The Dominion. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1913. DEGRADATION OF PAR-LIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1871, 3 October 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1913. DEGRADATION OF PARLIAMENT.

"One of the greatest difficulties In modern administration, especially in tho higher sphere of Parliament, is to get things done at all." This statement was made by tho Governor of New South Wales a few days ago in the course of an address at a conference of tho Local Government Association of that State, and anyone who has any acquaintance with the methods of Parliamentary procedure during recent years knows that the remark quoted is only too true. The Governor, of course, refrained from any referenco to current political events, but his hearers ha'd not far to look for very forcible illustrations of the difficulty of "getting things done" in Parliament. The proceedings in the Federal Legislature at the present time have become a public scandal, and it is doubtful if political affairs- have ever reached such a low standard since the of Parliamentary Government in Australia. The Opposition is resorting to every device for preventing the business of the country being done. A few weeks ago they succeeded by an unworthy trick in causing a count out in the Houso of Representatives during the debate on the Electoral Bill. They thought they had done a clever thing, whereas they had actually done a very mean and contemptible one. They took advantage of the ab-1 sence of several Liberal members who were in South Australia, showing,a proper courtesy to the British Parliamentary guests who had been invited to the Commonwealth, and, still worse, perhaps, tho Opposition Whip subsequently had to admit •that he had broken faith with one member of tho Government by a lapse of memory. And now we are told in a cablegram which appears in another column, that there nas been a count out in the Senate on the Ad-dress-in-Reply. This may or may not be defensible as party tactics, but the fact remains that a large number of politicians who are paid to do certain work for the people aro deliberately misusing all the forms of Parliament with the object of preventing any business whatever from being transacted. They are placing their party mtercsts abovo the interests of the people. In order to understand the position, it must bo remembered that tho Opposition has a large majority in the Senate, and is able at times to take t-ho control of the proceedings out of the hands of the Minister there. In the present instance the Labour members appear to havo resorted to the count out owing to a dispute regarding an adjournment. This method of obstruction consists in the withdrawal of Opposition members from the Chamber until there is not a quorum present, and then no business can be done. This is said to bo tho first time iii the history of Australia that this has happened in the case of an Ad-dress-in-Reply; but history is being ptdQ Wt tfeean dte'-Qj, c.j! a.

very creditablo character. The Labour majority in the Senate is doing its utmost to embarrass the Government in every possible way, ana the Government is waiting for tho psychological moment for coming to grips with the Senate, Every move is of importance in the present stato of affairs. The crisis must of course come sooner or later, but a great deal depends upon how and when it comes. The Government has determined not to introduce any contentious measures in the Senate, because they will be thrown out, and thus prevented from reaching the House of Representatives. Senators will therefore have to wait in patience, or otherwise, until the Bills have passed tho House, and judging by the present rate of progress they aro not likely to have much legislation of importance to consider for some time to come. Things will reach a very serious stage when the Senate rejects a measure —the Electoral Bill for instance—after it has passed the House. The dissolution question would then probably arise in a very insistent form.

The proceedings in the House of Representatives have been of a most discreditable character ever since the commencement of the session. In this Chamber the Government's existence depends upon tho Speaker's casting vote, and the Opposition aro striving with might and main to provent tho passing of any legislation. The,sort of thing that is going on day after day was recently described by the Federal Prime Minister (Mn. Cook) in tho following graphic words:—

"I have sat in tho House to-day as is my wont nowadays listening to otter people talking, and it is not a very inspiring experience. Wo have had to listen to this dreary drivel—l will call it nothing • else—that is poured out just now in the way of useless obstruction of publio business. To-day furnishes an example of -a day's work. We have been called 'swindlers and robbers' in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate I was called a 'smug hypocrite' and 'a deliberate liar.'" It had taken fifteen hours of talk, he continued, to pass a Supply Bill which he had seen go through the House in fifteen minutes. It was just talk, talk, talk; . words, words, words; inept, inane, abusive, vilifying, that tho Government haa to listen to all day.

The following is an extract from the proceedings in the Senate during the discussion on the Temporary Supply Bill: —

Senator Rao (New South Wales) referred to Mr. Cook's speech, and his criticisms of tho Senate. Mr. Cook was the finest liar in Australia. (Laughter.) ire was also a renegade, and a disgrace to his office. (Oh! and laughter.) The President ruled Senator Rae out of order.

Senator Rae withdrew, but added that Mr. Cook was attempting to degrade the Constitution. Ho protested against a remark of Mr. Wntt, Premier of Victoria, that tho Cliinn Committee was a polluted tribunal. It was an unwarrantable imputation on the bona-fides of the committee. , . Senator Blakey (Victoria.): He is a liar. Senator Do Largio: He is worse. (Laughter.) Mr. Maughan (Queensland): He ought to be dragged to the Bar of tho Senate. Some others of the Labour Senators expressed astonisliunent at tho • silcncc of, Senator Bakhap, who is a member of tho committee. Senator Bakhap: I don't taka the remarks as personal. Let tho inan whom the cap fits wear it. (Laughter.)

This is but a fair specimen _ of tho class of stuff with which time is ■wasted and the Parliament of the Commonwealth degraded. It will presumably have its effcct with the electors at the next general election, and not to tho disadvantage of the Government of the day.