The Dominion. FRIDAY, AUGUST 1,1913. THREE POLITICAL CRISES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1817, 1 August 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, AUGUST 1,1913. THREE POLITICAL CRISES.

There seems to be a widely unsettled state of affairs in Australian politics at the present time. The narrowness of the Liberal majority in the Federal House of Kepresentatives makes the outlook very uncertain, and a crisis may be precipitated at any time. In the New South Wales Statp Parliament a No-Con-fidcncc motion is at present being discussed, and tho existence of tho Government seems to depend upon how one or two more or less uncertain votes will be cast. There is also a crisis in Victorian State politics owing to the action of certain discontented Liberals. It is true that the No-Confidenoc motion has been defeated; but the trouble has not been permanently settled; it has only been postponed. Tho cause of the split in the Victorian Liberal party lias not been made clear in the cablegrams, but the Melbourne papers show that a "corner" has been formed in the ranks of the Ministerialists with the object of compelling the Premier (Mr. Watt) to reconstruct the Cabinet. Tho Aye opposes this demand for a change of Ministers as the country is not likely to gain any advantage from it; and declares that "the discontent in the Ministerial Corner is the personal grievance of reactionary members who feel, as Mr. OutTitiM felt c.n an historic occasion, that it is about time 'some of those fellows wore shifted.' They arc uneasy because the present Cabinet is getting more than its share, a3 they think, of the sweets of office,

They are men whose political stature has long since been accurately measured, and who offer no m'&mise of improvement upon those in office." The Arr)its s on the other hand, supports the "corner," on the ground that the party has lost confidence in the majority of the Ministers, and states that during the Address-in-•Kcply debate tile Ministry stood alouc, all the really damaging criticism coming from its own side. The discontented Liberals even went so far as to_ move a No-Confidence motion, wliioh was, of course, eagerly supported bythe Labour Opposition, and for a time things looked very serious for the Government. The only people likely to benefit by this move were the Labour party, and the foolishness of the .Liberals, who have a majority of over two to one in the Legislative Assembly, in sacrificing their solidarity by petty internal dissensions, is difficult to understand. Wiser counsels eventually prevailed, and the mover of the NoConfidence motion asked leave to withdraw it. This was prevented by the Opposition, hut on being put to the vote it was defeated by 32 votes to 19, only one Liberal voting with tho minority. The dissatisfied Ministerialists have not, however, aban- , doned their demand for a reconstruction of the Cabinet. The Art/us admits that tho position of the Premier, who has just returned from a visit to England, is a delicate one, but states that "if he reads what has been said, and listens to what remains to be said, about the general administration of _ his Cabinet, he cannot fail to realise that the limit of endurance has , been about reached." Whether the Premier will be able to tide over the crisis, and prevent a split in his party, remains to be seen. A reconstruction of the Ministry that will please one section of the Liberals will displease others, and tho act of closing ono breach may. open. another and still more dangerous one. The political situation in Now South AVales is even mora unsettled than in Victoria. Ever sines the last feneral election the proceedings of 'arliament have been in an almost continual state of turmoil, and a few days ago Mr. Willis's dramatic l'csignation of the Speakership intensified the uncertainty of the situation. As a matter of fact, the Government ought to have gone to the country long ago. and now that the Redistribution of Scats Bill has been carried it has been deprived of every shred of excuse for postponing the general election. An interesting insight into the state of parties was given by tho vote on the motion to print the remarkable document laid on the table by Mr. Willis in connection with his resignation. The motion was carried by 44' votes to 40, the division being a party one. Had not three of the Liberals been absent the voting would have been 44 to 43. Messrs. Nobbs and Kelly had _ paired on account of illness, but if they also had been present the figures would havo been 45 to 44, which with the Speaker would have accounted for the full voting strength of 90. This reduces the Government's majority to one, and had a Labour member been in the Chair the_ Government would havo had no majority at all. Mr. Wade (Leader of the Opposition), in discussing the appointment of the new Speaker (Mr. H. D. Morton), pointed out that he, like Mr, Willis, had, been returned on Liberal votes. 'Both of these gentlemen had attacked the caucus and the party behind it; and neither could take the Chair except to render impossible the very thing for which he was elected. The result of the No-Confidence motion now being discussed will be awaited with interest. Mr. Beeby, one of the Independents, has announced his intention of voting for the Government, and the probability seems to be that the motion will thus be defeated,.