The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1918. LABOUR IN POLITICS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 436, 20 December 1918, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1918. LABOUR IN POLITICS.

"We nothing extenuate, nor let down aught in malice."

The position of Labour in active politics in New Zealand just now is not a particularly felicitous one. A superficial obseryer might dissent from this view, and point to the fact that Labour has recently won four by-elections, in support of his opinion. But there are some victories which are more disastrous than defeats, and we believe it will be found that the successes of the Labour paity at by-elections has done more injury to their future prospects than if their nominees had been at the bottom of the poll. No liberal-minded person will cavil at Labour's legitimate desire to be represented in Parliament. It is fully entitled have its views enunciated in Parliament by representatives of its own choosing. It is equally entitled to hold the reins of Government if it can succeed in electing a sufficient number of its candidates, which is no doubt its ultimate objective, and a perfectly legitimate objective for it to have in view. But if aay advance in this direction is to be made, Labour will have to see that it is represented not by Anarchists and Bolsheviks, but by men holding the sane views that the great majority of workingmen adhere to. Unfortunately the leaders of the working-man are usually of the professional agitator class, whose possession of glib tongues and of facile consciences have given thera an ascendancy over those whomisled by their wild promises, have assented to their domination. Instead of selecting the best and most honest of their class to represent them they almost invariably pick upon the least worthy and reliable. The result is that organised labour is looked upon by the public generally as disloyal, unpatriotic, and anarchistic, wkereas the great majority ot working-men are none of these things. But as the only way by which their aspirations can be judged is by the public utterances of their leaders, it is no wonder that people generally should confuse the two. Another unfortunate result is that sane and moder-ate-minded Labour members like Mr Veitch, and loyal aud patriotic men like Mr John Payne, are forced by the social-revolutionary tendencies and disloyalty of the majority of their colleagues to leave the party. Revolutionary socialism may be a necessity in countries as despotically governed as Germany and Russia were, but in free communities such as this it can never hope to succeed. The ballot-box and equal political powers to all make evolutionary democracy so simple of attainment that no party

advocating violent methods for the attainment of its end can succeed The Frasers, the Hollands, and the Semples will never help their party to get on the Government benches, but what they can and will sneceed in doing is to so alarm the public mind that the National Government will be more firmly seated than ever.