Pioneer

The Great Convention and After. BY PHILIP SNOWDEN, M.P. (fi-, 1-11 oenait ot the United Socialist Council). Tiie convention which meets in Leeds on Sun- q. Iv?11 bean event of tremendous importance, It?? 'lot an orc1nuwy conference at which a few iwi tll1S 'v^ be passed after which the dele- ?t ??.?P??'?te and nothing more will be do ■' This convention on Sunday is to be the ?i-nni.ng of doing things in this country. The war itself, and all mismanagement of it, alld the unbridled swindling and profiteering have accompanied it, as well as the evi- ?t?' ??P?city of the Governments .at war to ?ttt ? connagration they have set blazing, Ca, to the, democracy of this and all the ot h er MrJ?0 t^le democracy of this and all the other 1, lliger(,jit countries to take matters into their  hands as the peoples of Russia have already qQll e\ That is the only way the war can be t)Voi to an end. It is the "? way in which ? ?during peace can be established. Pe Th settlement of the war by an honourable Pea °e on the ^nes ?? forth by the Russian de- ^oGovernment is the immediate question ?.the international democracies. But the war settled have left industrial social p? settled will have left industrial and socia l "Oblems of immense and vital importance which lit: 'ony be dealt with properly ,byorgamsed de- 14?t'llatic forces. At present British Labour and 1 1 Democrac'y is without a policy and with- outr lle(t'on' ^e Convention is intended to ? t)),ov | both and to begin such vigorous activity +V country as we have never seen in our lie. .J NIY a few can attend the Convention, but }1'y member of the parties represented there th help in the work. There is still time for tho branches of trade unions, trades councils, 4d t]I(, other bodies invited to appoint dele- Sat to do so if that has not already been. done. lia.,IS next ,veek-end should see Great Britain ? ?- Every Labour and Socialist meet- itto. ?ould be devoted to the Convention. We j??? have a thousand similar Conventions of ?? ?opip held at the same time throughout the ill lltry. Though the time is short special meet- sl iotild be arranged at once if an ordinary ttng has not already been arranged. te {llsia has called Great Britain into the In- ter ?at-ional Democratic fight. We cannot re- In silent. We II)Ils;t follow -iil(l eii- !n sIlent. We mnst follow Russia and en- th. ''c?'c Democracy in this country. -(18 invention will devise the plan of tf, 11,1,lgn. AH Labour, Socialist and Democra- tip bodies must get ready to take their part in it t: ow is the time to realise the International a. Workers of all lands, U-N i i F,!

