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Political Notes I _———— By F. W. Jowett, M.P. I WtLSON S REPLY. LL. L._ L..1. "1,1 1_ 1 L ThUl(fS more so qnicRi* ikwh ua* iu ua;> whatever one writes concerning war issues is Ili tli, course of a day or two. At the moment the position is that President Wilson has replied to Germany's acceptance of his fourteen points. In his reply the President 01 the livited States makes it clear that if an armistice is conceded, as Ger- manv "lias requested, the military position must not be made worse for the Allies, and, abo. that submarine outrages against passenger vessels must epase. The reply also contains a quota- tion from one of President Wilson's previous declarations which indicates that Germany must either depose the K^ aiser or reduce the rule of the Kaiser to "virtual iinpotency. On the other hand then is nothirw in the reply to encourage the Allied Governments to expect that President Wilson will demand unconditional surrender from Germany. So far, indeed, there is no con- tradiction between the attitude- of President Wilson and that of the I.L.P. so far as the terms of sett lement are concerned. '[lie re is. however, vital points of difference between President Wilson's demands and the demands of the Allied Governments. CUTTINC THE ALLIED CQB OS. I I There is every reason tor the oeiiet max tne Allied Governments art- in serious difficulties on account of President W ilson s diplomatic inter- vention. Not only is it the case that the Allied Governments have mad e engagements with each other that are not included in the fourteen points enumerated hy President Wilson, but there is also the difficulty that some of his points are in direct conflict with the aims and inten- tions of the Allies. There is, for instance, the question of the freedom of the sea.s which no British statesman has dared to advocate. Lord Grey has hinted that the question might be con- sidered as part of a scheme of general disarma- ment. but oven for this limited reference to the subject he was bitterly attacked in the press. Another condition demanded by Presidc-nt Wil- son is that the sairv of :;et*lemeut shall be applied to all alike at the peace confer- ence. No difference is to be made between na- tions we like or dislike either in regard to econ- omic policy or territorial claims. This cuts at the root of the Paris resolutions and sweeps aside the secret treaties. MERE SPECTATORS. I Although President Wilson lias definitely ap- pealed to the Allied Governments to say whether they agreed with him or not concern- ing the conditions he had laid down so far as they are concerned, not a word has been uttered by the Allied Governments in response to his ap- peal. What is taking place, after the Allies have sacrificed millions of lives for undisclosed objects during more than four years of war, is that they and their objects are being ruthlessly swept aside. By the methods of secret diplo- macy the Allies accomplished nothing except that they fastened the secret treaties round their necks. President Wilson has thrown over the methods of secret diplomacy and has spoken directly and openly concerning his a.ims and 011- jects. The result is that the direction of affairs has passed into his hands and the leaders of the Allied Governments can only look on. ELSEWHERE THAN IN CERMANY. I In ):is demand for th' d stnwtio,lI 01' tIlt' 1'e-1 ducti<? to II I I Pot e I I *v po%t-r that CMn separately, secretly and of its sin?e choice disturb the peace of the world," Presi- I dent Wilson is speaking what is 111 trie mind of I world. The demand, however, reaches much further than to the r,in- peror of Germany. In all the countries con- cerned in the beginning of this war there were men who secretly and without the consent of the peoples for whom they acted disturbed the I peace ot the world. The war was practically an •accomplished fact before even the British Par-j liamcnt was uiven any information about the transactions which led up to it. In regard to the rnited States the case is different for the consent of the Senate must be obtained for a declaration of war and secret treaties are im- possible because all treaties must be approved by the Senate heforehand. IF ROOSEVELT HAD RULED. At the same time it is well to understand that after the United States has entered upon a war j all power is vested in the President for its con- tinuance, and he becomes an autocrat wielding power as gveat, if not greater, than any auto- crat in the whole world. Fortunately, it has so happened that the I nit-ed States a.t this time has a President who exercises power in accord- ance with principles which lie makes clear to his country and to the world. It is, however, ne- cessary to bear in mind that the power now being exercised by President Wilson might have been in the hands of others more violent and less trustworthy than he is, say, for instance. Theodore Roosevelt. One shudders to think of the use Roosevelt would have made of such power as President Wilson possesses at the present time. IDIOTIC DELAY. I After they had exhausted almost every con- cei vable excuse for delay the French authorities in London consented to allow me to go to the National Annual Conference in Paris. I had been appointed to represent the Independent Labour Party at the Conference in question, but- it took seven days to negotiate my passport through the British Passport Office, the British .Military Permit Office, and the French Passport Offi'v. Through the first two of the