The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1914. DOMINANT LABOR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 190, 10 February 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1914. DOMINANT LABOR.

The recent arrival in New Zealand of the Hon. W. A. Ilohnan, ]juhot I'remier of New South Wales, has naturally ■ drawn attention to the political power now wielded in Australia by the Laboriles. During the last decade the Labor party has steadily gained In strength and organisation, with the result that, though it has suffered defeats, there lure been periods of succi.ss enabling' the party to taste the sweets of office. In the constitution of the first Federal Parliament it was evident that Labor had asserted itself in the elections to such good purpose.that it secured no fewer than 7a seats in the House and eight in the Senate, but at

the following election, two years later, the number of Labor members in the House fell to 23, but rose in the Senate to 14. There being an equal number of .Ministerialists and Liberals, the Laborites held tbe key to the situation, and the election was regarded as a triumph for the party—a triumph largely due to the women, who, for tho first time, exercised the newly-acquired right to vote. In 11)04 Mr. Watson formed the first Labor Ministry, which only lasted a few mouths, owing to a teinorary | ecalition "of the other two parties. It is interesting to note that the avowed aims of the labor l'arty at that tims were lofty in tone, and savored of the advent of the millennium. Briefly, they were: Local patriotism, racial purity, the development of the people into an enlightened and self-reliant community, collective ownership of monopolies, and the extension of the industrial and economic functions of the State and municipalities. There was nothing revolutionary about this programme, which was certainly a creditable production. At the 1006 ejection 2fi Laborites secured seats in the House, and in 1908 they brought about the fall of the Deakia Ministry, but only for six months, when the Fisher Ministry was defeated. Tke 1010 election was another great victory for the Labor Party, bringing' it again into power with n decisive majority in the House—44 against 29, the other two being independents. Speaking about the result of the recent Kew South Wales election, Mr. Holman expressed j his deep gratification at the result—Labor 4(1, Liberals 38, and Independents 3, two of the latter being recognised as Labor supporters, thus giving thepatfty a working majority of twelve. Though" Mr. Holmau recognises tho possibility of the Labor Party ''getting drunk with i too much prosperity," he seepis confid-

! out that it will be able lo carry out a large number of reforms, and achieve a good record of construction work—new parties, new methods in Cabinet-making. ■ "Him ballot is n sort of fetish of the Laborites, so that it is not very surprising to find a Labor Cabinet chosea by secret ballot, jind it is satisfactory to learn, on Mr. Holman's authority, that the members of the new Ministry were picked because of their fitness. This method is not without its merits, and the time may come when its .application may be general. It is to a!l intents and purposes an elective executive, excepting that the dominant party, and not members as a whole do the electing. Tho dominance of the Labor Party in Australia has been obtained by steady organisation and propaganda, backed up by active legislation in the interests of the worKcrs, as well as the removal of many grievances. The great object lesson contained in the political victory of Labor is that the righting of industrial, as well as ether wrongs can best be achieved by constitutional m»nns — through Parliament. The su(i|.uvtors of the Labor movement should lake this to heart in New Zealand as well as in Australia, and by crushing out syndicalism pave the way to success. Before Die movement can become thoroughly popular, the party must prove itself trustworthy and anti-revolution-