Labour in Ireland. I NTER ESTI NG R E-ISSUE OF JAS CON- NELLY'S WORKS, 1VJiy DID THE FIRST IRISH SOCIALIST MARTYR BECOME A REVOLUTIONARY LEADER? r' Layout in Ireland; Labour n Irish HiBtory; T?(? .1.?.e(,ollqtiest of Ireland," by James Con- ÏlIy; ,ith an introduction by Robert Lynd VTT XXVII.; 334 pp.: 4/6 nett (cloth). Cfel and Company, Ltd., Dublin and Lon- doll.?in(i Coiiij),,tiiy, Ltd.,T)uljlin and L,on- Tllc|Ve are two ways in which a hook reviewer ? si ?n?? ?? work. Ordinarily it is enough if 1{¡iâlr:\n the Gover. read the first, last and two ? "0£1 page8, ?"? then write. That is one way; h g0o^ C ?? because it slaves a lot of time, and prod :<n original ?.'?ression adaptable for Wat ?? any school or masureof criticism. ?O! n L other hand there occasIOnally comes along oo "z tll?it (,oitil)e l s, oiie', ?at? ?? compels one's closest attention, and at °n completion one hesitates to sc?t pen to ? comment, lest justice be not done to ? ?.?<M'k. Unhesitatingly, I place the re-issue Conolly's ?Labour in Ireland; Labour ill HIstory, and the He-conquest of Ire- '? the latter category. The book has t rill n'-eat deal for me, besides intensifying to 1 ^sorntable problem of how Connollv came ?r Ireland's first Sociaist ma-rtyr in the Eas- 0,Klay hisurrection of 1916. That alone 11i' \lId fOl'm the basis of an interesting two col- 'Utttftv U any paper, but after reading the book iiilv ptl)i?i,, I)ut after rea,dingtlie hook Q()lh}e{.OJ:i('S of SllhSl(h,ry llnportancel  Oon- ?.' ? Wl'itten word. First, that word gives a f /'ollceptim of Connolly's place amongst the ? Sf .-?,'???'"K philosophic exponents of scienti- ?o? ??'?"i; and amongst historians of the ^OQt ?? Second, it brings home to one as QIt Qr "j1 Ur ?ook on Ireland or Irish history ever ")' } the 1'01'(1: of tha,t, traffic couutl'  ?' ?e recor d s of that tragic conntry ?s n lftt^er than ?ny other to prove the sound- 0j:i )1: ? <'?'s of Socialism and the Marxian jUateri. b conception—the ruling SpirIt of the bool- (-;iti nevoi- iiiore be to the. iii-?tji \th '"?"d can never more be to the man ?tty  ?nolly the home of colleens and a a'ea '1 swinging brogue-speaking frJas'antM +Birmingham and others have asa,nu t, ia? ]iiriii i ng l iztiii and otlie,,rs have  ? It becomes a tragic battlefield on Miieh it, ??? few glamours, and little tlilsi, tt-lfe of possessing class against Vid-lw, rvic Elsewhere the screen on ??ch po"seT',Isf?wliei-e the screen on Jured and'rUfgle in history is t h rown is ?? ,? ?'?? and out of focus; Ireland's Ci'«en-)viftii7v „ ??'' the touch of Conollev be- %111 1 lln( er the touch of Conal ev Je- Allies '-is V '? ? brilliant and a« sparkling a lijoli.pl'tSS ,<:mejtta's screening of \i Fox t ¡''l('ase. ??-?T?d'??? of rhe <350 pages of which de i" is^hopeless to attempt igh'1\ adeq:¡<ltTIy ?? ??? section, but we U to the mYstery of ConnoII?-'s ?? T?'?' j '? ?? insurrection profitabh* ?'? i? ?'?- The??ts Hmt lead up to  t(JO l1111<:h ? ?'o ? ;?t i .1''? ???unately, too much do\il,r Ph i,lid 'T?'? to ? correct appre- ^tion of ii..1181ftncance' absolutely necessary to t} ,lCU slgnL eane8. ahsolutely neeessan- ^Qnoliarrivil.. "1 proper conclusion of 'Olll1oIlv's < ,a t. a. J,ust :In( propel' eone1usio of tq"t pal t in It; hut. generall., Spenkm<r  ?- '? generally speaking, election was accepted by the more thoughtful section of our people—those who did not believe the red-herring story of German in- fluen.ce-as the revolt of the Irish against the policy of the British Government in vacillating with the question of Home Rule. I am now doubtful of that hitherto satisfying explanation, and I believe that the foundations of the insur- rection, when they are uncovered, will prove to be economic and not political; otherwise Con- nolly's place in it is inexplicable..For Con- nolly had no deceptions as to the founders and movers in the Home Rule movement, or as to the purely negative economic effects of a change from Westminster to Tower Bridge so far as the workers, industrial or agrarian, are concerned. Let us see what he himself has to say on this point: "The Irish aristocracy being of foreign oi- traitor origin, Irish patriotic movements fell entirely into the hands of the middle class, and became, for the most part, simply idealised ex- pressions of middle-class interests. "Hence the spokesmen of the middle-class, in the Press and on the platform, have consistently sought the emasculation of the Irish National movement, the distortion of Irish history, and, above all, the denial of all relation between the social rights of the Irish toilers, and the politi- cal rights of he Irish nation. It was hoped and intended by this means to create what is termed 4 a real National movement'—i.e., a movement in which each class would recognise the rights of the other classes and laying aside their contentions would unite in a national strug- gle against the common enemy—England. Need- less to say, the only class deceived by such phrases was the working; class. When questions of class interests are eliminated from public controversy a victory is thereby gained for the possessing, conservative class, whose only hope of security lies in such elimination. Like a fraudulent trustee, the bourgeois dreads nothing so much as an impartial and rigid inquiry into the validity of his title deeds. Hence the bour- geois press and politicians incessantly strive to inflame the working-class miiid to fever lieatl upon questions outside the range of their own class interests. War, religion, race, language, political reform, patriotism-,apart from what- everintrinsc merits they may possess—all serve in the hands of the possessingdass as counter- irritants, whose function it is to avert the catas- trophe of social revolution by engendering heat in such parts of the body politic as are furthest removed from the seat of economic enquiry, and consequently of class consciousness on the part of the proletariat. That extract, which, by the way, will give an idea of the charm of style which is characteris- tic of the whole work, gives briefly the oft- reiterated view of Connolly on "Nationahsm" and "Nationalist" movements. He writes lu- cidly on this spirit, attributes to it the failure of the revolution of each generation of Irish- men, and points out that because of its non- economic basis these revolutions never did men- ace the possessing class. How, then, could the philosophic-historian of Irish Socialism become a leader in one of these very insurrectionary movements Y Robert Lynd in his preface, one of the most sympathetic and loveable biographic sketches I have ever read, advances a theory; but I cannot accept it. The whole thing is a mystery which nothing but the future puolica- tion of all the facts can clear. If that does not clear it, then the whole question will remain im- mersed in impenetrable darkness. I admit that in the foregoing I have been in-I veighled into peeping at what is to me a most entrancing problem, but one quite subsidiary to the importance of the economic-historic truths and revelations of the book. Partly, this is due to cowardice in so faj4 as I feel altogether the inadequacy of doing justice to the book in a space short of that of the book itself and partly due to inclination—the line of least resistance. I would at least have liked to deal fully with Connolly's "The First Irist Socialist "—William Thompson, who Connolly describes—and justifies his description—as n, "pioneer of Socialist thought superior to any of the Utopian Social- ists of the Continent, and long ante-dating Karl Marx in his instence upon the subjection of labour as the cause of all social misery, modern crime, and political dependence, as well as in his searching analysis of the true definition of "Capital." The later Socialist characters are beautiful niiniatues of great men, from a niaster equally great as themselves, and of rare sympathetic in- sight; miniatures that should form a course of study for all British, nay, International Social- ists. Even more than Labour in Irish Histoi,v proves Conolly one of the greatest of, our his- torians, does the "Re-conquest of Ireland" throw Conolly up as one of the clearest and most illuminating original thinkers of the movement in our day. It is a. crime that we of the move- ment should have been unacquainted with Con- noly until after the forces of oppression and re- pression had removed him from amongst us; but even so we should be deeply thankful to Messrs. Maunsel and Co., Ltd., Dublin and London, for having entombed the best of Connolly's thought for ii, ii-i such an admirable, volume having prefaced it by such an excellent sketch of Con- nolly's loveable personality as that of Robert Lynd's, and having turned out the volume at a price (4/6, I believe) which will allow it to find its place on every Socialist's bookshelf. Pelr- | smiaHy, I do not know of any work of a British ■Socialist- that contains so much satisfying fare. There is no book of such importance on Irish i history, and no work easily accessible that can com pare with it for a general statement of the outlook and aspirations of Irish Democracy. It is a, bowk that all should buy, because it is a book that one win continua lly an few siifitnu. lance. ,v ,u A. P.Y.

