LABOUR CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 21 April 1927, Page 1

LABOUR CONFERENCE

WHAT LABOUR- WOULD DO. (Australian & N.Z. Cable Association.l LONDON, April 19. The IndejHMident Labour Party’s conference at Leicester enthusiastically approved of a proposal moved by Mr Parr, of Dunedin, that every unemployed man should receive £250 annually and that all employment exchanges should be brought under trad© union control. Air Lee Smith proposed that the next Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer should raise .£856,000,000 annually by a surtax of two .shillings in the £1 on all unearned incomes over £SOO per year. The Independent Labour Conference adopted a resolution protesting against Great Britain’s policy fn China and demanding the withdrawal of the armed forces, also pledging the party Individually and collectively to refuse war service, including the manufacture and transport of munitions in tho event of tho outbreak of war. The Independent Labour Party’s China resolution was not passed without opposition. Air Shimvell incidentally revealed a carefully guarded secret pf tho Independent Labour Party’s membership, declaring that it was useless to think that their 30,000 members could enforce a policy which the trade union movement was not prepared to adopt. Air Henderson, speaking at the Labour S-cliol at Oxford vigorously denounced heresy-hunting by the Independent Labour Party. He said that no body had more toleranco shown to it l>y the National Parliamentary parties and the National Executive than Iho Independent Labour Party. He declared : “We cannot build up a groat party if the left insists on attacking tho right, or vice versa, or both attack the centre. .LABOUR VTEWjS. LONDON, April 19. The Independent Labour Party Conference rejected a proposal that the next Labour Government- should repudiate the proportion of the war debt representing inflation. Commoner Wellhead declared until it- was repudiated, the most blackguardly robbery would continue. Another speaker advocated that bond holders should he told they had taken the swag long enough. E. F. Wise pointed out if the proposal was carried, co-operative societies throughout the country wolld become bankrupt. The conference passed a resolution demanding national ownership of banks, hut rejected an amendment urging the abolition of currency, the proposer of which declared banking was mere chicanery and fraud, whereby people were, fooled. __