The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 17,1914. A DIFFICULT POLITICAL PROBLEM.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2125, 17 April 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 17,1914. A DIFFICULT POLITICAL PROBLEM.

i-WiTH the opening of- the-'':""'second •session of -the present Federal Parliament the prolonged battle between the Liberal and Labour Parties has been renewed, and the inevitable dissolution is drawing a- stop nearer. The Governor's Speech announces that legislation will be introduced with the object of giving additional powers of control over combines likely to affect trade injuriously, and that the immigration question will also receive attention; but from the point of view of party warfare the most significant item in the Speech is tho statement that certain Bills which were not passed during the first session will be again presented. This re-presentation of unpassed measures will bo the second 'stage- hi the battle with the Senate, in which Chamber Labour, has an overwhelming majority. If these .Bills aro again passed 'by the Souse and rejected by the Senate, the Governor-General "may dissolve the Senate and the House, of Representatives respectively"; but there appears to be a good deal of uncertainty as i to what actually will happen. It is generally understood that tiro session is to be used by the Liberal Government mainly for the purpose of securing a double dissolution, while the aim of tho Labour Party is to confine the dissolution to the House of Representatives. Tho situation, offers a good deal of scope for the exercise of political strategy, and the manoeuvres, of the two opposing camps during the nest few weeks will be watched with keen interest. The Prime Minister (Mr. Cook) will not, however, admit thatparty tactics' will form tho principal business of the session. It is true, that tho Bills providing for the restoration of tho postal Vote and the abolition of preference to unionists, which the Senate- failed to pass last year, will be submitted early in the session, but Mr. Cook declares that "a big Australian policy," whatever that may mean, will also come up for consideration.

The Prime Minister and his colleagues have made it quite clear that] they arc thoroughly disgusted with the present state of affairs, . Under ■ existing conditions it is quite impos-J si Mo to transact the business of the j country in a-, satisfactory manner. - The Government has a very narrow majority in the House, while in the Senate the Opposition is so powerful that it eaa practically do as it; likes. It has become evident that] before very long the Governor- j General will be asked to send the: members of both Houses to the. electors, in the hope that the people, will giro a clear working majority to one party or the- other. What' ho actually will do remains to be seen. I The Labour members recognise that the present situation cannot continue much longer, but they contend that the Postal Vote Restoration Bill and the Preference to Unionists Bill are not of sufficient national importance- to warrant a double dissolution. A Labour politician recentlystated that his party was prepared to agree- to the restoration of the right to vote to the sick and infirm, ] though it objected to other provisions in the Bill; while the proposal' to abolish preference to unionists was of ho important!© at all. He expected an early election, but he thought that only the House of Representatives would be concerned in it. The two parties appear to be so evenly divided in the country that it is impossible to forecast the result of an appeal to the people. The Labour leaders declare that their prospects better than they wore at the last General Election, but the Liberals are equally confident, and both sides are making ready for the approaching contest, which will certainly bo one of the most momentous in the political history of Australia. The latest Australian papers show that a good deal of attention is now being; given to the question of reforming the' Senate, "that rather remarkable body," as the AttorneyGeneral (Mb.. Irvine) calls it. In a speech at Colae ho stated that it was one of the most sinister aspects of Australian politics at the present time that a body in no sense repre* sentaiivo of the Australian people should hold supremacy in the- political arena. It certainly does seem au anomaly that a small State like Tasmania should have the same representation in the Senate as great States like New South Wales and Victoria. Mu. Irvine points out that if a Victorian crosses the channel to Tasmania, ■■ he becomes a veritable giant, having seven times the votinc strength in regard to the Senate that he had before, while if'he comes from New South Wales he has nine times tl?e power. The Uha of those who framed the Constitution appears to have been that the Senate would- act as a check vn hasty legislation, and that party distinctions and influences would not bo so pronounced as in the House of Representatives. Experience, however, has shown that these expectations have not been realised, for party divisions arc quite as sharp in the Senate as in the House. A Second Chauiber is sometimes likened to a sauceiMnto which legislation is poured in order to cool it- off; but Mr. Irvine contends that the trouble in Australia is that the saucer is hotter than the cup. The drawbacks of the present system are plain enough, and are- becoming still plainer as time goes on; but it is much easier to see- the evils of the system than to find the remedy for them. It is ,1 very difficult matter to amon-'l theConstitution. To do that it wouH b necessary to obtain the sanction of majorities cf the electors in four of the six States, and it is further provided that "'no alteration diminishing the proportional representation of any State in either House of Parliament shall become law unless a majority of the electors voting in I hat-Slate-approve of the law. - ' M'n.'lunxK ■ considers tlm< this simply means..that- equal State representation canuot he altered unless by the consent of a majority in every' State. ' Such a requirement makes any alteration in l.hc present svstein of ve.prcecnlfllioit practically impossible; bat- it is jsossibto with

■ UuSivpi>rqv]ilf oI;S; ; ;i': majority of ■ i,ho :«iocf(3r!giirf;ffiiwjnvi*}v.or the Stales' :tf|!liinitjtiu; :: Son?itc'» powers,'"' and [tliisisecni's':tii<: only'way of securing rr«lief.'.',';'Tlu) whole- problem is an extrimiely'difficult one._ It means.' a r<;. 'casting'of the Constitution, and un-less-the'" powers of the Senate are drastically curtailed, the present position would not ho materially affected. If on the oilier hand the supremacy of the. House should he made unchallengeable, tiro Senate would cease to fulfil the function? for. which it is supposed to exist, and might as well be abolished altogether.