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Aberdare Waterworks. I I APPEAL AGAINST MERTHYR ASSESSMENTI COMMITTEE'S VALUATION. Aberdare District Council applied to the Mer- thyr Assessmeiit Committee on Saturday for a reduction of £ 1,788 from the new valuation of their waterworks undertakings in Aberdare and Penderyn parishes. The Chairman (the Rev. Llewellyn M. Wil- liams) intimated that the valuers had made a reduction of tSI3 on the old valuation of £ 3,058 for money spent upon repairs and renewals in connection with the undertakings. Mr. W. R. Morgan stated that the Aberdare Water-works Committee were not aware of this concession, and suggested an adjournment for them to consider the position. It was decided to adopt the reduced assess- ments of the valuers: Aberdare waterworks, £ 1,170 ratable; Penderyn waterworks, £ 1,075 ratable. Alderman Illtyd Thomas, of Cardiff, was ap- pointed by the Merthyr Assessment Committee on Saturday to assess anew the Cyfarthfa Iron and Steel Works, now put at a nominal ratable value of £ 2,500. Aberaman and Aberdare Licensed Victuallers' Association asked the Merthyr Assessment Com- mittee on Saturday for a flat-rate reduction in the assessment of public-houses on the grounds that the new Government beer restrictions had resulted in a depreciation in business of 50 per cent. Mr. W. P. Jones (for the association) said publicans formerly receiving nine barrels a week were only now allowed two and a half, and Mi-. J. Rees (one of the deputation) said he had failed to get any beer the previous week, although lie had tramped Monmouthshire and Glamorgan in search of some., He had only one barrel at his public-house to fldci. his sales over the holidays. The coinmittefe declined to agree to a flat-rate reduction, but intimated their willingness to con- sider appeals respecting each public-house affected separately. I The assessment of the Guenlos and Pengarn IJ'armsJMertlWt> was confirmed at .?609 ratable.

