THE LABOR MOVEMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1927, Page 1

THE LABOR MOVEMENT

POLICY IN GREAT BRITAIN. AUCKLAND. Aug. I. Before a large gathering in the Princess Theatre, the Reverend James Barr. Labour member for Motherwell in the House of Commons, spoke on “Humanitarian aspects of the Labour movement in Great Britain.’ The meeting was under tbe. auspices of the New Zealand Labour Party, end Mr a. G. Osborne presided. The demands of the Labour Party, said Ur Barr, was that capital should cease to bo the monopoly of the few. and that it should lie made equally available, to all. This applied also to land. It, was claimed that production, distribution, and exchange should not be for private profit but for human well-being.

Touching on the unemployment dole, the speaker said that it was more correctly described ns insurance, because r large proportion of the money involved in "the payments was contributed by the workers themselves. He assured his hearers that there was very little abuse of tbe system. The Labour Party maintained that the allowance should be more generous than it was at .present, but did not believe that this would he a solution of the unemployment problem. The Party believed that committees should be engaged on the drawing up ot development .schemes which could be put into operation when tbe need arose. Referring to the question of the living. wage, Mr Barr said this should not be interpreted as a mere subsistence wage, but as a wage sufficient for tbe workers to live full and complete lives. He also spoke on proposals to reduce hours of work and to improve working conditions. Mr Barr was accorded an enthusiastic vote of thanks.