The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, MAR 13, 1890.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2756, 13 March 1890, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, MAR 13, 1890.

Equal and exact justice* to all men, Oi whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Tin: labour agitation still causes a feeling of interest and alarm in commercial relations throughout the world. Every day brings fresh intelligence of the further development of this great movement. The: old order changeth. But a few years ago a" strike of labourers would have been regarded with contempt. The labourers would soon have yielded from absolute necessity, and the position of the employers would have been more assured thaii ever. Capital then had absolute sway, arid Labour was in abject slavery to the dictation and demands of wealth. The anotnoly of immense fortunes being made by employers of labour, while the actual workman, who produced the wealth, were struggling hard for existence, has long been a blemish on our social system. Yet quietly, little by little, but surely and effectually, has Labour been combining and by thus uniting, gaining strength ai-d courage till to-day, it lias grown into a mighty giant, claiming a voice in moulding tho destinies of the world. The manner in which Labour has thus asserted itself in spite of oppression and hardship, is an evidence that arrogance, even when supported by the power of wealth and position, must eventually bend in submission to the demands of justice. It is not necessary for our present purpose to, trace tho course -of the labour agitation in England; Strikes, at one time of: rare ; occurrence and with little or no organisation, became more frequent and of greater magnitude, a flimax was reached in the formidable dockers' strike, which partially paralysed the trado of London and occasioned the loss of thousands of pounds to all parties concerned. Aiter a long'struggle certain concessions wore made to the labourers, which it was thought -would settle the difficulty. But we now hear of further strikes in all branches of trade, and the Labour question; is forcing itself into still greater prominence among the problems of the day, We believe that few people will regret the agitation that is now proceeding. There can be no ques-' tion that Labour in the past has not received its due share of remuneration. It is a matter, therefore, of congratulation to find that workmen are seeking, redress in an orderly and systematic manner. An agitation, which might have been tne cause of riot and bloodshod, and possibly have led to the overthrow of our social system, has happily been diverted into calmer channels, where tho matter will, no doubt, meet with an equitablo solution. It is also worthy of note that this question is receiving serious attention from the most prominent nipn of the time. In England .Ministers of*the Crown are grappling with the difficulty, and tho late°dockers' strike was ended in a large degree through the exertions of Cardinal Manning. On the Continent, the Emperor of Germany has proposed a GonrVrence of the Powers for the consideration of the labour question, and this proposal is almost universally regarded with approval. The Great Powers, with two exceptions, will be represented. It is therefore clear, that whatever the result of tho Conference may be, the claims . of labour are receiving earnest attention at the hands of those best qualified and most likely to arrive at an impartial determination of the question. The entire commerce of the world is conducted by means of two factor

—Capital and Labour. The problem, therefore, for solution—and indeed it is a large one—is what amount of profit is due to Capital and what to Labour'! We have already remarked, that in the past, the amount paid to Labour was wretchedly inadequate. There seems to be a danger that Labour, now that it has asserted itself, will become unreasonable in its demands, and want more than is justly lis due. How then is an equitable adjustment to be arrived at'.' We believe the answer is by cooperation. If labourers were paid according to the profits of the particular undertaking in which they were engaged, or were entitled to a share in the profits of the business, they would then be directly interested in its welfare. Instead of a fixed rate of wages ns they at present receive, they would reap the benefit of the successes of the enterprise, and would also have to abide the consequences of its reverses. The irritating and galling feeling would be removed from the minds of the workmen that others were amassing wealth out of their labour, while they, the actual producers of wealth, were left in penury. This sense of injustice has been tho cause of all strikes and labour unions, and the present labour agitation is the outcome of many years spent under a rankling feeling of oppression and unjust treatment. if the co-operation of Capital and Labour was an accomplished fact, workmen would have this sense of injustice removed from their minds,; th»y would have a personal interest iu the progress of the concern in which they were engaged, and then work would be better and more willingly performed than can possibly be the case under existing circumstances. It is with much satisfaction we observe a large gas company in London is adopting this principle, and has agreed to give every workman in it 3 employ a direct interest in the company's profits. In order to do this the directors propose to place to the credit of each workman a sum of money annually as a bonus or prrcentage on his wages, regulated by the profits, so that, workmen as well as shareholders may be benefitted by the company's operations. The plan of carrying out this project is elaborated and extended. We, however, are not now concerned in matters of detail as these would as a matter of: necessity vary according to circumstances anti the different methods of payment at present existing. But it is the broad general principles of tho co-operation of Capital and Labour, which has been recognised by the South Metropolitan Gas Company, that can we feel confident be applied in every enterprise in which these two constituent factors exist. It will, of course, take time before this cooperation, of which we have been speaking, can be accomplished, but every tendency in that direction will serve to "relax the strain between these two mighty powers. When this principle is universally recognised in the multifarious relations of life, the last signs of strikes and labour unions will disappear, because the causes, that instigated their existence, will have been removed we trust for ever.