On Tuesday the Trade-Union Congress assembled at Cardiff. The great
question to be decided was whether the new standing orders drawn up by the Parliamentary Com- mittee should, or should not, be adopted. These standing orders convert the Congress from a mixed meeting of faddists into a body which genuinely reflects the opinions of the Trade-Unions, by enacting (1) that only men working at a trade or Union officials are eligible for election ; (2) that the Trade Councils (local federations of local branches of Unions) shall not have separate representation ; (3) that the votes cast by delegates shall be proportionate to the members they represent. Mr. J. H. Wilson endeavoured to secure the rejection of these rules by the Congress, alleging that the Parliamentary Committee had exceeded its powers. A very stormy debate followed, in the course of which Mr. Ben Tillett and Mr. Broadhurst were, curiously enough, fonds agreeing in the protest against the new rules.
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