Workmen's advocate., 1890-12-06
IN AUSTRALIA. ACTIVITY OF THE SYDNEY
 SOCIALISTS.

tween idlers and Work kerS-Truc
 Labor Papers Founded and Sus,
 lained.
 SYDNEY, Oct. 21. An important meet.
 ing If the members of the Australian Socialist League was held in the rooms, a3j George street, on Saturday evening last, w. G. lliggs in the chair. Cor respondence was read from Mr. March ant, of Brisbane, soliciting information which would enable him to form a branch of the league in Brisbane. lm- portant correspondence was also recciv- ed respecting the advisability of brlng- ing forward Socialist candidates at the next general election. The consideration of the statement of principles of the league, drawn up by a committee con- sistng of Messrs. A. G. Yewen, W. II. MNamara, A. M. Filter, J, Rubie, and w. G. Higgs was proceeded with. The
 STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES,
 so far as adopted, declared among other things, that the capitalist form of society In which we at present exist, and which the capitalists would fight to uphold, is based upon class supremacy and class robbery, maintained by class govern ment, through the private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. That as the present system is based upon antagOnism and injustice, and as the capitalist class will only permit the wage-earning class to produce wealth in the form of com modties for sale, and pay them but one-third of the wealth so produced as wages, and take for themselves two thirds as profits, surplus value, or un- paid labor, the aforesaid mode of pro- ductlon for profit should be superseded by the national or collective produ ton of wealth for use. The following clause was adopted as one of the means for the palllatlOn of existing evis:--All educa ton, higher as well as elementary, to be free, secular, compulsory, and industrial to all alike. The consideration of the other blanks ln the practical programme was deferred to next week. It was then decided to send n delegate to Newcastle for the purpose of forming d branch of the league.
 On the following day Sunday, the Unitarian minister, George Walters. lectured Tn the morning on
 SELF AND SOCIETY"
 He contrasted individualsm with col lectivism and socialism, and maintained that history proved that all the progress of the past had been in a socialistic direction. He felt assured all future would be in a similar direction. He eulogised Bellamy's "Looking Backward Australia he part of the world, for we had the rail. ways, post office, technical colleges. schools, museums, under governmental control. He did not see why the ship ping and other industries could not be placed under collective control
 LESSONS OF THE STRIKE"
 formed the subject of the lecture in the evening by Mr. w. II. McNamara. The was large. MT. McMamara said there was no doubt we had reached one of the most tremendous crises that Australia had ever been plunged into, and 1t had attracted attention all over the civilised world One hundred thous. and men were out of work, and it needed all the skill, education, and energy of | the leaders to guide the matter to a | issue, The principal develop. l ments of the strike were detailed by the l lecturer, who maintained we could not l go on for ever fighting Capitalism by | Trades UniOnsm. Ultimately Socialism | must come and settle the matter. The | of the Free Trade and Protection | CapitalisD papers showed the need for an independent press Already Labor | had started in Sydney The Australian | Workman. and in Queensland the | recently. started monthly journal. THE WORKER, was read by over l5, GOO sub | 1crihers. The latter, he was glad to | say, had no advertisements, giving solid | reading matter throughout. In this | respect he wished the Sydney paper had | it. The capitalists were not only fighting labor, but, like d lot of | hyenas, were waging war in their own ranks, and the weaker went to the wall. | thus Capital was being concentrated in | a few hands. Through th,ir ruinous | the worker suffered in re. | gard to wages. This sufficed to condemn i production for profit iustesd of for use only. It was not in one country that this state of things obtained; 1t was world wide. Socialism alone could wipe out this deplorable condition Of things,