institutions mentioned 1 worked myself out 011 the second day, but tiie French Passport Office must have felt it necessary to give the matter very serious and lengthy consideration, for on the second day on which the application had been before them they insisted on having three days notice at the end of which a careless or unwilling official wasted another day by endorsing the passport inaccurately. This explains how it happened that I could only attend the last day's sitting of the Palis Conference. TRIUMPH OF THE MINORITY. I I 1 was 111 time, however, to be present when I the Conference turned what was the Minority section of the Party into the Majority by ac- cepting the motion of Mr. Longuet relating to the issues arising out of the" war, in preference to that or M. Renaudel. Th. Renaudel motion was defeated by about "VJO s. the numbers being in round figures 1,200 a.s compared with t.)<)(). Thf resolution carried was lengthy, but it declared opposition to Coalition governments, pronounced in favour of an unconditional meet- ing of the International, denounced the invasion of Russia, supported a League of Nations, and, supported the chums of small nationalities for self-determination, but not at the expense of continuing the war. The defeated resolution, briefly stated, wa.s a re-affirmation of the find- ings of the recent Allied Labour Conference held in London. CACHIN THE CRITIC. J The organ of the French Socialist Party Hnm:Jllitp wlI no longer be directed by the J Renaudel section of the Party. Renaudel has resigned the editorship of the paper, and the committee in charge contains a majority of the Longuet section. Cachin, one of a small group in the party who are described as the Centre Party, ha.s been appointed editor of "Human- ite." He is a man'of great ability and the popularity of the appointment among the sup- porters ot Longuet is due to the fact that al- though he is not of their party he is a fearless critic of tiie Government, and its attitude to- ward" peace proposals. Cachin is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the French [Chamber and at one of the sittings .of the Socialist Conference he quoted the full text of a number of documents that had been disclosed to the Foreign Relations Committee which had not been allowed to be published in the press e ot documents was a letter written bv IresHient lomcare which probably led to the 10 of the Austrian Emperor's effort to open up peace negotiations m the early part of 1917 III tIlls letter President Poincare stilted that not only Alsace-Lorraine must be conceded to France but other territory which used to form part of Alsaee-Iiorraine, the valley of the Sarr, for instance, must also be surrendered by Germany. He also insisted on Germany giving up other territory on the left hank of the Rhine to be held by France as security for some indefinite period. Cachin was bitterly attacked in the press for disclosing to a Socialist conference in- formation he had received as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and in the middle of the press reports of his speech there was a big white space, where the censor had inter- fered to prevent publication of the documents.

All for Hartshorn I TRADESMEN AND PROFESSIONAL RESI- DENTS SUPPORT HIS CANDIDATURE. I A wit-attended meeting of the commercial and professional men resident in the Ogmore I Parliamentary Division was held in Maestp? on Monday to consider the question of the candida- ture of Mr. Vernon Hartshorn, the local miners' Irader, and to hear an address from him. Mr. A. Nicholas stronglv favoured [he can- didature of Mr. Hartshorn. -Air. Hartshorn reminded his audience that lie j had the unanimous vote of tin*. miners' and rai lv. a.v men in the constituency, hut as he; thought that an aspirant for political honours should recognise that there were elements out- side of the manual workers who had an equal right to know tin' views of the man who sought to represent their constituency in Parliament, he greatly appreciated the invitation of the profes- sional and business men to meet them that night. The world had passed throughf, the greatest crisis in its history, and he thought the time had come for the forces of social reform to try to find whether they could agree on funda- mental lines, and to set aside aU prejudices and niis understandings which might have divided them in the past. This must be done if demo- cracy was to take advantage of the great oppor- tunities for social reform which were now pre- senting themselves, and which would present .;egl V0-s at the close of the war. The Labour 1 arty, since the war began, had broadened the basts of its constitution, and now the party was open to all who wanted fundamental social re- form, whether thev were brain workers or manual workers. It mutft be the partv of Na- tional Service THE TEST. I he sole test he would apply to any terms of peace that might be proposed to settle this war  Will the terms prevent future wars?" iVTi terms were not likely to bring that about they would not be terms which would complete the task that we had taken in hand. The terms must be such that never again would an autocrat be aMeto attempt what Germany had at- tempted. Mr. John Phillips moved a resolution approv- ing of the candidature of Mr. Vernon Hart- shorn, and pledging the support of the meeting. This was seconded by Mr. W. G. Roberts, J.P., supported by Mr. T. E. Hopkins, J.P., Dr. Bell Thomas, the Rev. H. M. Jones, Congregational minister, and carried unanimously.

