Socialistic Lecture.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 247, 26 August 1902, Page 3

Socialistic Lecture.

There was a fair attendance at the CMclfellows’ Hall on Saturday night tc hear the address by Mr Tom Mann, the w 11-known English labour leader. The chairman of the Workers’ Union (Mr J. Smith) presided, and introduced the speaker as one of the uncrowned kings of labour in the colony, and in lactr hroughout the world. j. In commencing his lecture Mr Mann dealt with ths industrial position as a whole, saying that the necessities of s change should be known. Many complained o: the had conditions prevailing, for a large proportion of the workers, no nutter how carefu', were unable to obtain sustenance sufficient to keep the ■ in health. They wanted to know how wealth was produced and how distributed. Though they were isolated from the great stream of humanity, their inteests were wrapped up in that of the world at large, and whatever affec'ed them for good or ill would affect ua here. Many of them, also, had left the Old Land because the conditions were so bad. During the last ten years a great change for the better had taken place, but it was still an awful fact that a large proportion were unable to obtain the barest of life’s necessaries. It was said that poverty was due to overcrowding in the Old Country, that there was not elbow room for 40,000,000 people living on a com paratively small area. This was entirely erroneous, for Britain had not yet been, nor was it likely to be, overpopulated. It could not produce enough foodstuffs by more than a third each year ; but they exchanged manufactures for foodstuffs. It was not desirable that any country should produce all foodstuffs ko., and at the same time, in addition, be a manufacturing and exporting centre on a large scale. Hence the expressions of regret about Great Britain’s failing trade were unnecessary. If America, who formerly bought machinery from Great Britain, started ‘o make it, this’lwas no direct loss, for while America did this she could not also produce the requisite amount of foodstuffs, and so Great Britain, when manufacturing slackened, would once more come into the front rank of foodproducing countries. International tiade consisted in the exchange of commodity for commodity, not in golden sovereigns, but value for value. Great Britain had been the workshop of the world, in the latter part of the century more especially. It was quite natural that as the other nations had time to develop they would produce machinery for their own use and also enter into competition for the markets of the world. In the doing of this fewer commodities were demanded from Britain, who now found the German and American markets falling off, and both competing strongly for markets. What was needed was simply a diversion of energy to spread production. Given proper internal organisation, and there would be work enough for everybody. If one half of the population were wiped out there would be less work by that amount, always in proportion, but there would bo still food, furniture, etc., to produce, so that they need not go about with the notion that a time would come when there would be no work. It might be that in some places work would not be obtainable through lack of organisation. Nature had provided that there should be an abundance for the use of man, and the supply was always being replenished. Population was not outrunning the means of suosietence in any country; even in Great Britain there was sufficient land with proper attention to yield sufficient food stuffs for the 40,000,000 people. Yet in London, which would be accepted as the commercial capital of the world, there were 6000,000 people, or nearly 10 per cent, who were in the direst poverty. Not that London wa« exceptional, for there was a corresponding proportion in all ths large provincial towns, in fact, to 10 per cent of the population of the British Isles were in a state of chronic poverty. Not because the British people were unable to produce wealth enough to maintain themselves (no country produced more) and the workers were as effective as any on earth. The wealth of the British people was greater than before, but after having produced it they did not get it—a email proportion were able to obtain the balk produced, so that those actually engaged in production received only enough to maintain themselves in a normal state of health and enable them to reproduce their species to take their pieces after them. If they drafted off half the surplus population there would be no permanent change, for it would not alter the relation between employer and employee, between exploiter and exploited. Because trade was conducted for profitmaking purposes and not with the purpose of providing for the general well-being it was rendered necessary that there should be these unemployed, who could be used as a whip to keep the standard comparativeiy low. He was not casting aspersions on the capitalists j he supposed everyone present desired to get further away from poverty and wished to help others to do so. They would be pleased if it were possible that the whole population could be able to get away from grinding poverty and the evils thereof. Taking this as the object to be aimed at, he assumed that any country unable to make snob provision fell far short of that standard they expected. If they coaid show that this poverty was due to faulty organisation it would clear the air. It was estimated that the value of the labour of the people of Britain was eqnal to £1,200,000,000 per annum, this including all work of a mental or manual character, everyone and anyone who contributed or facilitated production. It was well to enquire where it went. One half of that'(£600,000,0001 went to a comparatively small section of the community, £200,000,060 went as rent to landlords, £200,000,000 as interest on capital, £200,000,000 for profit, so that those who did no work at all (one fifth) took one half of the total produce of the people of Britain. And the increased value was constantly going to the capitalists, while those who produced the wealth got no more. The social reformer must find out the weak spot and set it right. He had declared in the collective state of society as against individualism. Now each man stood by himself and for himself to score against each and everybody else, except so far as individual combinations rendered it nowise. These trusts were formed to run a number of businesses more economically and effectively and exploit the community at large. It was permissible to modern day morality lo exercise whatever control they might be able to get even against the .nbarests of hundreds of thousands of the world’s people. The suggestion had been made that it would be desirable ts learn how to control trade on a co-operative basis instead of the present, and without doubt they could produce enough and divide it ao fairly that every member of the human race might have enough and to spare for every day in the year. He was amongst those who advocated the collectivist principle—tho change from private to public control for the public good. It was no use praying the Deity to relieve us from difficulties when these

