ENTER MR WATT?

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18481, 8 September 1925, Page 3

ENTER MR WATT?

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS. FEDERAL ELECTIONS. (Ro)£ OCTB OWN COBBKIPOMDJWT.) SYDNEY, August 28. Political interest in Australia for the next six months will centre in the Federal elections, which are. duo for nest March or April, and of the interest in the elections,- most will be excited by the attitude of the Country Party. The leader of the latter, the Federal Treasurer (I)r: Earle Pago stated recently,that both""-the Nationalist and Country Parties would lace the electors with , a composite programme. Only those proposals on which the parties in Cabinet agreed, 'he 'said, -would be put forward as' the Government's programme. Points on which they differed would be left to individual candidates. Dr. Page declared that his party had no desiro to impose itself unduly upon Cabinet. Despite Dr. Page's disclaimer, Nationalist members in Both Houses still contend that the influence of the . Country Party in the Cabinet is disproportionate to its Parliamentary representation. The most serious complaint is that tariff revision has been delayed because the Country Party is honeycombed with Freetraders -and low •tariffists. As a matter of fact, it is the tariff which holds apart the two Ministerial parties. Although many efforts have been made by the Ministerial Protectionists to persuade the farmers to change their fiscal policy, the majority of the Country Party Trill not agree that protection for our secondary industries is necessary for the national welfare.

Farmers Have Benefited. But whatever the future holds for the party, its present Parliamentary representatives iti the Federal Houses can be well satisfied with the results of its labours. Last year alone it is estimated that the assistance lent by the Federal Government to primary producers in a direct financial sense, amounted to not less than £2,OO0,0!0O. In addition, country main roads, country telegraph and telephone services, land settlement advances and many other things were so improved that (he farming community can undoubtedly thank their Parliamentary representatives for their achievement. Additional interest is lent to. the Federal political situation by the announcement this week of the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Mr W. A. Watt) that he will not accept that office in the next Parliament. Mr Watt has been more or less of an enigma, even to his closest friends. He deserted the Premiership of Victoria for Federal honours, soon became Treasurer, and was expected to

become Prime Minister. His famous "messenger boy'' spirit with Mr Hughes is history, .and since then ho has been somewhat in the shade as a dignified and striciToccupant of the .Speaker's chair. Now he frankly declares that ho "will bo ; best placed where be used to be. in the controversial arena.'' His avowed intention is to return to party politics. What that moans only the enigma that .is Mr Watt can sny. Both friends and enemies are saying viTot his feet are itoning to fill Mr Brace's shoes, and all are wondering if lie is going to .fulfil his earlier promise and live up to bis reputation of the strong, silent man of-Australian politics.