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I British Duty in India. I TO THE EDITOR. Dear Sir,—In these days of huge international I problems, the outlines of which, more especially in Europe, we have been forced to see in the glare of the present conflagration, it may be that questions relating to "subject" nations such as India may be overlooked for a moment. It is true that we were informed by Mr. Cham- berlain in the House of Commons last week that India will be represented at the annual ses- sion of the Imperial Cabinet by a nominee of the Government of India, as well as by the Secre- tary of State for India," which decisions, though they mark an immense advance in the posi- tion of India in the Empire," are not altogether satisfactory even in the present state of affairs. For we learn that though lohe Imperial War Con- ference had also under consideration "the posi- tion of Indians in the Empire as distinct from the position of India herself," there was no hint or suggestion given that would lead us to be- lieve that any change of position" was at present contemplated. Nevertheless we are glad to learn that system of identured emigration of Indian natives is to be stopped, and that the grossly unfair and often harsh treatment of Indian emigrants and settlers in the Dominions, and similar questions, are receiving considera- tion. But behind all these questions is India her- self. "It is becoming daily clearer that the familiar expression the unchanging East' no longer applies to India. In recent years, and that directly due to the influences of British rule, India has become politically aware of her- self as a nation, and has begun to seek, as the concrete expression of that realisation, self-ad- ministration according to her own ideals and needs. A new hope and magnificent ideal are stirring up her ancient life. A change in our mutual relations has to-day become imperative, so as to remove accumula- ting difficulties, and create a sympathetic un- derstanding. That Great Britain has conferred benefits upon India is a fact of which we are sufficiently conscious; that India possesses in- herently a complimentary power to supply certain of our deficiencies is not so fully realised. We cannot overlook the facts" that at the re- cent National Congress in India a resolution was enthusiastically carried that in the con- struction of the Empire India shall be lifted from the position of a dependency to that of an equal partner in the Empire with the self-governing Dominions. To ignore such a resolution, em- bodying a Nation's aspiratio/is, would undoubt- edly be fraught with grave, danger. Altered conditions require altered methods, and these altered methods India, has evolved and is pressing upon our attention. Her appeal for understanding is to the democracy of this country, to awaken it to the needs of India in her present valiant effort to establish herself as an independent unit in the British Common- wealth." There must be many readers of the "Pioneer" who are students of international questions who are in sympathy with the aspirations of India, and may be interested and pleased to learn that the question of mutual understanding and the fashioning of ideal bonds of sympathy and co- operation is being given closer attention in this country to-day more than ever. Recently I have received explanatory literature from the "British Committee of the Indian National Con- gress," the Home Rule for India League," and now comes a little pamphlet from an association called Britain and India (whose office is 33, Regent's Park-road, N.W.), which seeks to unite those who feel Britain and India, have reciprocal duties to perform and mutual services to offer each other, and in some way, in the works of General Smuts in a recent speech, to bring East and West into more familiar relations and understanding with each other.—Yours, etc., AMIENS.

Travelling without Railway Ticket. MERTHYR STIPENDIARY ON A POINT OF LAW. Merely travelling without a ticket is not in itself an offence. A man may do that quite in- nocently and quite honestly. I think we have all done it in our time. We may have lost our tickets—return tickets. Intent is everything, and I am satisfied, and so is Mr. Evans (the other magistrate) there was no intention in this 'case on the part of the defendant to avoid pay- ment. It appears to me that both men acted straightforwardly. They endeavoured to get a ticket and failed. In my opinion these proceed- ings should never have 'been brought. I will show my disapproval of the action of the com- pany by ordering them to pay costs an d dismiss the case." In the above terms Mr. ,R. A. Griffith (stipen- diary) commented at the Merthyr Police Court on Friday anent a case in which W. Rees Wil- liams and his brother, Baden Williams, Rhym- ney miners, were summoned by the Rhymney Railway Company for travelling in a, colliers' train on May 1. between Rhymney and Pont- lottyn without paying their fares. Mr. G. Llew- ellyn (of the office-of Messrs. Gwilym James, Charles and Davies, solicitors, Merthyr-) prose- cuted. l i ei. -cl tielicts were W. R ees Williams said colliers' tickets were issued weekly, but although he had been unable to obtain a ticket the week of the alleged offence he thought that the money would be deducted n s wmal from his wages at the end of the week by his employers, the Rhymney Iron Company. The position of his brother was the same. Charles Rates, clerk to the Rhymney Iron Co., rpsponsible for issuing the tickets to colliers whilst this defendant was giving evidence, laughed derisively, with the result he was order- ed out of court by the Stipendiary. Later Mr. Llewellyn intimated to the bench that Bates apologised for his conduct. The Stipendiary accepted this expression of re- gret and added that the incidentha,d not affected his decision. A t t