In Honour ot The Master. MEMORIAL SERVICE AT BARCOED. I MR. WINSTONE'S APPRECIATION OF I HARDIE. No more devoted friend and follower of the late J. Keir Hardie.1.| could have been chosen to address the memorial meeting con- vened by the Bargoed i.L. P. to commemorate the life and work of the Grand Old Man of the Labour Movement than Mr. Jas. Winstone. The comrades had been looking forward to the event with great pleasure, since it signalised the re- sumption of their indoor propaganda for the winter mouths and afforded them an opportunity of hearing once again the story of a strenuous life spent in the cause of Humanity—a story to be told to them by one whose life is equally strenuously lived in the same struggle. The weather was terribly bad, but in spite of that fact. a good crowd of devoted admirers of Har- die. and willing workers in the same cause, braved the elements in order to pay their little measure of tribute to the memory of the dead loade). A BIC BROTHER. I Winstone did exceedingly well, being in ex- cellent form, and he treated his subject with faithfulness and sympathy. He said that Hardie was one of the greatest men the Labour Move- ment had produced. Many people wondered why it was that he had exercised so extraordinary an influence, which, as all M j1G knew him would agree, was almost irresistible. Hardie was honoured for many excellent qualities, but es- pecially was he appreciated for his honesty and his manliness. His followers felt and he (the speaker) felt that he was more than a friend and more than a comrade. He was just a big bro- ther. The speaker recalled how he had last met him in the lobby of the House of Commons, and on that occasion they had an intimate discussion as to the future of the Labour Movement. Hardie seemed at that time to have a premoni- tion of death and his mind seemed to dwell upon the necessity of educating the children of the workers in the movement in the right ideals. He expressed his great love for the children and urged the need of gathering them together in classes and of taking a keener interest in their intellectual development, for. he said-' the hope of England lies in the young. Hardie loved nature in all its simplicity, its grandeur and its greatness. His soul was full of love and compassion.— Indeed, it was curious that so gentle and compassionate a man should be so great, unbending, and courageous a fighter. It was always better, doubtless, to give a man a good cheer when alive than to stand for a few minutes in silence by way of expressing sym- pathy when he was dead. Still, it was well that meetings such as this wer held, for they helped to keep his memory green, who in his life-time was regar d e d as the great iconoclast, but who, whatever hIs opponents might say, used the I weapon of Truth. He has passed into the great Beyond, but his soul still goes" marching on." KILLED BY THE WAR. I Hardie had been killed by the war as truly as though he had been killed in the trenches. The great European catastrophe made him feel that his vision of Peace had been dissipated, and that fact, coupled with the strain it had entailed in the early days of the struggle, and its effect upon a constitution weakened by years of agita- tion finally brought about his collapse. But he never blamed the class to wliich he belonged. He knew how they were used and their confidence abused by designing despots. A REAL PROPHET. I Hurdle it-a. a real prophet. lie stood out in the Labour world like an impregnable rock. Abuse, misrepresentation of the most shameless kind, and vilification poured upon him, but he remained immovable and without fear. He (the speaker) was often asked, why this great con- centration of hatred and abuse in regard to Hardie ? He replied that it was because Hardie knew the latent power of an enlightened demo- cracy. and his appeal to them to work out their own salvation made him a danger to the exist- ing system. Hardie knew and ever emphasised the value of human life. He would have to-day been strug- gling-had he lived-foi, i il,, immediate re-estab- lishment of the International. He gave his all in order to promote religious, political, social, and economic freedom. In order to achieve it. he recognised that he must not compromise with Capitalism. His determination not to compro- mise with that system determined the reason for the persecution which he suffered. And through it all Hardie maintained an un- blemished character.' N01 J could accuse him of meanness, or, unworthy action. He was an ex- ample to us all, and it made us feel that to possess his friendaMp was a treasure too pre- cious to sacrifice.

