POLITICAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2912, 21 July 1925, Page 2

POLITICAL

In the supper-room of the Town Hall on Sunday evening, Air Ben Roberts lectured to a fair audience on “Labour, Religion, War.” The Mayor (AL E. Perreau, Esq) occupied the chair. In his opening remarks, the speaker said some people had an idea that the Labour movement only dealt with wages, mortgages and hours of employment, hut that was not so. The Labour movement affected us 'personally, socially, industrially, politically, nationally and internationally. It also had a material, moral and spiritual interpretation. Some people also thought that i ; was composed of wageworkers only, but it was attracting to its ranks the finest intellects of the world. The Christian Students movement had its study classes in the colleges and universities of every civilised country in the world, and its teaching was avowedly Labour ideals. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount was the basis of Labour’s cause. Dr. Gibb, the eminent preacher at Wellington, had said he thanked God every day when the Labour Government was in office in Great Britain that Mr Ramsay AleDonald was a Premier of high Christian ideals. Some people thought that if Labour got into power it would he all strikes, but it could he shown that, under Conservative rule more strikes took place than under Labour rule, because strikes were tin effect of bad management. Air Henry Ford had said that bad management was the cause,of more strikes than anything else. Many people, continued the speaker, who railed at the workers’ protest to harsh conditions forgot that Moses was one of the greatest Labour lenders in history, and by Divine Command lead the Children of Israel from the brickfield's of Egypt, through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Keir Hardie, the British miners’ champion, had said the Great Gnllilean was the source and inspiration of his life. The Socialists of France some years years ago had a wonderful picture of Christ hung at the head of their meeting room, with a curtain across, and when the curtain was removed it revealed the words, “The First Representative of the People.” The Labour movement was capturing the enthusiasm of the rising generation in alino.-r every country. In the older countries, like Russia, continued the speaker, where conditions had been so bad, conditions were changed bv revolt, but in the newer countries, like our own and Australia, by evolution and the ballot box.

The speaker explained the working of the old Hebrew law, called the Jubilee, and showed how valuable such a law would be to-day if in operation. It provided a year of rest from toil. It brought about personal and national reconciliation. It liberated the mortgaged lands. It gave freedom to the man who had sold himself into bondage. It prevented land gambling and aggregation, the adding of home to home, and estate to estate, but the most valuable aspect as far as New Zealand was concerned was its check on the iniquitous mortgage system, for every 50 years all mortgages terminated and money-lend-ers knew better than to execute a mortgage past the year of Jubilee. The. speaker said the Great War was supposd to be a war to end war and to make the world safe for democracy. ALillions of men had made the supreme sacrifice with this intention, and their spiritual ears .were listening for the Clarion Call of the Labour movement, the churches, and all noble men and women to carry the flaming torch of Liberty and Freedom from the machinations of vested interests and imperialists who would crucify humanity on the altar of Aloloeh for a mess of pottage. A strong appeal was made to the audience to recognise the line of demarcation between those who were for Labour and those who were against Labour. Judgment Day was not in the dim distance, but every polling day, and the Great Judge was the Carpenter of Nazareth, whose decisions were based on the statement : "l was hungry, and ye gave me no meat : thirsty, and ye gave

me no drink, etc."’ The address closed with the words of, Kbenezcr Erskine: “When wilt thou save the peopled" A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the speaker, his Worship the Mayor remarking that it was a pity the hull was not full.