MR. HENDERSON’S ADVICE.

From Our Labour Correspondent.

The Executive Committee of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain met at the Imperial Hotel yesterday. Mr. Robert Smillie (president) was in the chair, and there was a full attendance. The most important business of the day was the Executive’s consideration of their attitude towards the Stockholm Conference. They had before them the circular of the Labour Parliamentary Executive, recommending that the invitation of the Russian Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Council to attend the Stockholm Congress be accepted, and it was stated that this decision had been come to by the Labour party on the direct advice of Mr. Arthur Henderson.

I understand that, acting upon this statement, the Executive will recommend the Miners’ Federation Conference to await the personal explanation of Mr. Arthur Henderson before coming to any decision as to how the miners’ vote shall be cast on Friday. The English and Scottish districts have taken so strong a line in support of the war and against any meeting with enemy representatives, that some members of the Executive believe they will ignore this recommendation and stand firm to their policy that British labour shall have dealings only with representatives of the Allied Powers.

The Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress met at their offices in Aldwych in the afternoon. Mr. John Hill (Boilermakers’) presided, and there were nearly all the members of the committee present. The meeting sat until half-past-five, when Mr. C. W. Bowerman, M.P., secretary, presented the following official report to the Press:

At a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee, held to-day, consideration was given to a communication received from the Labour Party Executive inviting the committee to appoint representatives to attend an international congress which it is proposed shall be held in Stockholm in September next. The committee decided that, in the event of the Labour Party Conference on Friday deciding that the British Labour movement shall be represented at such conference, the invitation should be accepted, subject to the approval of the meeting of the Trades Union Congress fixed for Monday, Sept. 3.

I am told that this invitation from the Labour Party Executive to the committee to appoint delegates – I understand that they were offered eight delegates to Stockholm – led to a very lively discussion, the opposition to the proposal coming principally from Mr. Will Thorne, M.P., and Mr. James Sexton, the representative of the Liverpool Dockers. Both these sturdy, advanced trade unionists and Socialists have taken a strong patriotic view from the outbreak of hostilities, and they are opposed, even on the advice of Mr. Henderson, to meeting enemy Socialists at Stockholm or elsewhere. It will be noticed from the official report of the Parliamentary Committee that they were actually asked to appoint representatives to attend the Stockholm Conference. This is the business for which the National Conference of the Labour Party is called together, and until their decision is recorded on the Executive’s recommendation, it seems premature on the part of the Executive to invite other organisations to appoint delegates.