D.O.R.A. and The War. LABOUR PARTY LOCAL SECRETARY PROSECUTED. John W. Barraclough secretary of the South Dor.set L?i b oiir Party Dorset Labour Party, was prosecuted at Wey- mouth la st week by the Treasury 011 a charge of making statements likely to prejudice the success of financial measures taken by the Gov- ernment with a view to the prosecution of the war. A Weslevan minister alleged that Barra- clough had said that the War Loans were a swindle. The defence was that the statement made was based on an article by Mr. Frederick Temple in the February issue of the English Review," and that it was the transaction be- tween the Treasury and the Bank of England in relation to the 3, 1 per cent. War Loan which was described as a swindle on the public. After a hearing of six hours a bench of ten magis- trates dismissed the charge. During the hear- ing counsel for the Treasury designated the ar- J ticle in question as noti-eontrove

The Only Hope of the World. BRUCE CALStER ON THE INTERNATIONAL THE ONE CUARANTEE OF PEACE FOR ALL TIME. Although Sunday as one of the very few warm I and sumnierlike days we have had for over a month, and consequently tempted our people to take advantage of a probable last opportunity to get out into the country, yet so well is Bruce Glasier liked that the meeting in the Rink, M"i- thyr, in the afternoon, at which he and Miss Minnie Pallister were the speakers, was one of the best that we have held for some time past from the point of view of attendance. Mr. H. Evans occupied the chair. A WEEKS WORK. I Miss Pallister, whose five days organising work amongst the Merthyr women had resulted up to Saturday in the addition of 40 women members to the branch roll, declared that the women had been left out of politics far too long and that was the reason why we had made such a horrible mess of our political life. In justice tc ourselves. when we see the horrible mess yoa have made of the world we ought to ask you to get off the world altogether and let us have :t try." she added to the sound of applause. Deal- ing with women and the war she deplored that women had always been made the excuse for war. As a woman she objected to this, and hoped that the coming of women into politics would mean the death of the lie that war meant jthe protection of women and children. It was a huge lie. but even were it true it was no excuse for war. The common tabby cat that sat by the homestead fire would stand over her little kit- tens and defend them to the last drop of her blood; all the wild things of the jungle and the timid tilings of the air would protect their young with their li,"es-and only civilised man sent out his young to protect the old. We were the only animals that would do that, and she looked to the time when women, clothed in her new dignity of citizenship would say: "If my life and honour have to be purchased for me by the death and torture of schoolboys, then I re- fuse to be protected at that price." (Cheers.) But women would break dpwn war. Because of her great universal molherfnjod she would tear down the narrow nationalism of man, and put in its place the grand and lofty idealism of In- ternationalism. NO ROSE GARDEN. I In appealing to women to join the I.L.P. she reminded her audience that the women who had been linked up with the Pacifist minority of the past four years had belonged to the comrade- ship of a dispised minority. They had been called upon to fight against great odds, but they had been xindicated by events and would he still more vindicated when war was over and the facts became known uncoloured by the vapouas of false hate and pseudo-patriotism. But even so she was not inviting the women not yet affi- liated to participation in a fellowship of ease and mutual admiration. Heavy though the odds had been during the past four years, they were not so heavy as the odds that would have to be faced and fought during the three or four years that would succeed the cessation of hostilities. We should then have to fight against greater odds than ever—but what odds! You are in- vit-ed to join us not for an easy time, but be- cause we are engaged in the only fight worth fighting; a fight in which men and women can stand shoulder to shoulder as comrades in the strife for humanity and freedom. (Clwers.) FORWARD THE I.L.P. I Mr. Glasier, whose reception was a splendid testimony to his place in the affections of our people, paid a glowing tribute to Miss Pallister's address, and then went on to tell us that he wa.s here again bringing good tidings of the T.L.P. (Cheers.) Of course, the I.L.P. was not exactly in good odour with the majority of those who regarded themselves as patriots to-day. It was always doing the Avrong thing, hut the wrong thing always turned out to be the right thing in the end. (Cheers.) Stories were told of I.L.P. intriguing inside the Labour and Trades Union nioA-ements, hut if any of the members in his audience should be elected to the National Ad- ministrative Council of the Party they would be amazed to find that far from there being any intriguing so much freedom was allowed that the Council was often desperately ignorant of what its <>A\ n branches were doing. The power of the I.L.P. rested in its faith—the splendid enthusiastic faith of its members in the splen- did fie that its teaching is right to-day. But it is also numerically stronger than it has ever been. Dill-iiig tlit, last year, and especially during the last six months the membership had Increa.sed quite rapidly. For the present six months the membership returns were double what they were for the same six months of last year. Leicester had increased its mem bership from 400 to 2.000, and Blackburn from 300 to 1,000. (Cheers.) He need not tell of the tre- mendous influence that the I.L.P. to-day had in the industrial and political moA-ements in Scot- land. The Scottish Labour Party was virtimlly an I.L.P. organisation in its principles and pro- nouncements, and there were the most cordial of relationships between the LL.P. and the trade union movement. He did not think that there had ever been in the history of Scotland such a remarkable propaganda movrment as was car- ried on to-day, notwithstanding D.O.R.A. A soldier writing from the front had told the N.A.C. to prepare to enrol 5.000,000 members of the Party when the boys came home, but per- sonally