THE FEDERAL FIGHT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 89, 16 April 1910, Page 5

THE FEDERAL FIGHT.

SOME FURTHER RESULTS. MR. DEAKIN. LEADING BY A SMALL MAJORITY By T«l«trapb.— Press Association.— Copyright. (Received April 16, 10.40 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The Liberals retain the Lang scat, where Mr. Johnson was opposed by the Rev. T. S. Crawford (Labour). Labour captured the Nepean and Robertson seats, Mr. O. Cann ousting Mr. E. K. Bowden for the former, and Mr. \V. J. Johnson defeating Mr. Henry Wills for the latter. 1 Mr. DeaKin'k final majority for the Ballarat seat will be small. He is 185 ahead of Mr. Russell (Labour), with 132 postal votes still to count. THE SENATE. | TASMANIAN RETURNS COMPI.ETB. LABOUR SUCCESSFUL. (Received April IG, 10.40 a.m.) j SYDNEY, This Day. Tho Tacmatiian Senate returns are complete. Three Labour candidates — Messrs O'Keefe, Long, and Ready — have been elected, the lowest successful candidate being about 6000 votes ahead of I the leading LiOeial. NEW MEMBERS. BEVENTEEN ARE LABOURITES. (Received April 16, 10 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The new House of Representatives will include nineteen new members, | seventeen of whom are Labour members and two Liberal. The leading Liberal candidate «n Queensland has been displaced ; but c:ie of the other Liberals v still in the running. RESPONSIBILITIES OP OFFICE. LABOUR PARTY~WILL BE EQUAL TO THE OCCASION. PREFERENCE. I (Received April 16, 9.40 a.m.) LONDON, 16th April. The Standard, inferring to tho Federal elections, says : — "There is no fear that the Labour Party will prove unequal to the responsibilities of oirice. Between ignorant Socialist* seeking to boss trades unions in England and politicians trained by leaders like Mr. Wp.tsou (ex-Federal Labour Leader), there exista all the difference, in the world. The Australian Democracy is of no use to parochial organisers like Mr. G. X. Barnes and Mr. Keir Hardie." The Manchester Guardian remancs :—: — "If Britain adopted a preferential system, a Labour MinUtry would bo even less disposed than Mr. Deakin's to grant concessions with the object of assisting the entrance of British manufacturers into the Australian market." MR. FISHER CONGRATULATED. ~ MR. COOK INTERVIEWED. BLAMES NEWCASTLE STRIKE FOR LIBERALS' DEFEAT. (Received April 16, 10.45 a.m.) SYDNEY, Thia Day. Mr. Fieher ha* received congratulations from the New Zealand Lnbour Party. Mt. Joseph Cook, Minister for Defence, attribute* the Labour success to tho Newcastle atriko and good ouramsation. There was, ho said, a feeling in New Booth Wales thai tho amended Act for dealing with strikers was unnecessarily severe, and wherever Liberal candidates went they were assailed with cries of "Coercion Act!" MR. WADE'S REPUDIATION. PROSPECT FOR STATE GOVERNMENT. FEDERAL FIGURES NO CRITERION. (Received April 16, 10.20 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Mr. G. C. Wade, the State Premier, repudiates tho idea that tho action of hi* Government with regard to th© strike had contributed to tho Labour victory. No one could giv« an exact explanation of the larger Labour voU>. He believe* the Stato Government will hold its own at the forthcoming election*, and consider* that the Federal figures aro now criterion of the State results. LABOUR'S SUCCESS. UNEXPECTED GAINS. (By "Unionist.") The cable message* reporting the r«tuh* of Wednesday's polling for the Federal elections have up to the prveent been not only very brief, but also LanUlisingty disconnected. Instance* of voting in individual electorate* have been c*bled along with such geneial reports •■ "Labour ntHI forging ahead." There has been no general sequence of return* hi the various electorate*, and until the more complete new* i* to hand it is not passible to gauge the merits of the return* indicated in ftie cablegrams to date. Sufficient information, how* ever, is arailoble to show that the Labour Tarty luu not only secured unexpected victories in certain of the electorates, but slso tnat Labour minorities at the last election have been converted into big majorities on tbia occasion. Especially d> such the cue in sevenil city electorates The elections h*>ve resulted in a recension of surprises. In the Senate con* tests. Labour's win baa surprised the most sanguine anticipations. It was recognised everywhere that Labour bad quite large enough a handicap because or the fact that in three of the Blates, no matter bow great the support given it by the electors, it could only retain ita retiring three nominees. If increased Labour Senate representation was obtained it bad to come from New Boatb Wales. Victoria, and Tasmania, and by tbe ooetiag of long-sitting Liberal Senatoes. To tbe surprise of tbe party, these Utter three States bave voted all Labour! and according to to-day's mes* safes. Queensland— always considered •ale, more especially on account of erstwhile Labour representative's (Mr. Glassey'a) candidature in the Liberal in* terest on this occasion— threatens tbe r«j*ct4on of two of three retiring Labour mso, •eabJftg ra-sl— tion at this ballot.

A gain of one or even two Labour St'n.itor* was looked for in Vi» tori.i. MUs Vida Goldstein's < andiduturo was considered to militate ucain.st iho aiictoKS of the whole three. '111.' Labour press persistently advined Labour supporters to "vote the ticket," and th<* results show that tho advice was nccepted, and that solidarity outweighed all other inclinations. In Tasmania tho Labour vote must havo increased by at least one-thin! over that recorded at the last Semite elections. The gains there aro very ni«niflcant of the general confidence- rcposfd in the integrity of tho Commonwealth Labour party. The Stato is tho most backward of all in the matter of industrial legislation. It is the New South Wales Senate results, however, that furnish the sur{irise of the campaign. Senators Gray, 'ulsford and Neilu, who Uavo represented New South Wales in the Upper Federal Chamber nince tho advent of Federation, go under to the Labour three. Aud that apparently happens with the candidature of Mr. Norton and three Socialist nominees "cutting in" against the Labour men. Here in this State also has the solidarity cry beaten the "as geed as Labour" professions of other aspirants. Queensland, with out-back ballot boxes to come in, may yet prove- loyal to Labour. On present figures, however, tho new Senate will contain Labour Senators from the several State* as follows: — West Australia 6, South Australia 4, Victoria 4, New South Wales 3, Tasmania 3, and Queensland 1. One feature of the elections is that in New South Wales, the disruptive element in the Labour movement has received a distinct check. At the time of the Broken Hill strike, and later on in the big coal strike, the class-conscious Socialists, per medium of their press, threatened to destroy the chances of Labour solidity at tho Federal polls. Mr. W. M. lfuuhes and Fisher have been most bitterly attacked all along ; Mr. Fisher in connection with the Barrier strike, und Mr. Hughes in tho coal strike. Labour, despito theso attacks, put up a successful fight for tho release o' Holland. In return, tha Socialists ran Holland against Hughes for West Sydney, and entered three other of their irenib?rs for the Senate, poll. Mr. Huphos had to fight this party as well «t the Fusionists. The workers have nnswvred by returning him with a majority of £000, against a heavy poll for the Liberal candidate. Until fuller details reach us, it is difficult to roview the full extent of Latour's gains in the House of Repiesenta* tives. So far it appears that the gains tk't spread over the States as follow :—: — New South -.Wales, 7; Victoria, 4; Queensland, 2; Tasmania, 3, and South Australia, 2 ; a total gain of 18 seats.