On Friday, May 28, 18 months after the Convention at Washington, te succeeded in calling the attention of Parliament to the fact that the Government had prevented it from considering the six draft conventions adopted at Washington. He moved that the House should now consider them, and further stated that all his attempts to raise the matter had been virtu ly frustrated, and that he had received an insolent letter from the late Minister of Health, informing him that the Government had no intention of ratifying the maternity convention. -In the course of an acid speech he asserted that if the Government would not do this it proved that it was only concerned with Labour questions when a dispute was on, and concluded by asking.
"Why does the Government send delegates to International Conferences if it intends to ignore their conclusions? It has no other effect but to play into the hands of the Bolshevists. It is time for Government to say whether it intends the Labour organization to be a sham, a mere scrap of paper, or whether it intends to honour its signature,"
Dr. Macnamara, (Minister of Labour) answered him by moving an amendment that "In the opinion of this house it is not expedient im the existing. circumstances to proceed with legislation to give effect to the Washington Convention on hours of labour."
"Expedient"'! Surely it was with the Teutonic equivalent to this word, that Germany excused herself for broken Treaties, frightfulness, and all the other catalogue of shames and dishonour. But that doesn't bother the excellent doctor, who went om to say that our record, in its dealings with labour, was so good that any ratification of its promises was unnecessary. 4 Taxed specifically about the eight hours day, Dr. Macnamara said there were difficulties in applying it to this country owing to special industrial circumstances. (Germany found it was impossible
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.