The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1913. AN EXTRAORDINARY POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 9, 11 June 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1913. AN EXTRAORDINARY POSITION.

The Commonwealth elections are now practically completed, and. the. position provides one of the most extraordinary anomalies in political history. In the House of Representatives the Liberal Party has a majority of one, having secured 38 seats, as against Labor's 37, whereas in the previous Parliament Labor claimed 43 members, as compared with a Liberal party of 32. But, singularly enough, while Labor has lost ground ia the popular Chamber, it has Increased its representation in the Senate from 22 to 30, the Liberals haring receded from 14 to 0. In the face of this, the referenda proposals, fathered by the Labor Party, have been rejected. Naturally, this provides quite a-Unique situation. The country administers a nasty uppercut to Labor with one hand, and presents it 'with a laurel wreath; with the other. A,s far as can 'be 1 foreseen at the moment, the Liberals can only form a Government whose tenure of office must | necessarily be a precarious one. It is quite impossible,, under the circumstances, for such a Government to pass any legislation of its own unless it has also the approval of the Senate, and there is as. much chance of these two bitter political opponents agreeing as there is of oil and water mixing. The members of the Senate are quite secure in their positions, for they have been elected directly by the people for a fixed termre, and it can sit tight and defy tne Lower House while that body is forced in desperation by reason of its own sheer futility to resign. The newly-elected Senate members are elected for a term of six years, and the old ones have still three years of their tenure to run, whilst the term of office of members of the | Lower House is only three years. As I Mr. Hughes says, the only possible result I of this political anomaly will bea speedy disFolution and a fresh election. There ' are perplexing and difficult times ahead | for Australia politically, and outside the I probability of a fresh general election it is impossible to predict what will happen. The position is not without interest in New Zealand, in its application to the constitution of our own Upper House. The Government of the Dominion proposes to reintroduce the Legislative Council .Reform Bill during the coming session, and according to the Wellington Dominion, which is supposed to be the inspired organ of the Party, the Bill will be on the same lines as that of last session. This Bill would establish a constitution practically on all fours with that of Australia, with the exception that the electorates will be smaller, and the voting be based on a system of proportional representation. It is quite possible that under such a constitution we should be faced with a similar deadlock to that which exists in Australia, the two Houses being frankly opposed to each other. Teams pv.lling against each other will get nowhere, but when hitched together they could pull a load bigger than themselves. It is just the'same in politics. If the two Chambers are not in general accord there is little possibility of any useful legislation being placed on the Siatute Book. We will admit that the constitution of the House at present leaves much to be desired. 1/ the Government in power could be trusted to make appointments on merit alone, and not from party considerations, the position would be different. A nominative system, by which the best men of the nation are called to the Upper House, is the ideal one. Political parties, however, are only human, and in the past Governments of all shades of opinion have not always been careful to regard 1' merit and public service as the qualifications for nomination to the Legislative Council. There is nothing to indicate that the Reform Government will be different from its predecessors in this respect. It is already electing its friends to such offices as have fallen to it to fill., . There have been instances.of this in Taranaki, and there is no indication that the Government intends to practice 1 what it so religiously preached where its adversaries were concerned, or will in any way rise superior to custom and place the interests of the country before those of Party. We are inclined to believe that the idea of the New Zealand i Lnbor Party is the right one, and that we might well dispense with an Upper House and substitute a Judiciary Advisory Board to take its place, drawn from the best of our judges and magistrates and legal luminaries. This, in the light of Australia's experience, would bs preferable to making the Upper Chamber elective on a popular franchise.

THE WINTER SHOW. At tlie time of writing it looks as if tin treated of late has at last broken, ami that for once the Winter Show is to be ivoniblo for ti ike the show an o The last show se

intelligence are essential to' success. The j results seen in the exhibits at the show that opens to-day attest to both the fertility of the soil and the effective hus- * bandry of the settlers. It can be said without exaggeration that they would bo a credit to, and provide a good advertisement for, any district in the wida world. Apart from exhibits of produce, the show is attractive in many other respects. In fruit, there are some splendid exhibits, which once again prove Taranaki's suitability for fruit-growing. Some day, when farmers can spare time from their herds to look around, a start will be made with the industry on commercial lines. At present, the industry is not taken seriously, except by a few enthusiasts. The poultry section is an interesting one. The classes this year have filled well, and it has been difficult to find room for all the pens. Big as the show building is, it Js not equal to the demands for space, and next year, if the show continues to advance as it has been advancing, further enlargements will be necessary. The poultry industry is another one of promise to the province. Very shortly the American egg market will be open to New Zealand. Our laying season corresponds with America's non-laying season, which means that good prices all the year round will be assured. Even under present conditions, some people are making poultry pay. We know of one man, with comparatively few fowls, who has been receiving for some time past £l2 a month for eggs. This is a profitable side line to him, and it could be made equally profitable to others who are prepared to devote a little time and money to it. From the show of birds of all kinds and conditions much can be learned. The home industries section is always interesting, especially to ladies, and this year the section should claim a good deal of the attention of patrons. We would like to see more machinery exhibits than there are, but this is a matter over which the Society has no control. The manufacturers decline to exhibit at more than one or two shows in the island. As it is, however, there will be several exhibits of dairy and other machinery. There are a good many other features—the work of the technical and public school children, competitions, innumerable side shows, etc.— that go to make up a very interesting show, one that should not be missed by a single resident of the district.