The People's Food. MERTHYR TRADES COUNCIL'S ACTION TO PREVENT EXPLOITATION. VIGILANCE buMMSTTEE FORMED. Chief amongst the matters before the Merthyr Tra-des and Labour Council on Thursday was the question of guarding against excessive prices being charged for foodstuffs. It was Mr. Bert Brobyn who broached the question; and lie suggested the formation of a vigilance committee. The work of the commit- tee (he said) would be to receive complaints of any infringements of the various orders of the food controller, make investigations and in cases proved to have foundation bring the facts be- fore the notice of the police for prosecution. It was decided to form the committee and elect upon it three members from each ward. The National Institute of the Blind appealed to the various trades unions to pay a contribu- tion of Id per month per man towards its up- keep. Mr. Verment, of Cardiff, on behalf of the institute, made a racy speech, in the course of which he said that following upon the success of the scheme for training blinded soldiers and sailors in trades which they could carry on at their own homes one had now been launched which would embrace the industrial blind. Now nearly 200 persons employed in the various in- dustries of the country went blind every year, and at present there was no adequate provision for them; existing institutions could only accom- modate 2,000, and there were roughly about 30,000 blind in the country. The national Insti- tute for it's part was now training blind indus- trial workers on exactly the same lines as were those blinded in the army or navy, and already in South Wales men were being trained who would eventually return to their homes fully equipped to earn a livelihood. The advantage of home-work was that men received the maxi- mum market price for the commodity they made. He knew of one institution where men were paid at the rate of Is. 2d. for a certain article after- wards sold for 51s. a dozen, and the selling- price for it since had gone up to 63s. The "man at home" scheme would result in this advance of price going all to the d .iiiak-ei-, as it should. T Paying the suggested A lefc £ would place workers, should they ever beceifie afflicted with blindness, in a position of not having any com- punction in entering an institution; it would be due to them and n.n (-Lai,Ifv. And after train- ing they wotiid agai?t t/«i.oi/e setf-sup^ortittg àJill useful members of the community. He hoped, too, this interest now created in the we l fare of He hoped the blind throughout the eountr would result in State aid, shelved by the war, being put into force by the Government as soon as possible. Mr. Verment's appeal was received with sym- pathy and the matter was referred to the Exe- cutive Committee. That the name of .Mr. T. T. Jenkins, Aber- canaid, who has been threatened with perman- ent loss of sight, should crop up at. this stage was inevitable, and a vote of sympathy with him in his affliction, coupled with a sincere wish from all the members for his speedy recovery, was passed. A deputation attended with the request that C.L.C. classes should be initiated in the town, and the matter was referred back to the various affiliated lodges through the delegates. The formation of a local branch of the Na- tional Association of Discharged Soldiers and Sailors was referred to the Executive Committee. A resolution was adopted protesting against the continued imprisonment of Mr. Peter Pet- roff, a Russian political refugee, and a well- known member of the Russian Swial Democratic Party, and calling for his immediate liberation. Mr. Samuel Jennings (chairman) was appoint- ed delegate for the council at the Leeds confer- ence.

Bituminous Coal. SHORTAGE IN SOUTH WALES. Complaints of poor gas coal in South Wales were made at the annual meeting of the Wales and Monmouthshire Institution of Gas Mana- gers held at Merthyr recently and a reso- lution was passed calling the attention of the National Gas Council to this deficiency in quality in comparison with the Midland and Northern districts, and to the fact that in addition the gas undertakings of South Wales had to pay 2s. 6d. a ton more for their coal under the Price of Coal Limitation Act. The meeting desired also the Council to give their due consideration to South Wales in comparing results or dealing with any general instructions to be issued to the gas industry, more particularly with reference to the calorific standard and use of blue water gas as a means of reducing the consumption of coal. Mr. Reginald Clarrv, Swansea, who brought forward the motion, said there was a growing scarcity of gas coal (even of the poorer quality- now obtaining) in South Wales., and it was an important factor to be reckoned with in a few fears. The difficulty, however, might be over- come by making some restriSfion on the export trade of bituminous coal from South Wales un- til the requirements for home consumption were satisfied. Mr. S. C. Jackson, Neath, spoke on the sub- stitution of coal gas for petrol in commercial motors, but said that such a motive power was at present out of the question with regard to small road-touring cars. Mr. J. Mogford, Briton Ferry, read a treatise on U Sulphate for Allotments." Mr. Mogford was elected the president for the ensuing year.

Political Notes, F. W. Jowett, M.P. SEE PAGE 2

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