LABOR AND SECTARIAN STRIFE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1918, Page 7

LABOR AND SECTARIAN STRIFE.

! REV. HOWARD ELLIOTTS STRICTURES. PROTEST BY WORKERS. 5; A meeting of workers was held in Griffiths' Building, New Plymouth, on Friday night for the purpose of protesting against the remarks made by the Rev Howard Elliott at his meeting on Monday night last to the effect that Labor members of Parliament were elected 'by the vote of the Roman Catholics- There was an attendance of about fiO and Mr. W. H. Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Labor Council, was voted to the chair. Mr. F. J. Lyons, secretary, moved the following resolution: "That this meeting of workers emphatically protests against the slander uttered by the Rev. Howard Elliott in his late address in New Plymouth, that every sitting member of the Labor Party in Parliament had been put there by the power of the Roman Catholic vote, such utterance being a deliberate falsehood and without foundation in fact; and that this meeting protests against the local officer of the Salvation Army (Adjutant Rowlands) seconding the vote of thanks to MrElliott, : cing that the Army is an undenominational body" In speaking to the motion, Mr. Lyons said he bad been in the Labor movement for many yearo and bad never known the sectarian issue to he raised, and to say that (he Labor members of Parliament held their seats by the support of t'lie Roman Catholic Church was a slander on the party. He thought Mr. Elliott went out of his way 11 o place a stigma on the workers. The ppoech nf Mr. Elliott, as reported in the press, was a mass of balderdash and contradictions and Mr. Elliott was deserving of all the censure they could give him. Mr. F. McMasters seconded the motion. 'The chairman said it was no part nf the Labor party's policy to interfere in sectarian matters. Their chief aim was to improve the conditions of the workers—not merely the' members of trade unions, but their wives and children. He considered no man could have any higher form of religion than that ideal. Mr D. Meßae considered the resolution did not go far enough. He said Mr. Massey and bis Oovernment should be challenged to say whether or not ti'ey were behind Mr. Elliott. He believed they wore, and. that Mr. Elliott was a paid agitator to cause dissension among the Labor forces. He woii'ld like to see Mr. Elliott challenged to discuss the matter on the pub]if* platform in New Plymouth with any member of the Labor Party selected by himself. On being put the motion was declared carried unanimously. A letter was received from the secretary of the Slaughtermen's and Freezing Workers' Union embodying a similar resolution carried at a meeting of that Union, and the meeting approved of the resolution. The following resolution, moved by Mr. W. Tweedale and seconded by Mr. Anderson was also carried: That we desire,to urgently warn all workers to be on their guard against the tactics of unscrupulous Labor opponents who are attempting to introduce the venomous poison of sectarian strife into the ranks of Labor. Mr. Mcßae then moved that the Rev. Mr. Elliott be challenged to the public platform in New Plymouth to confirm and discuss his accusations against the I-abor movement in New Zealand with any sitting member of the Labor Party in Parliament whom Mr. Elliott may choose to select. Mr. Tweedale seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.