The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1917. A LABOUR LEADER'S TREACHERY

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 14 August 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1917. A LABOUR LEADER'S TREACHERY

(With which is incorporated The Taihape Post and Waimarino News).

Accusations by the Prime Minister of Britain certainly impeach the honour and good faith of another member of the Cabinet. It is not at all unlike, from present appearances, just such a case .as one would expect from Russia. When any man is proved to have a weak sense of honour and honesty, he is also proved to be unworthy aiid unfitted for any position in which those two qualities are most'essential. Men without this keen sense of fair play; men that are consumed with greed for either money or power cannot advocate the cause of the people, and it would be unnatural to expect them to do so. To. gain political power and supremacy we have ample experience in New Zealand that men will deliberately deceive and misrepresent, and even while the Empire is passing the greatest danger, politicians do not hesitate to risk everything to gratify their own pettifogging selfish pride and lust. Something of a sensational nature has arisen in the British Cabinet; a member is charged with unfaithfulness that borders on treachery. The greatest danger the Empire now has is that of a pacifism that is undoubtedly fanned and to some extent financed by German or philo-German money. This pacifism has spread amongst the ranks of labour not that labour is unpatriotic, but some of the labour class are just as prone to committ errors unwittingly in their desire to end the war as magnates of meat trusts and shipping trusts act deliberately for personal selfish aggrandisement. In Britain a conference was to be held, at which men from Russia, and the countries of other Allies were to be present. The Prime Minister of Russia, M. Ivercnsky, to avoid any misunderstanding telegraphed to Mr. Lloyd George, that the action of Russians in England would in no way influence the Russian Government; that their presence in England was not by the .wish of Russia, and that the Russian Government was JoppoSed ;to holding any pacifist conference at Stockholm. This message was evidently discussed in the British War Cabinet, and Mr. Henderson being the repre-

sentative of labour, was asked* by the Prime Minister to attend the labour and socialist conference and fully inform the conference of what Kerensky had telegraphed. Mr. Henderson is personally of opinion that the Stockholm Conference might do some good, but the British Cabinet: and the Cabinets of all the other Allies are distinctly opposed to countenancing it in any way. Yet Mr. Henderson could not desist from demonstrating his utter unfitness for the Cabinet's and Empire's confidence, in following the almost inconceivable course of entirely suppressing what the British Cabinet had deputed him to do, and so allowed a determination to be arrived at diametrically opposed to the best interests of the Allies and of the whole world. Truly, the insincere, self-seeking politician is one of the greatest curses in present day Government. Mr. Henderson is openly accused of an act of treachery to the War Cabinet, and to whatever extent it can be proved that

' others, and more wealthy men have similarly acted to the Empire's danger, that cannot mitigate in the slightest degree the venality of his treacherous behaviour It means that while Mr. Henderson may be a successful pedagogue, he is entirely unfitted to be trusted with his fellow man's confidences. He took his fellow members of Cabinet by surprise, and Mr. Appleton, secretary of the Trades Union Federation, asserts that he has destroyed the unity of the Allied democracy; has jeopardised the unity of the British movement, and has affronted the Dominions ' and the American moveents. Mr. Henderson realised that his treachery was not compatible with his membership of the War Cabinet and he, of course, resigned. What effect his suppression of M. Kerensky's message to the British people will have cannot now be determined, but we know that a revolutionary spirit is being asserted, although we are asstfrred that it is at present negligible. The danger of a premature peace undoubtedly means war again as soon as Germany can persuade all other nations to stand aside while she and Britain settle their differences. This may come about in far less time than expected, in fact, it is not impossible that a premature peace might result in another struggle with Germany.well in our life-time. It is madness to hug to ourselves any foolish security about this peace question. There always were and always will be the timorous, fearful, pusillanimous; the wanting in courage and stamina, who will with glib tongues urge peace, and there are brave but woefully misguided men, spite and jealously will advocate ..that which they know may prove disastrous to the very cause they have most at heart. In New Zealand, we have as much cause to be on the alert as have the people of Britain It is supremely to be hoped that labour in this country will not be led against their own interests by resentful, spiteful, misguided men. There are supersensitive men in our Parliament, who are very capable, in fact, there is at least one who is scarcely second in ability to any present member, but his super-sensitiveness puts him right out of the class of leaders. We care not whether it is a conservative, liberal or labour government, so long as a sincere, capable and honest administration results. Labour has lost its opportunity more than once, and there is every appearance that the baiting of supersensitive extremists will hold back the cause of labour for many years yet to come. Mr. Henderson's stupid acts have resulted in the destruction of the unity of labour in Britain, and have plunged the Allies into a peace muddle that may bring unthought of dangers in its train. Above all, it seems, that in self-preservation we should bo loyal to the great Empire to which we have the good fortune to belong. Let trusts, rings and detestable politicians rob and plunder the people, it is for the honest, courageous representatives to bemoan personal slights that are intended to lead them off at a tangent on a •course opposed to that of their professions. The ultimate of their ideals should be kept well in sight, protecting them from any such pitfalls into which Mr. I Henderson has evidently disappeared.