AUSTRALIAN LABOUR PARTY

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 49, 22 November 1926, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN LABOUR PARTY

DISCUSSES RESIGNATION OF MR. LOUGHLIN

MR. LANG ANTICIPATES DEFEAT

By Telegraph. —press association. Copvihuht (Rec. November 22, 1.30 a.m.) Sydney. November 21. A special meeting of the executive of the Australian Labour Party discussed the position arising from the resignation of Mr. Loughlin, and the reported defection df Messrs. Goodin and Gillies.

Mr. Lang urged the executive not to waste time with Mr. Loughlin, whom lie regarded as having severed his connection with the partv, but to try to prevent further defections on the part of Labour members. Air. Lang added that he could not assign any reason for Mr. Loughlin’s resignation. He understood that Mr. Loughlin had laid down ns conditions for rejoining the partv that Air. Lang and _ Mr. Willis should resign from the Alinistry, and that the Budget speech be repudiated. These were impossible to grant. It was a bad time for the Labour Party, and it looked certain that Labour would go out of power when the Government met the House. Even with the vote of Air. Skelton, the Independent Labour member, the voting strength of the parties would be eoual, and he would have td ask the Governor for a dissolution. He realised that if lie went to the country Labour would secure at least fortv-seven seats.

A committee of six was then appointed to wait on Messrs. Goodin and Gillies, and endeavour to prevent them leaving the party. A special caucus then met, at which Mr. Lang definitely refused to resign the leadership of the party. AU efforts to arrive at a _ settlement were apparently futile. The caucus was still sitting at a late hour.