he thought that the writer was too op- timistic. He did not think that we should ever have 5,000.000 members in the I.L.P. he was not sure that we should ever have 500.000, and he did not mind if we never had very many more than we had to-day. What was wanted was not numbers, but that the members of the Party should be secure in their convictions and strong in their faith, and that each should be an evangel of that faith. (Cheers.) "Give us one in a thousand of the working-class and we will convert the naliou and rule the nation." (Cheers.) THE GERMAN DEFEAT. After a fine reference to Hardie and the ap- propriateness of keeping his memory alive and ever before us, Mr. Glasier went on to speak of the German reply to President Wilson. It had been stated, lie said, that Germany had agreed to accept President Wilson's terms completely. (,)uite possibly that wa.s true. If it was so we could take it that the German military command realised that Germany was defeated in the field and that further war meant internal revolution. Just because he JoA-ed peace so deeply and hoped so ardently that peace was coming again he al- most felt afraid to speak about it. The week before last the casualty list of the British Army alone was 37,000, and we might estimate that for every week we shortened the war we would save in Europe alone 200,000, men. It was really A cry important that peace should come soon. There would be a great saving of life—that did not seem of much account with some of our statesmen—for every hour that the war was shortened, and he thought that it was beginning to be realised now quite outside of T.L.P. ranks, that the peace that was going to come was not the peace that the Jingoes expected. But though Germany was said to have awepted President Wilsojis peace terms we had not heard that Britain and France had, and if Britain and France had then we might well have negotiated for peace at the first opportunity two years ago. INTERNATIONAL TERMS. In itialit Wilsoll's terms were the terms of general concord laid down by the Socialist International twelve months be- fore war broke out. In the International Social- ist movement, in the International Congress and the International Socialist Bureau we had all the nations of Europe represented as nations as they applied for affiliation. Before President Wilson's terms were brought forth, or terms of peace even thought of in connection with this wnr. the Socialist International had admitted Poland, Finland, Armenia, Bosnia and Herze- govina, the Letts of Russia, and the Jewish Socialists—in anticipation of the return to Pales- tine—Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada as separate nationalities. In the words of the Socialist International: '•* It recognises that .^ry -/h > rlit because of racial, political or historic unity should be en- titled to national and free self-determination," and had the voice of the International Socialists prevailed there would have been no need for war, and there would have been no war. (Cheers.) He believed that the International Socialist influence was growing at such a rate that had the war been postponed another five years it would never have taken place at all. (Cheers.) If another general election had taken place in Germany there would have been no war. i'l w we were beginning to think of peac" and when the terms of peace were settled, whatever they might be, and the war was over and men were struggling for jobs against reduced wages and high prices, and with thousands of millions lof war debt upon us, then people would begin to wonder why there ever was a war, and in a year or so afterwards, unless a real League of Na- tions was formed, there would be talk of a fight with somclnxly else—not Germany this time, and probably it would become important that Germany should be on our side. Thus it had always been after great wars; thus it would be after this war. Men said the war had taught us a great deal. It had not. The only new thing about this war were the new machines of destruction that had been used, and the higher organisation that had manifested itself; but the war had been fought in the same old spirit, with the same old lies, with the same old professions as all wars in the past, and the same kind of suffering and sorrow had occurred, and the same old disillusionment would follow, it seemed to him. (Cheers.) A SERIOUS FAILURE. the International failed, of course, but the I International, dismembered as it had been be- cause of the internal discord in its ranks, had been the one organisation that had been work- ing, tor peace since the war began. (Cheers.) 1 he International Socialist Movement had been the only organisation constantly and consistent- ly agitating for some steps to be taken to bring war to an end since war broke out, and when the war was over it would depend essentially on the re-integration of the International and the solidarity of the active national Socialist ranks Avhether the Leagues of Peace were to be effec- tive and Avhether the war should end war for all time. If the working classes organised in the International agreed that never again would they lift arms against each other and never again allow rulers to lead them out to fight then war would cease, but unless that spirit was there and the organisation to give effect to that spirit, then the influences and powers at work in the Avorld would disintegrate the Leagues of Peace, and once again Ave would have another Armeggedon. another War to end war for ever'' that would not end war at all. The hope of the world was the International Socialist A.toveiiii,nt-it was full of imperfections, but it was only in the faith and the hope and power of International Socialism that the nations could be brought together in a real bond of bro- therhood. Only then would wars be eliminated from the earth, and the oppression of men by men be ended for ever.

I Miners and The C.O.'s. At its meeting last week the Castle Pit and Level Tiodge, S. W.M.F.. Merthyr District, passed the following resolution: That this meeting expresses its admiraton of the oonsist- ency and courage with which the Absolutist conscientious objectors at Wakefield have main- tainpd their stand for liberty of conscience; it strongly protests against their continued impri- sonment, and calls for their immediate and un- conditional release."