FIRST DAY.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 64, 31 May 1912, Page 8

FIRST DAY.

OPENING OF CONFERENCE. Tho conference of tbe New Zealand Federation of Labor began its sittings on Thursday, May '23, at the offices of The MAOit;i,ANi) Workeb, when officers and delegates were in attendance. It was a busy and memorable Bee.no. Mr. P. C. Webb, president, was in the chair. The roll en 11 was made, and credentials adjusted. PRFSJDENT!AL WELCOME. To welcoming the delegates, the- President expressed tho liojxt that they would not separate until they had perfected tho machinery of tho organisation in such a way as to make tho Federation of Labor the most complete organisation of tho working-class. He regarded the conference as the. most, important ever held in the history of the working-class movement of New Zealand, and he believed its deliberations and decisions would tend to the freeing of the workers from tho injustices of capitalism. It was decided that the press should be excluded from the conference, and that an official report bo supplied to the papers by a press committee set up for the purpose. It was further resolved that it verbatim report of the proceedings should be specially taken and published in pamphlet form. Appointments as follow were made: —Press Committee, Messrs. P. H. Hic-k-ev, J. Duncan, and R. Crowley; tellers, Messrs. R. N. Ridd. E. J. Howard, P. Richardson. T. Stephenson; minute, secretary, Mr. G. Smith; timekeeper, Mr. H. R. Yoyce : standing order committee, Messrs. J. Dowgrav, M. J. Laraey, A. Ro.-ser, R. Gould, H. T. Armstrong ; finance committee, Messrs. R. N. Ridd. R. Gould. A. Paierson, J. Cummin: l :, R. H. Dalhousie. It was decided that tbe conference sit daily from 9 a.m. till 1;'..'!0 p ., n ._ and from 2 p.m. till •"> p.m., and thereafter as arranged. A arced that- a'l matt-et-s of procedure be decided ou the voices,. unless o'litwise ordered: movers of motions to have 10 minutes and oilier speakers five minutes. The delegates pledged themselves to divulge no information to the ptes\. Present's Resort. In the afternoon Mr. Webb gave an exhaustive report of executive, work, referring to the remarkable growth of the m"'i i bor.diip since the previous ronfereuce held in 1!)).'). From 5000 the paid mcmbcri-hip had increased to lo.Otii). Agreements bad been made from one end of New Zealand io the other, and in o.verv ease conditions had been bettered. The Federation had fried compulsory arbitration, but had found that or_-a-,!is:,|yin in the t-oirit of solidarity bad e:fi'it!ced boiler results. The Federation of Labor soutd-,)- to unite all wago-crner-i into one <l;v~s organisation. It bad gained the allcriance of the waterside workers, and had been the means oT improving their lot mnre thoroughly tl'an had been the "nse for 15 years. In 1011 the Federation had taken over Trr-i M,\ouir,.\N_> WoiiKF.it, issued it as a weekly newspaper, and subsequently installed a plant and purchased premises. The paper had erne to stay, and had done good work. Tbe organisation bad had to fight for its existence and principles every inch of the way, but the present large conference attested its spreading popularity and need. Report of the Organiser. Mr. R. Semple (tlw organiser) also gave an exhaustive report, in which he emphasised that ho had carried out instructions m signing agreements, foot in no agreement _ad the (right to «&rike or the right to make common ©aufce in industrial upheaval been sacrificed. He had boon somewhat handicapped 4n

his propaganda work by the necessities of administration. As' a result of hn» mission to Australia, tho coal miners of Victoria, New South. Wales, and New '/(■aland had been linked up, .and the following agreement had been approved and signed : — "For th.c purpose of more efficiently and successfully conducting wage-warn, and Hcciiring working-class solidarity in such industrial struggles .as may extend from Australia to Now Zealand or rioo versa, it is hereby agreed by tho New Zealand Federation of Labor on the one hand and the undermentioned industrial organisations on the other hand, as follows: '(1) Tliat the various organisations shall make common cause in all disputes affecting tho Waterside and Miners' Union directly the dispute is lieltl by Hie organisation l , which has initiated action to require the oooperation of other parties to this agreement. ; "(2) That moral and financial aid filiall be mutually rendered in industrial struggles. "(•'}) That in industrial struggles tho unions hereunder specified shall iv any and all circumstances refuse, upon official notification, to assist in the production or transportation of like commodities to thn.se affected, if such production or transportation bo the means of injuring the cause of the. organisation involved." Mr. Setnple added that he. had not been nble. in the time at his disposal, to reach the rank and file of the Australian waterside workers, but he felt sure that in the future the waterside industry would be intercolonially joined. On the motion of Messrs. ]'. Eraser and G. Bruce, tho reports were adopted. On the motion of E. J. Howard and J. Montgomery, the Executive, bal-ance-sheet, was adopted.