I were man-made; lot them first use the

powers they had before calling on a higher Power. The socialist movement ".as spreading in Germany, France, Araer ca and Great Brit in, in fact, wherever there were centres of intelleciual activity. Already in many places

immense mannfaoto' lea were run oo collectivist principles, and municipal tramways, gasworks, theatres, parks, gymnasia, wash-houses, etc., had been started for the public good, keeping thousands of men in employment and returning a profit to the pub’ic. The time was coming when the mines and the land would be nationalised. In this colony some'hing had been done by declaring that the land belonged to the State. The time was coming when the land tax would be increased from Id to 2d or fid

or more, which meant that the whole

value added to the land by the comrun unity living on it or near it mart not joe used unless it was worked for. In » * *ound state of society idlers w uld be permitted on neither end of the sooi d | >o:ile. There must be no direct profits zoing to peop e who did not work for them. The unearned increment sh-uid belong to the people. He strongly dvoca ed a State Bank with the sole

right of note is'-uo, taking as security the value i f the land at current rates. The valu.; of the land would increase an 1 the increa-iH'i income would be suffioi j nt to re leem the State notes, so that w.thout cost the whole of the land might be resumbe! by the State. He belieied, With many others, in the State ownership of laud and the municipalisation of nduetn'i- . It w>e a shame the output of the VViii hi and other mines going out of the country, which received only a fraction in labour and in taxes. Whai they wanted was a system of production with the greatest efficiency and to distribute the r roduct with equity. Than I poverty would hi banished tor ever. Here, in Wairaate, they had plenty room for improvement; they needed lighting, draining and other things They cou d aleo elect a council not merely nominally but actually doing something on lines like the Referendum and State Bank. The Parliamentary franchise, too, should be the only one recognised, so that Charitable Aid Boards and Education Boards could be elected by the people instead of on the present narrow franchise. No further alienation of Crown lands should be permitted and all should be subject to periodical revaluation. This wae only fair in the interests of the citizens, for a 999 years’ lease could not be given with mt revaluation. These were the questions that composed the labour problem. He was not here to ask help for those at Home, for there was a strong section there actively propagating the requisite princip’es, and with the spread of these principles there was a glorious future before the world. At present they were in the transition stage between individualism and collectivism. They were not asked to cut anyone’s throat nor shoot anyone, but simply to advance upon the lines stated, and in doing this they were bringing nearer the brotherhood of man, to b u ar the burden jointly and jointly share the toward. It was worthy of their endorsement, and he hoped it would receive their hearty support. Mr Mann sat down am'dst prolonged applause. After several questions had been asked and had been answered satisfactorily, a hearty vote of thanks, proposed by Mr Boreham and seconded by Mr Costello, was carried by acclamation. A eimilar compliment to the chair closed the meeting. Afterwards half a dozen stayed behind at the request of Mr Mann to take steps to form a Socialist party in Waimate. Arrangements were made for the president ef the Workers’ Union to convene a meeting for that purpose.