WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 April 1932, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

LA B OCR’S ASF IR AT lONS

LESS WORK AND -MORE PAY

(Special Correspondent).

WELLINGTON, March 31

It is quite right and proper that the Labour Party in the role of His Majesty’s Opposition should criticise thoroughly, and, if needs be, strongly, the proposals, the legislation and the administration of His Majesty’s advisers and their supporters. It must be said, too, that during the present emergency session of Parliament the lender of the Opposition and hi s followers, with one or tw o exceptions, have borne themselves with a measure of propriety which has left no occasion for serious complaint. Mr Peter Fraser, the member for Wellington Central, and Mr J. A. Lee, the member for Grey Lynn,- fell from grace a little while ago, leaving the House rather than withdraw unparliamentary expressions which hurt no one but the offenders. Neither Mr Fraser nor Mr Lee are addicted to offensive language, and on this occasion -their purpose appears to have been rather to exalt, themselves than to belittle their opponents.

IN CONFERENCE. It is when •Labour gathers in confer* cnee that it goes to the extremes that keep it safely away front the. Treasury ■Benches. "This conference of the New Zealand Labour Party,” it told itself at its annual gathering yesterday, "places on record its high appreciation of the efforts ,of the Parliamentary representatives in their magnificent and strenuous fight against the destructive, hopeless and class legislation of the- Coalition Government.” Then, having. taken breath afresh, it declared that it approved ot the shorter working day or week as being “an effective method of dealing with unemployment.” One would hesitate to speak lightly of the grave troubles besetting unemployment to-day, but no one who has watched the average "unemployed’’ worker at ly.s job will conclude that he would obtain better results from a shorter working day. The plain fact is that, a large proportion of the "unemployed’’ workers regard themselves as underpaid and measure their service accordingly.

PERVERTED LESSONS

It may be of interest to divert for a moment from the opportunities of the parties to the views, of Mr H. F,. Holland concerning the- future of the Labour Party. “The lesson we must learn,” lie told the deHegates to the conference, “is that for the rank and , file of the- people there is no way out except by solidarity of organisation and unity of action that will place the Labour Party Oh the Treasury Benches and give us the power” to Write and administer laws that will be. in line with the- historial conditions of New Zealand and ,th«? aspirations of the Labour movement. ’’ This advice, by the way, was preceded by a complaint that many workers, pensioners and other electors of the kind, had deserted Labour at the recent election and now were being made to pay for their apathy and disloyalty. One wonders how the Labour leader managed to identify these unhappy people.

GRINDING SERVICE. * There can be no doubt that both the Government and the Opposition are to blame in some measure for the magnitude of the amount of unemployment throughout the Dominion at the present time. The Government—fint the United Party and then the Coalition Party has not even yet fully recognised ri,.- gjyvitv of the situation. latch work relief is going on all over the country, at large expense and with inadequate results. That the administration will be better when the responsible Minister obtains sufficient means and •authority goes without saying, but there must bp no further delay if the situation is to be fully secured. As for the Parliamentary Labour Party, its threats to delay the operations of the .Government are neither * tactful nor patriotic. So far it has borne itself with some measure of restraint and patriotism. That much may be said of it- with freedom, and it surely is a tribute worth retaining.