Page 2 Advertisements Column 8

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 180, 21 July 1908, Page 2

FARM LABORERS AND THE ARBITRATION AOT. The proposal of the Farmers' Union that firm laborers should lie excluded from the operation of tile Arbitration Act was viewed with disfavor by the franiers of the report to the Trades and Conference. They buw no reason why any section of workers should be excluded from the operation of the Act. When this clause of the report came on for discussion, Mr. Thorn said, fla secretary of the Canterbury Farm Laborers' Union, he had to thauk unions throughout the Dominion for the support they, had given him in- his fight for the agriculture' laborers. Anybody who knew anything of the Farmers' Union must know that it was composed mainly of the most Tory gentlemen in the Dominion. They had received a scare because the farm laborers in Canterbury, had organised themselves and had mada demands on their employers. They had an idea tlmt if the farm laborers met with any success their operations would extend further .than Canterbury, and that the agricultural workers would demand better wages and shorter hours. The fanners had taken up the attitude that the Act should only apply to towns, and that the country districts should be excluded. They had a perfect right to think what they liked. He would not (.ire to take on the organisation of farm laborers if they only had strikes to deal with. He was quite satisfied that a union of farm laborers would not he organised in Canterbury if the men l,"id to strike to secure their demands. The Arbitration Act, if not as good as it ini"ht be, gave great advantages and benefits as far as the organisation of country workers was concerned. (Applause.) They must have the Act if success was to be obtained. The union* should stand by and help in fighting th« agitation of the farmers to secure «i limitation of the operations of the Act. Mr. S. E. Brown drew attention to the fact that the Hon. ,T. A. Millar had state"# 1 on more than one occasion that! the Government would Bee no class of workers outside the operations of the Act. Mr. D. McLaren was of the opinion that the farm laborers should hovo the advantages of the Act as well as everybody else. If there was more regard to the spirit of equality and commonsense in the future than there had been in the past, it would be better. It was only a matter of time, and the workers of the country would get sick of the whole affair. He referred to the matter of Ministers of the Crown roakilitzcomments on questions which were Sub judice. lie took the present opportunity of entering a protest against such tactics. The workers had been told to put lip with the law, but when thtjy oa.ne to put aside the fiamngant matter disseminated, it was found that thene in high places had no more regard' or even loss regard for the law than the workers. Tho law was there generally for the purposes and in the Interests >f capital in the first instance. Ho hoped the farm laborers would get some Satisfaction; but he was not going to u?-( lievo it till it came about. The clause 'was .