QUEENSLAND DEPUTATION

Hokitika Guardian, 16 April 1920, Page 3

QUEENSLAND DEPUTATION

PROTEST AGAINST EXTREME GOVERNMENT.

SYDNEY April 7

The members of the Queensland Labour Party are bitterly resentful of the fact that a deputation of leading public men of that State is about to leave for London, to beg tlie Imperial authorities to take steps to place some limitation upon the oppressive rule of irixtremo Labour. Rcently,j al)so, appeals have gone forward to London by letter, praying for some relief.

Tibia unusual cotfrs has been followed, apparently, for two reasons. They are, the abuse of the Legislative Council and the appointment of a Labour Governor—probably the first in the world. The ’Labour Government is insanely jealous of its power and prerogatives, and it has done these things in order to secure absolutely unrestricted course of action. The Legislative Council, which is purely nominative, was more moderate in character than the dominant party in the House and it held up some of the latter’s most extreme measures. So the Labour Party decided to get rid of the Council. It submitted a referendum to the people, asking for the .abolition of the Chamber —hut to its astonishment and horror the people voted by a big majority for the retention of the Council’. So then the Labour Government proceeded to get a majority in the Council by appointing droves of Labour hacks to the rank of M.L.C., making 14 appointments altogether, and virtually doubling the size of the Council. Then it decided against “any further English importations,” and made one of its own number Lieutenant-Governor. Tims, even the slight check supplied by the representative of tbe Home Government was removed.

This Government is administering the country in the interests of only one class, and is cruelly oppressing the farmer and the employer generally. The slight protection previously afforded by the Legislative Council and the Governor is gone, and the landowners complain that the Government is now refusing to carry out the conditions on which they took over the land in the first place. There is certainly a case for presentation to the British Government but John Bull’s policy nowadays is to leave well alone, and he is not likely to interfere. The Queensland Governmnt knows this. Its concern arises from the probable effect of the deputation’s mission on the loan market.