; it was the man who 'V-l down the lan;l. .Ju.>t ;n proportion as land was made an instrument of exploitation its usefulness to the farmer lessened. Last year, before there was a penny available for the purpose of fanning it was an obligation on Xew Zealand to create (in round numbers) C2o per capita, and take it away from those by whom it was created and give it to those who created nothing but simply gobbled the stuff! (Laughter). Going on to speak of the actual workers on the land. Mr Mills said that out of 101.000 workers on tho laiut jn Xew Zealand 57.000 had no claim to the land at all. And of the 47,000 who dkl have land, not more <000 gained as much because of their monopoly as they lost heonse , of the monopolies that "had" thorn! Hie incubus should be lifted from Xow Zealand's lands; the organisation was so bad that the boys were having to leave New Zealand every .war. Land was too difficult to get; that was why it was necessarv for this country to he advertising abroad for immigrants. S'he had nothing real to offer; that wa.s why she had to advertise; if she was offering something gocd she would not have to advertise; the settlers she had would send the news along to their brothers and friends! In an appeal to fanners to join forces with the Labour Party in Xew Zealand, he asked them to consider the case of Oklahoma —the newest state in the U.S.A. It had a population of 1) millions, and in all that state the largest city had only somo 15,000 people in it. The state was almost wholly an agricultural one. And yet in that .State, at the recent election, 40 out of every 100 votes were cast for Labour. That was .something for the farmers of New Zealand to muse upon, for the .platform of the Oklahoma Labour Party practically was the same as the Xew Zealand Labour Party's; he had assisted to draw up both platforms ; so he knew. He concluded by calling upon his hearers to help free the country from the Liberal and the Conservative parties—which he said were simply tho Tns and Outs—and to give the Consolidated Labour Party ft chance the party that from the first week in July would have a guaranteed membership "of '50,000 adults and .an annual fund of £10,000. Tt would he a broad basis that the party would stand on; it would not he the country worker against the town worker, but all workers (men and women) against diones. And when Labour secured that equality to render services that it asked for for itself it would guarantee it to everyone whether thev voted for Labour or not (Applause).