The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16. LABOR AND GOVERNMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 240, 16 February 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16. LABOR AND GOVERNMENT.

The growing influence of Labor in the Government of British countries is of vital interest to people of all shades of J political belief. The institution and comparative success of a Labor Government in Australia has been a powerful incentive to Labor organisations not only in other British countries but even in countries not under the Union Jack. What Australia has done, other countries, can do, always supposing party dominance does not develop into a mere question of "spoils to the victor." The British Labor Party, which may probably develop into the most powerful organisation of the kind in existence, is less sweeping in its demands than any similar party elsewhere, and its calmness and sanity make it a force infinitely harder to fight than parties which make more noise. Last month the British Labor Party held its annual conference. Peculiarly enough, from a colonial standpoint, that conference discussed only constructive detail, and made no suggestions for the destruction of any party that might oppose it. There was a total absence of abuse; no rancour, no airy references to "class-consciousness," no suggestions that the only worthy men in the world were members of trades unions, no challenge to the whole British world outside trades unionism and no threat of ''the greatest industrial upheaval the country has known, if " etc. The British Labor Party recognises that threats are useless if Labor is not thoroughly organised, and so its first business is to secure the election of candidates to Parliament, and to organise and maintain a Labor Party in Parliament. It foresees that its influence, during the existence of a party system of Government, cannot be great unless it has great voting power. The conference decided that candidates accepted by the party must unequivocally stick to the platform, that they shall not go to the constituencies unless duly labelled, and shall not help any other party in any way. The most important phase of a movement which may lead to the dominaney of Labor in the far future is that organisation must secure for Labor members adequate financial support, so that comparative poverty may be no handicap to potential representatives chosen by the executive. There have been alterations made in the clauses dealing with tho Parliamentary Fund, the object of which is now to assist in paying the election expenses of adopted candidates, to maintain them when elected, and to provide the official expenses, of the Parliamentary Labor Party and the salaries of the national agents. In the Labor Constitution, the stringent safeguards against disloyalty obviously infer suspicion. Altheugh the party declares that the proposals will not undermine its independence, it is made particularly clear that in all cases Labor in Parliament must ever have the same view, and that each member must be as like each other member as peas in a peck, part of a machine, without individuality and without initiative. But one does not blame a Labor Party under the existing conditions of party warfarl for adopting the tactics which stultify individualsm, but which give Liberals or Tories their effect as machines. It is remotely possible, should Labor in Britain ever realise its irresistible strength, and should it—which is unlikely—think as one man, a Labor Party in Parliament might control it and ultimately produce a Labor Parliament. In such a contingency, it would be interesting to observe the attitude of the people should the Australian sj-stem of government by caucus be introduced. Although selection of a Government by a party caucus pretends to be democratic, it is, of course, nothing of the kind, seeing that such a caucus, sitting in secret, necessarily se- ' lects only men of the political brand the caucus carries. The method is unmistakably one of "spoils," undemocratic, coercive, selfish and dangerous, for it narrows alleged "government for the people by the people" into government by a bureaucracy. Government by party majority is the basis of political fighting which sees as a goal, not tho interests of the people, but the interests of placeseekers. The election by the whole of the elected members of Parliament of an executive would necessarily still the clamorous ones, whose chief interest in life is to strive for preferment. The pretence at an elective executive made by the Labor Government of the Commonwealth is an abuse of the democracy, and one that will yet lead the people to demand the abolition of government by secret caucus, a method which is only a sinister variant of former methods and those still employed elsewhere, whereby the people arc bound to accept party domination irrespective of their own wishes, am] whereby, also, it is possible for members of an executive to steal into their seats without any mandate from the people. Labor Governments a.s yet have shown no disposition to Rive either people or Parliament such wide powers as thev are supposed to exercise, solely because the selfishness of party dominates the whole political world. Until elective executives (distinct from executives elected by a secret party caucus) are the rule, politics. Labor and otherwise, will represent merely sordid scrambles for place.