We are glad to call attention to the short but
weighty letter of Mr. W. V. Osborne in the Times of Monday on the subject of trade-union ballots. Mr. Osborne observes that members of the Opposition are being denounced as enemies of trade unionism because they wish to insert reasonable safeguards into the Government's Trade Union (No. 2) Bill. But the need of such safeguards is patent. "It is common knowledge that trade-union ballots have been subjected to gross and wide- spread abuse in the past; their own documents can be produced as evidence." This does not necessarily mean that these bodies are more corrupt than others. " Members of Parlia- ment are not less honest than other men, but they are not allowed to act as their own returning officers. Yet this is what the Government's measure proposes to allow the trade- union officials to do." " It is little good," Mr. Osborne continues, " providing for a secret ballot if there is to be a secret counting'
of the votes by political partisans who may be personally interested in obtaining a certain result." "Either the votes should be received and counted under the supervision of some independent person, or any branch or lodge of the union should have the right to be represented at the count."
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