UNITED LABOUR PARTY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 537, 29 January 1913, Page 3

UNITED LABOUR PARTY.

■ —«■ . CONDUCTED BY THE DOMINION , EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. (The Easter Conference of the United Labour Party voted to make no paper its special organ, but to provide official news and comments to any paper promising to regularly publish the same. The paper is not responsible for this column, and the party assumes no responsibility for any : utterances of the paper except for its own official utterances in this department.) ' LOOKING BACKWARD AND FORWARD. , A REVIEW, AN EXPOSITION, iANDA GLANCE TO THE FUTURE The United Labour Party has been before the people of New Zealand for preliminary consideration in the form of a series of proposals in more or less definite form for eighteen months. The writer of these notes came to New Zealand as a visitor and a student. He brought messages with him from the most active and responsible leaders of the Labour movement throughout the English speaking world. . His programme was to visit the principal points in New Zealand, and while doing the work of a student to render such service was possible by bringing to the workers of New Zealand the viewpoint, and, i f possible, something of the strength of the active Labour movement of other countries. EVERYBODY SAID SO. Without any exception, the one thing that was told to him by everyone with whom he talked—and to this statement there w re no exceptions whatever— the ore thing said by all was that the thing needed in the Labour movement in New Zealand above everything else was singleness of purpose and the consolidation of strength to promote that purpose. In other words what the labour move ment has suffered most from in all the centuries of human existence, but which fortunately, is a matter largely of the past in most countries, was still its dominant feature in New Zealand. That is disunity, mutual misunderstanding and the resulting waste of the strength of the workers in fruitless wrangles with each other. He was invited to remain in New Zealand for a period of six months and to formulate and to make understood among the labour organisations o: New Zealand some plan looking to the consolidation of Labour under an organisation which could bring the full strength uf the Labor movement to bear direstly in behalf of Labour both in the field of industrial disputes and in the use of the poiltical power of the workers. A CAMPAIGN FOR UNITY. The Unity campaign was undertaken. More than 100,000 copies of the proposals were printed, revised and printed again and sent repeatedly in packages to the whole body of the trades unions of New Zealand sufficient in number to more than reach every member of organised Labour in the country. The discussion was carried on for nearly a year before the conference which was proposed in connection with the Unity proposals was fiinally held. It is certain that no proposals were ever submitted so fully to those who were asked to act upon them, and such ample opportunity given for their study and criticism prior to the conference in which they were to be finally and formally acted upon. THE EASTER CONFERENCE. The conference met in Wellington last Easter week. It was the most representative body of Labour ever gathered in this country. After prolonged and careful discussion of every detail and after having made various amendments, but embodying substantially the unity proposals as first submitted, thev Were finally adopted. A provisional organisation was created with a view to undertaking the completion o? the regular and formal organisation of the United Labour Party, and this work has been going constantly forward, with the writer of Jhese notes still working as the national organiser. TE HALF-YEAR RECORD. The business year of the organisation closes on the 31st day of December of each year. The accounts are being made up, and will very soon be ready to be sent out to all affiliated bodies throughout the Do- . minion. A brief review of what has beer undertaken and has been accomplished during the past year is a matter, however of public interest. There have been printed and distributed in behall of the United Labour Party more that 50,000 pages of literature. Severa pamphlets have been published. Tw< editions of its constitution bavi been issued. On more than one thou sand occasions representatives of thi organisation have presented it claims on the public platform, befor trades unions and in special confer ence There are now sixty-five Labou unions and other organisations whici have voted their allegiance to th United Labour Party, have obtainei their charters, in regular form, ah ' are in good standing financially o the books of.that body, while ther are as many more which have take the preliminary steps, and are no\ in process of becoming regularly an formally identified with this nations - hn *« '' mmmm

THE DISTRICT COUNCILS. Central bodies are being created and those previously in existence are being reorganised throughout the Do min ; on. In almost every one of the general dividsion into groups of affiliated bodies established along the lines of the industrial activities of the country there are organisations which have been regularly chartered and will be represented in the coming Easter conference.