FEDERAL MINISTRY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 173, 15 April 1908, Page 7

FEDERAL MINISTRY.

RESIGNATION DEFERRED. .' MR. DEAKIN AND HIS COLLEACUES. PRESSURE EXERTED..' BY TELEGRAPH—rREBS ASSOOIATIOS—COPTBIOHI, Sydnoy, April 13. The "Herald's" Melbourno correspondent says that Mr. Deakin, in deciding to retain offico till tho tariff is' dbno with,' yielded to the pressure of his colleagues. When the Federal House meets on Wednesday a postponement of tho motion for a Royal Commission./on tho Post Office will be asked! for until tho tariff is passed. If that, is not granted, Mr. resign. PAST GOVERNMENTS: UNCERTAIN TENURE' . , ;■ ,''' The present crisis is the fourth that has occurred since ,the establishment of the Commonwealth 'in January," ,1901. The first two Governments were defeated on the Arbitration I'-iU, and the third in. oonnection with the tariff. The Federal political situation throughout has boon one of considerable uncertainty, owing to the fact that there havo been two distinct lines of cleavage" between-parties-rone on the tariff, and the'other the usual party' division- of Labour versus anti-Labour. A Ministry may thus bo in a safe-position so; far as tariff matters are concerned,iand yet quite unable to force through general legislation ui a contentions character. Sir William. Lyne, who. now seems ; }ikely. to fiucceetl .Mr. De.ikin, had the honour of being the first man called upon to form a Common-, woalth Ministry. When the Federation canie into existence, he was Premier of the Mother aate, and though he was a prominent antilederalist, the rules of 'precedence' decreed that the Governor-General should call upon him to, tr,lie command of the new Govprnment. i'After' st.mo days of fruitless neKOtiatibn.'Sir.'Wiliiam Lyne handed over. theV-task to Sir Edmund Barton (then Mr. Barton). 'l'lio Barton Caliinot was comprised chiefly of the Premiers of the different States, and' included men whose political views ranged from the Conservatism -of; Sir John Forrest: to tho whole-souled Radicalism of Mr. Kingston, of South Australia. On the tariff,'which was tho irest important question before the: first Parliament, tho Government, had ,'a..majority'"of 11. The party grouping on other matters was uncertain throughout. The first session lasted from May (I, 1501, to October 10, 1902, and the measures, passed included the triff, the Immigration Restriction Act,- and the Kanaka Act.' ' :„.i .J. . ' In the second session, whioli l opened in May, 1903, it became obvious that i considerable friction, had arisen in the Cabinet. .Hr:', Kingston resigned, in July in consequence' of tho refusal of his colleagues-to extend the jurisdiction of the proposed Arbitration Court to the crcws. of oversea vessels trading on the Australian coast. In September, _a; fiabour I to. extend tha benefits ,of the -Arbitration Act' tp the railway servants of- the States was carried against tlio Government by 2G votes.to 21. Sir Edmund Bartdnii.theroupon "dropped Uie-Bill, and a; few days-later resigned to'take a position on the High Court Bench,-■ handing over tho reins to Mr. Deakin, AttorneyGeneral in;the first, Ministry.. v. .... •The elections in; December,'. resulted "in the;return' .of a>House*of 26. Ministeria'listsi idOppositionists, and 23 Labour.-meinbe'rs.'.Par-liame'nt' opened in March, 1904,,. the Government again, brought in the Arbitration Bill,, and in April was defeated, on precisely the same •'point as .in tho previous session.' Mr. Deakin at once resigned, and Mr. Watson,,the leader of th6Labour. party," w'a? called .'upon' ■ta form the . first ; -. Federal liabour ' -Ministry." Aftor three months of oilice, Mr. defeated on the Arbitration Bill. iri'connectioh with tho question of preference to Unionists, tho voting,in this'case-bcjiig-3G-to 3-i, ■ Mr. Watson tried in 'vain -to secure a' dissclution, but the then Governor-General held that tho resources of . the House, were not exhausted, and- called upon Mr".; G.': TU Eeid, leader of tho Free Trade and pnti-Socialist opposition. . Mr. Eeid had''previously spent some' time in ondeavouriug to arrango ,a coalition with ; Mr. Deakin by calling a truce on tho .fiscal question. On'Augfist ,17 he'took' offico 'as head of the ; Rfiid-MlLean....coalition. The two parties had come; tp -an 'agreement; of a temporary nature, but Mr. Deakiit • liimsclf refused to tako a portfolio in the. Ministry! Tho .Government put through the" Arbitration Bill'as it stood, passed a-few/nbri-coutentious nieasurps, and went into recess. 't . A fe,w, days before the opening of the next ■ session, 'Mr. Deakin declared the fiscal truce at an end, as the Ministry had appointed ; a Koyal Commission to investigate, the anomalies in tho tariff. The Cabinet immediately prepared for. its decease, and a few days after tho opening of Parliament was defeated on a-no-confidence motion. '.J' Tho present Deakin Ministry; then.'came into' ofiice, and has carried , on more or less with the support of the Labour corner. The general ielections in. December,. 190G, "/esnltod . in : tlio return ,of three ; fairly equal-parties, I 'and the conditions were substantially the-same.as in the former Parliament, v ! : .In July of last year further- dmsions of opinion arose in the Cabinet, rosultmg in tho j resignation .of Sir John Forrest.