FEDERAL ELECTION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 790, 13 April 1910, Page 5

FEDERAL ELECTION.

".. ON THE. EVE. By Teleeraph-Prcas Assbciation-OopyrUhl. '. ' ... ... Sydney, April .12.,. Big'party demonstrations are being held in connection with the final rallies before the Federal election. .There will bo no special holiday .tomorrow, but Government employees will be afforded every facility for voting. :,A DUAL FIGHT. ■■ , WHAT LABOUR MUST GAIN TO ... ■■:-■■. v,.- - ; win;-.--■■-■•;,; _ • •;. In the ; 'Federal-.election in Australia to-day, half the members of the Senate,' and the whole: of the members of the House of Representatives, will be elected; that is to say, 18 Senators and 75 '. members of the House. . Of. the 18 Senators remaining in office, 13 are supporters of. tho Deakin-Cook Government, and 5- are supporters of the Labour Opposition. . Therefore, if the Labour party is to hold half the seats in the Senate, it will have .to win 13 of those polled for to-day.} Labour is contesting all of these, "and hopes to win most of them, if not the desired 13. : Of tho 75 seats in the House of Representatives, Labour is • contesting ,CB. Three others will bo contested by Inde-. pendents, and only four, will be uncontested; these latter going to two Government men and two Labour men, so honours now stand even. Of the retiring members, 27 are Labour. To secure a : commanding position in this new House, Labour must 'retain 27• seats, and win at least teii extra . ones., . ■ The issue is a'dual one. The threeparty .. system .• terminated . with the Deak'in-Cook fusion, and the Labour party has to fight-a strong united Government, force. 'In 'this venture, the Federal Labour men gather hope from the recent success of the South Australian State 'Labour t party in turning tho small majority of another Fusion Government (Peake-Butler) into a small Labour majority. To-day's election will perhaps be the most important, ever held in tho Commonwealth. awlw.rßofulkTMh rdffSNo 208 H... ,'