The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2. COMMONWEALTH POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 107, 2 June 1909, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2. COMMONWEALTH POLITICS.

The defeat of the. Fisher Labor Ministry and Hie refusal of the Commonwealth Governor-Gi nil to grant a dissolution came as no wirprise tii those who follo'w .the 'varied fortunes of Federal politics in Australia. The advance of Labor to a strong position in the political liriuament practically dates' from the establishment uf federation,

i. and ever since Australian Common- ' wealth politics have .'been more or less lin a state, of uncertainly or chaos, 'owing to the three-parly system. Except for a very brief period, no one of the parties has been of itself strong enough to hold ollrce when questions Of a distinctly party nature demanded emphatic settlement. While the recognised governing and opposition parties have had a distinct line of cleavage on the .tariff question, Labor, as a rule, has been content to use its power in the coercion, for its own purposes, of whatever. Ministry fur the time being held the reins of Government. L'nde r this system Mr. Alfred Deakin occupied the Premiership for a considerable time, ■ during which only 'the support of the I Labor Parly enabled him to hold ollice. : It only remained for .the Labor Party, ' at a convenient time, to withdaw that ! support, to ensure a change of C-overn-j liient. Australia viewed the position with equanimity, for experience, especi- | ally the experience of the Watson Minis- | try, had demonstrated that no ultraI radical legislation need he feared from a Labor administration,'even if it so de-

sired, si) long as it depended for its life oil tin' .support of 'one of the other two Parliamentary -parties. So in the course of time, Mr. Deakin found liimself iu a minority, and the labor Tarty, with .Mr. Fisher as leader, assumed the reins' of olliee. Mr. Visiter, by a 'praiseworthy -exhibition of tact and moderation, survived one session of Parliament, but during the recess the naval crisis and the Dreadnought question occupied a (predominant position iu the public mind, and on this question ih-. Fisher had tihe hardihood and temerity to oppose popular sentiment. Air. "Fisher's policy of defence was iu no sense unpatriotic to the Empire, but he contended Unit Australia could best assist tiie Umpire, not by presenting Dreadnoughts, but ,by herself becoming sellreliant. This was apparently the view of .Hie Labor organisation, to which their Parliamentary representatives are tied. In a recent issue the Sydney Morning Herald, dealing with the is!bur -Ministry, said: "At the present moment we have iu the first elective position iu the Commonwealth .Mr. Vishcr. We would not wish to make any personal relleetion upon Mr. Fisher. We are willing to concede him the character of a transparently honest and earnest num. When he frankly tells t'he people that lie would rather see his party swept out of existence than that the vital interests of the Commonwealth, as lie conceives them, should sillier hurt, we quite believe that he speaks with sincerity. Despite any difference of political view we juay have, We are giad to admit that Mr. Fisher since his°aceession to power has carried himself with a dignity which '.has been entirely in keeping with the traditions of the liigfc olliee •which he holds, it should be a matter of sincere gratification to all Australians' that their young country can send a, .man from the mine to the Prime .Minister's cliair without misgivings sls to 'how he will uet when hif gets there. In this we have at once an instance of the fluidity and, in the 'last resort, the safety of our democracy. But while, (speaking in a broad 'way, it is a pleasure to us to think that we are üble to refer to the Labor Prime Minister in these terms, we can scarcely think Unit it is within his'power to I sound the Decenary note of leadership for wli.'K-li Australia 1. wailing expectant. To begin with, he belongs to a party which denies to the individual any commanding place. As a Dal,. o, '" i t ™i'l W the present Federal dovcrnnicnl assumed olliee. 'it does not matter whether it is Fisher or anything else: the platform is the thing'.' With the Labor Party the abstract confession of faith is alone of importance. »nd wile dependence is .placed ou the machine- to give it .siibsianeo. ]f the position is accepted there is no room .for a leader, hut merely an executant. There is 110 elasticity, no margin for the adjustment of policy to the ever-changing circumstances which confront the practical statesman. We think that in time the pressure of facts would break the Later 'machine" in Federal politics, just as it has'' done in the three instances where Labor lias

won ollicc in ll„. States. Which ifi ,„ ]lv another way of saying tli.it iln> method's which arc elieclive for a progogandist party arc entirely out of tin- imestion J for ii |iiirly which c-says Hi,, governHinit «f a continent. When Mv. Hughes slated lli:i.t filic present Federa! Government wan del••vmiiu-il l«i •face facts' |„. probably did not realise ilial the process of 'facing fads' would snon j.iit an cud to the missionary ylia.ractcr of Ids party, provided it remained in oflU-o. ],i fuel, ~ | J:I 1 I01 . team has only to lie in ollicc a certain time, in i.rder l„ cease lo 1,,. „ Labor team in tl.e >en>e „rdi„arily inider-lood < lli.v tiie leagues." lint the Dreadnought question (illered a basU on which the ' parties IciHry Mr. Dcakin and -Mr. Cook ' could meet on common ■ground, bo long ] a< I'll- larill' i-',„., wa, nut raised. T!,c ' political leadens 'were busily engaged ! for some weeks prior to the. opening of ' tile session in; ndeavor (o so rccon- ] cilc tin. dilVcrenl 'factions that on united j opposition would ilie presented when the , Federal Parliament met. Unless tJiere 1 were a mure or less complete iusion on ( many outstanding problems (the .tariff I { always' excepted) it was quit,, ohviou', \ that nn Government could lie c.-stahli-h- i i'il tlnit would lie more secure and .stable 2 1111111 llu.se of the past live years. That ' the neuoliiilions were not smoothly ar- ' ranged was .apparent .from the announce- J mi'iit a fortnight ago that Mr. Dcakin t had delinitcly .rcfus.-.l 1., , UT cpt a portfolio in any coal:.;:,.; ~'iat might nliti- c '

mutely be, arranged to oust Urn Fisher flovernment. Obviously such a position would not -lie any more satisfactory tlian Uios'e laitcly ruling, aa Mr. Deakin, the recognised head af a strong party, would still 1m more or less a free lance holding the late of the (Jovprmiicnt in a division. The real objective of the | negotiations was to secure an united | party with Hie common policy for the welfare of the Commonwealth] an.l ill,, announcement concerning 51 r. Deakiu imiilied at the time tlat some apparently insurmountable obstacle lo (lie complete, fn.io,, „f lu) , m ,„ otiatin „ Parties J.a.l arise,,. Whatever ihxl o ,° staclc was, |,ow,»r,.r, it was overcome l>y one or other of (he parties aivimr "■«>■• and a*. lion •„•«»■ arranged with Mr. 'Do,, kin as leader. n„ ( | „ progressive programme. As wa.s at 0n,,, certain. Ui« Übor (.•overiiment was defeated on Hie lir,t motion accepted as „ mo-ocu-Inli'nee one, ami ;1 , was llko anticipated, Eonl Dudley refused o dissolution. A |,. Dcakin „ow has | ( |„. ~ „. |llllilv ()f | forming a Ministry, and l„. should he I " J 'le to arrange a coalition combination | "hull will secure „ ul liciont * m „ iri to I ' euspre : , reasonalile permauencv of tenlmV A la view with con-|< •mcHble ,atisf,ctio„ tl«. ,p,,,speet of I ' Australian i,h,,|s ] H .\ V „ advanced ~)„„„ lirninler national linos than ],.,- j )( , O [J I , 1" ,5,i1,1( ' "" ■ "" ! "ivMj! your Jew I : system of the ]