North Melbourne Advertiser/1889/Mr. Murphy's candidature

MR. MURPHY'S CANDIDATURE.

TO THE EDITOR.—SIR,—The question of who is W. E. Murphy? and what claims has he upon this or any other constituency is at the present juncture a most pertinent one, and by many who find that the retiring representatives have outlived their liking, in one instance through not having come up to, in their opinion, the necessary or anticipated standard of what a representative in Parliament should be, and in the other case from feelings of dislike to one who has brought what they do not consider as credit upon himself. To those who think thus, and who consider that the above named candidate, having polled so well on the last occasion, might reasonably be expected to stand a good chance on the present, to them I repeat this question is a pertinent one and I will endeavour to answer it. Mr. Murphy first came into prominence as a member of the Engineer's Corps of Volunteers, one of the finest bodies of men ever organised, and in a short space of time he, by his ability, raised himself to the position of a lecturer and one too of no mean order, in matters of military importance, and models made by himself are considered worthy of being preserved and can still I believe be seen at the head quarters of the above corps. His next notable service was as secretary of the Trades Hall Committee, and in this capacity, while working at his trade during the day, and devoting the whole of his spare time to his secretarial duties, for which he received the enormous (?) salary of £20 per year (not £300 as many allege, through ignorance, or a desire to create a bad impression about him), he, by dint of application and energy, succeeded in organizing many trades unions, and in a great measure the assured position of many societies to day are due to his efforts. He has frequently given lectures to show the importance of unionism, which were considered worthy of being re-produced in pamphlet form- A noticeable instance of his power in organising is the Tailoresses Union, which was brought into existence as the result of a direct attempt of some of their employers to reduce their wages to such an extent, that they could hardly exist on them, and although entirely with out resources they decided to strike, rather than submit to such low terms as were offered them, to their Credit be it said. And while in this predicament, Mr Julian Thomas, better known as 'The Vagahond,' conducted them to Mr Murphy who on being appealed to, at once took action, and proceeded to fight their battle for them, and made terms with their employers on their behalf,which left them in a position they had never before occupied, and their organization with its sick fund, and other benefits for its members, stands to-day a credit to the female operatives, and to its founders. I feel assured that the tailoresses, although many who were the original members are now wives and mothers, still appreciate the efforts Mr Murphy put forth on their behalf, and if the franchise were extended to women, would not be ungrateful but would vote to a woman, for their old friend and benefactor. Mr Murphy did yeoman service in collecting funds to comply with the conditions of Mr Ormond, in order to establish the proposed Ormond College, now existing as the Working Men's College, one of grandest institutions in the colony, and in the formation of the Board of Conciliation, which is intended as a preventative for the occurence [sic] of strikes, and lockouts, Mr Murphy has taken a very active part, while his conduct while acting as a representative on Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration, has been such as to gain for him the respect even of his opponents, for his sound judgement and impartiality in the various disputes arising out of trade and labour difficulty, a point which must give the lie to those who credit him with being an agitator, and who are evidently unable to discriminate between an agitator and conciliator. As the convener of and re-organizer of Trades Union Congresses, he has been eminently successful, and by this means the ventilation of labour and social greviances, has been greatly augmented, while as secretary of the parliamentary committee, he had drafted bills for Parliament, which had they been supported by real, instead of professed labour representatives, would have had the effect of settling the the much vexed Chinese question, the enforcement of the 8 hours system, and the abolition of the sweating system, which prevails at present in Melbourne to an alarming extent, and which will do an immense amount of injury, as it has in London and other places, unless we get legislators sufficiently versed to take the matter up, and deal with it. I have I think said enough in reply to the first part of the question, and in reply to the second part, from the evidence given above it will be manifest to all, that Mr W. E. Murphy has a claim on any constituency where working men are to be found, and his consistent action in the past, in the interests of labour, should be a sufficient recommendation for them to place their confidence in him in the future. Mr. Murphy is too poor a man to buy his way in, but I trust that all consistent working men will not prove untrue to themselves; but will leave no stone unturned to reward him for his past efforts, by placing him in the proud position of their representative in Parliament. Thanking you in anticipation, for inserting this.

I remain, Yours &c.&emsp;&emsp;
 * Warwick street,
 * North Melbourne.