"LABOUR RALLY"

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 85, 7 October 1918, Page 2

"LABOUR RALLY"

MEETING IN KING'S THEATRE

The King's' Theitre. was:; filled last evening for the "Labour Rally." -Mr. A. Parlane was in the'chair. The main purpose of the meeting was to congratulate Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., for his victory in Wsllington Central. The speakers bad a good/hearing. Mr. H. E. Holland, M.P., referred to his association with Mr. Fraser,-M.P., in the Waihi strike of 1912 ; and the big strike of 1913. Since then they had been together ■in a great many fights. ' All divisions of Labour had disappeared, and the workers were .united as they had never been before. The battle before the Labour. Party would be the greatest in the political history of New Zealand. The. Labour Party had to be > fighting party. In a comment on the war, Air. Holland repeated that peace by negotiation would be worth fighting for, and the calling of a halt to the slaughter of millions of the world's best manhood would'be, worth fighting, for. Eighty per cent, of the^ men who had gone, from New Zealand.to the trenches had gone from the ranks >of Labour, and Mr. Fraser was a representative of those men. It was therefore an insults to the new member to state that a vote for him was a vote for the Kaiser. \ ■' _ '■ Mr. J. M'Combs, M.P., remarked that the objective of. the Labour Party was something better than a bare subsistence for workers and their, families. As an example, he mentioned the tramways dispute, in which, he contended, the demand for Is 4d an hour represented only bare . subsistence for a family! He quoted from the balance-sheet of the tramways to support an argument that this enterprise was "immensely profitable" and could well bear the payment of a living wage. He mentioned that the benefit of the tramway system was largely' taken by landlords -who increased the rentß by reason of the travelling facilities. In Queensland there was a real live Labour' Government, which had made a State monopoly of workers' insurance against • accidents." The result was ah increase of 75 pet cent, in the benefits to the workers) and yet there was a surplus of £52,000 on one year's working. It was estimated that if fire insurance wae a monopoly in New Zealand the present rates could be reduced by half. Even now the rates were 33^ per cent, less than they were before the State office was established. The State office had saved the people £3,000,000; it had £68,196"invested in Government securities, and had £155,000 of accumulated funds. . ..' ■ Mr. R. Sample said he could remember when it was a very unpopular thing to denounce the Arbitration -Court, but it had dawned; upon' himself and others that the Court had to.be "killed," because it was in the way of industrial and political progress. The industrial and. political movements had to be worked together for the one purpose. "You are bound to have an election in the next few months he declared, "because I am positive that if they,don't give us one, the burial-ground will give us a few contests. . . Some of the members don't look much. . .'lf, I was an undertaker I'd keep an eye on them." The ■ Wellington Central Election had proved that the Liberal Party was dead, and the Tory Party was dying. He believed that "the capitalists of the country were .behind Howard Elliott and his gang," :but the people had demonstrated that .they had risen above sectarian ha-te. Mr: l?raser remarked that not a single Labour principle had been compromised in the Wellington Central election; "not one plank of the platform had been watered-down." On the Sunday before lie'opened his campaign he had spoken in the Alexandra Hall on the history of the red flag. • Throughout the contest he had kept the'red flag flying.aloft, and that night he. and others were'celebrating another victory for'the red flag. A-,branch of the Labour Party would 1 be formed in Wellington .Central on Wednesday. .