THE TREACHERY OF OUR OWN.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 19, 14 July 1911, Page 13

THE TREACHERY OF OUR OWN.

Dear Workeb, —In view of the agitation to have tho workers adequately represented in Parliament, what guarantee have I, as a worker, that the man whom I help to send there will not go back on mc? It seems to mc that the great majority of men when in a position of power naturally become to some degree autocratic. This applies to men who have risen from the ranks of the workers as well a« those from another class. A case in point is John Burns, M.P., who was sent to Parliament by the workers, and supported by the workers' money, until he accepted the bribe of Cabinet rank and the salary of £ 50(30 or so which accompanies it. As another example we have the Australian Labour Government, which has given up the idea of making

class legislation and which, if I am not mistaken, that Government was returned to make. Then, a member of that Government is reported to have said "that the most Conservative citizen need not fear that the carrying out of their policy would injure him in any way." (Vide Worker, June 2nd.) Now I assert that as the Australian Labour Government was returned to make class legislation, the workers whose votes returned that Government are betrayed. There are numerous other instances of betrayal, too well known to need repetition.- I do not wish to become discouraged, nor to discourage others, but to my limited vision it seems almost hopeless to elevate members of our own ranks to power only to have them throw us oyer and join the capitalists, as the great majority of those who have been elevated to power hay© done. There are indications that the workers of New South Wales will be worse off under the so-called Labour Government than they were before. Have we, the workers of Maoriland, any hope of faring better under any Laboun or Socialist Government we may return? This question is agitating the minds of many workers, and many men are holding back from joining the ranks of organised labour for lack of an answer which would satisfy them that their efforts would not be in vain. If some of our prominent men, Socialist or Labour men, would devote time and effort to giving a satisfactory answer to this question I am sure that the ranks ot organised Labour would be strongly reinforced —Yours, etc. Spreydon. R.H.